WELCOME PAGE
Welcome!
As Computer Shopper celebrates its 30th birthday, our current and
previous editors tell us about their experiences on the magazine
Madeline Bennett (2016-)
I’m a newbie on Computer
Shopper, having joined
last year after 17 years as
a business technology
journalist. In this short
time, I’ve been impressed
by two standout elements.
The first is the scale
and thoroughness of the testing that goes
on in our lab – a real rarity in today’s world,
where everything seems to be about speed
and immediacy over quality and rigour.
The second is the insights I’ve gained
from our readers’ letters. These show us
what you, the readers, are looking for from
the magazine, and help shape the articles
we write. I also love the fact that so many
of you take the time to write in to help
other readers facing their own problems; it
feels like being part of a real community.
It’s great to see that Computer Shopper
is bucking the trend of print publications,
and in recent months we’ve been selling
more copies than a year ago. I’d love to
take credit for this, but it’s mostly down to
the excellent team I work with. Thanks to
them, and to all of you. Now on to planning
for 2018 and the next 30 years!
David Ludlow (2007-2013)
My first experience of
the magazine was in
1993, buying my first PC
at the Computer Shopper
Show (an Intel 486SX-25
with a 300GB hard disk).
I was a hooked PC fan
from that day onwards.
Come 2004, I had the opportunity to
join the magazine as reviews editor; how
could I refuse? Flicking through the pages
of Shopper back then, I was amazed by
the breadth of reviews, and the detail
that went into each one. At one point, we
even built a device to test how many
shots a camera’s battery would last for.
Taking over as editor later, the type
and range of products evolved, but the
dedication to producing quality reviews
and features never faltered.
The magazine has continued to evolve
over the years, yet Shopper’s core values
remain the same, and it’s a privilege to
still write for it today.
ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018
YEARS OF
Chris Finnamore (2013-2016)
2013-2016)
Computer Shopper is
unique. No other mag
could take items as
diverse as microATX
mobos and 84in TVs and
subject them to a
rigorous testing regimen
in an underground lab.
I was immersed in Shopper’s in-depth
testing from the start, as staff writer
duties had me benchmarking endless PCs
and components. As the tech landscape
changed, the magazine has changed too,
maintaining its computer-related focus
while embracing smartphones, tablets
and home entertainment.
Despite this, at heart Shopper remains
true to its core values: to provide
thoroughly researched, impartial buying
advice, while helping readers get the very
most out of their technology.
As editor, it was my great pleasure to
work with experts in fields ranging from
cyber security to photography, as well
as draw upon the vast knowledge of
Shopper’s loyal readers – many of whom
know more about computers than I ever
will. Here’s to the next 30 years!
Paul Sanders (2004-2007)
Computing in the early
noughties was a very
different game to today’s
slick, touchscreen, cloud
experience, but in many
ways more exciting. On a
monthly basis, new tech
was becoming affordable
for home enthusiasts. Just a few years
earlier, I’d got into a fair bit of trouble for
comparing my wife to a laser printer in
my wedding speech (meant as a huge
compliment). Now stuff like GPS, wireless
networks and (gasp) colour laser printers
were within the household budget.
Software still came on CDs, and the
Shopper cover discs were legendary. But
when DVDs arrived we didn’t know what
to do with all that capacity, so we filled it
with video files. Yet even that seemed
cool at the time: video on a disc!
To my kids, noughties tech sounds like
purgatory, but for those of us who were
there, it was the best of times!
CONTACT US
Editor Madeline Bennett madeline@computershopper.co.uk
Reviews Editor James Archer james@computershopper.co.uk
News Editor Dave Neal daveneal@computershopper.co.uk
Contributing Editor David Ludlow david@computershopper.co.uk
Contributing Editor Roland Moore-Colyer
roland@computershopper.co.uk
Senior Staff Writer Nathan Spendelow nathan@computershopper.co.uk
DESIGN & PRODUCTION
Design Bill Bagnall
Production Editor Steve Haines
Production Manager Daniel Stark
Production Assistant Lewis Small
Network Production Manager Kerry Lambird
CONTRIBUTORS
Jonathan Bray, Mel Croucher, Kay Ewbank, Chris Finnamore,
Simon Handby, Christopher Minasians, Ben Pitt, Clive Webster
ADVERTISING
Email ads.shopper@dennis.co.uk
Group Advertising Manager Charlotte Milligan 020 3890 3486
COVER GIFT CONTACT
Chris Wiles support@creativemark.co.uk
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Tel: 0330 333 9493
Email: customercare@subscribe.computershopper.co.uk
Web: ManageMyMags.co.uk
UK £44.99, Europe £70, Rest of world £90
PHOTOGRAPHY
Michael Pheasant
LICENSING AND SYNDICATION
Ryan Chambers 020 3890 4027 Ryan_Chambers@dennis.co.uk
Anj Dosaj-Halai 020 3890 3816 anj_halai@dennis.co.uk
MANAGEMENT
Tel 020 3890 3890
Managing Director John Garewal
Group Advertising Director Julian Lloyd-Evans
Newstrade Director David Barker
Group CFO/COO Brett Reynolds
Chief Executive James Tye
Company Founder Felix Dennis
PRINTING
Printed by Wyndeham, Bicester, Oxon
Distributors Seymour 020 7429 4000
LIABILITY
While every care was taken preparing this magazine, the publishers
cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of the information or
any consequence arising from it. All judgements are based on
equipment available to Computer Shopper at the time of review.
‘Value for money’ comments are based on UK prices at time of review.
All prices include VAT unless otherwise stated. Computer Shopper
takes no responsibility for the content of external websites whose
addresses are published in the magazine.
COMPUTER SHOPPER INCORPORATES UPGRADE SHOPPER,
GAMES SHOPPER, INTERNET SHOPPER, MOBILE SHOPPER,
PC SHOPPER, PORTABLE SHOPPER AND SOFTWARE SHOPPER
A DENNIS PUBLICATION
Computer Shopper is published by Dennis Publishing Ltd,
31-32 Alfred Place, London WC1E 7DP. Company registered in England.
All material © Dennis Publishing Limited licensed by Felden 2017, and
may not be reproduced in whole or part without the consent of the
publishers. ISSN 0955-8578
© Copyright Dennis Publishing Limited
SUBSCRIBE
AND SAVE
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OR SEE PAGE 120
3
 CONTENTS
Issue 360 February 2018
Contents
p80
p102
Regulars
6 Letters
Your monthly missives of wit and wisdom
8 Mel’s World
In the beginning was the word, and the
word was Shopper… and it was written by
Mel Croucher, who has graced every issue
since with his acerbic wit
10 Under Development
Custards and ignoranuses the world over
run for cover as David Robinson comes out
of retirement to mark our 30th anniversary
12 Cyber Insider
Want to get your own back on the scammers
and fraudsters? Well now you can, thanks
to bots that waste their time, not yours
14 Rants & Raves
We round up the most bonkers products
of the past 12 months, and fall victim to
hackers trying to steal our car
138 Zygote
Often get caught short on trips to the
flicks? There’s an app that can help
with that, says Zygote, and for once
he’s not taking the pee
4 FEBRUARY 2018
p24
p92 COMPUTER SHOPPER
HAS TURNED 30! YEARS OF
We’ve included a raft of
articles in this issue to
mark this amazing
milestone, including a brand new
Features Under Development and an overview
of 30 years of computing progress.
102 30 Years of Look out for this logo throughout the
Technology magazine to find them all.
To commemorate
Computer Shopper’s 30th
birthday, Mel Croucher News
charts the technological
16 Computer Shopper Awards 2017
progress that we’ve
The best products of the year, as chosen by you
made over the past three
decades. How much of it 21 The Lowdown: Intel and AMD
can you remember? The two rivals are collaborating on a new CPU
22 From the Lab
112 The Data Game
The latest scientific developments explained
With the world producing 2.5 million terabytes
of data every day, we’re in desperate need of 23 Retro: Computer Shopper
new ways to store all our digital information. Our founder Felix Dennis on how it all began
Chris Finnamore explores the innovative
techniques being developed to bring faster
and more capacious memory and storage
Learn
122 Business Help
Our expert answers your software queries
124 Helpfile
Your hardware and Windows problems solved
126 Advanced Projects
Stop thieves and hackers stealing your laptop
and data with Clive Webster’s expert advice
131 Multimedia Expert
Ben Pitt’s complete guide to music notation
| COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360
 p16

p126
p102

Reviews Group Tests

80 Mini PCs
24 Hot Product From £10 maker boards
Intel’s 8th-gen Coffee Lake processors are here, and we’ve to Windows desktops you
tested the Core i5-8600K – the overclockable, six-core king of can hold in your hand,
the mid-range Core i5 line-up. Sadly, it also shows that simply these eight diminutive
adding threads doesn’t make for a better CPU yet versatile PCs prove
that size isn’t everything

26 PCs 38 Storage 92 4K Blu-ray Players

The Palicomp AMD Galaxy pairs a GTX 1070
with AMD’s mighty Ryzen 7 1700 for a
premium desktop that can do almost anything
28 Laptops
Google’s Pixelbook is the most exciting take on
a Chromebook yet, but it’s too inflexible and
too expensive to act as a main laptop
31 Displays
The Airtame Wireless HDMI Streamer’s
high-end bonus features make it a worthwhile
display-casting dongle
33 Video
Amazon updates its Fire TV with 4K Ultra HD
streamer with a compact look, HDR support
and Alexa voice controls, all to great effect
Netgear’s ReadyNAS 212 is fast – we just wish Bring the cinema to your living room with
the software was up to the same standard an ultra high-resolution device that will
bring the best out of your 4K TV
40 Audio
The Google Home Mini is a cheap way to bring
the Google Assistant to your smart home kit
46 Handhelds
The Motorola Moto G5S makes some welcome
hardware improvements, albeit at a high price
74 Your Software*
50 Smart Home Transferring all your old files to a new
Swann’s Heat-Sensing Camera CCTV Kit shoots SSD can be incredibly time-consuming.
sharp footage but is let down by the interface Paragon’s Migrate OS to SSD takes all
the pain out of it
52 Components
MSI’s Z370 PC Pro is an affordable mid-range

36 Printers
motherboard for Intel’s 8th-gen CPUs

54 Wearables
6 FULL
PACKAGES
While it needs some tweaks to work at its Fitbit makes a rare misstep with its handsome
best, the Canon imageFormula DR-C230 is a but flawed Ionic fitness tracker
fast scanner that produces good results
56 Best Buys
37 Networks All the best kit we’ve reviewed recently
Asus joins the mesh Wi-Fi craze with its Lyra * FREE SOFTWARE
EDITION ONLY
system, which performs well but costs a bomb 72 How We Test

ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018 5

 LETTERS
Letters
Think a website’s secure just because it has a valid SSL certificate? Think again –
scammers are obtaining certificates under false pretences, so be careful out there
letters@computershopper.co.uk
Photo finish
I think it is a great idea for you to
review computers suitable for photo
editing (‘Snap decisions’, Letters, Shopper
359). In my experience of buying computers
for this purpose, I have found that many
vendors have a poor understanding of
what is required. When I rang a well-
known online computer supplier to ask
for recommendations,
on three different
occasions, I received
three different
recommendations.
Personally, I always
insist on a large case
with a large power
supply, so there’s
plenty of scope for
Star letter
Fake news
There are various reports of
fraudsters using fake SSL certificates
on scam websites. To have the green
padlock sign against your website and an
‘HTTPS’ start to its web address, it must
have a valid SSL certificate issued by a
certificate authority (CA), of which there
are more than 200. Unfortunately, some
CAs don’t check the validity of the website
they’re issuing to. They are supposed to
verify that the website is owned by the
applicant and that it’s an authentic
company. Some fraudsters are registering
domain names that are close to legitimate
websites by just substituting, for example,
a ‘1’ for an ‘l’ or an ‘O’ for a ‘0’. These
domain names should be checked against
such registrations but some CAs don’t,
and issue certificates for as little as £5.
If a person receives a phishing email,
they may be directed to a website that, at
first glance, may look like the legitimate
website but is in fact a scam. Because the
website has a valid SSL certificate, a green
padlock will show up against the web
address in the browser. Most browsers
come with a list of CAs that are implicitly
6 FEBRUARY 2018
adding extra hard discs. Upgradability is also As you continue to publish Ben Pitt’s
useful for when more resources are needed. excellent multimedia articles, you obviously
Bill Edwards aim at readers with these interests.
Steve Smith
Applications such as Adobe Photoshop
take ages to launch on my desktop PC. Thanks for the feedback, and look out for
I sometimes want to send multiple files from more on photo-editing PCs. While reviews
a full-frame CSC from Lightroom to make a lot of sense, we also plan to run some
Photoshop as layers, create one smart features covering the basics, such as taking
object, manipulate backups, online photo sharing and monitor
this and save the result colour calibration. Write in to tell us if there are
back to Lightroom. other areas you’d like us to cover.
This is very slow on
my present desktop Scanning ahead
computer. I would Many thanks for the pointer to the
definitely be VueScan software in the Helpfile
interested to learn section of Shopper 358. It was a very
what I should look for fortunate coincidence, as I was about to
in a newer PC. give up and buy a new mobile scanner
now as it has ever been. With the
Christmas season upon us, the
opportunities for fraudsters is greater
than ever with our rush to buy presents
Dave Sheppard
It’s a good point, well made. As we see
it, checking that you’ve got a secure
connection demonstrates that there’s
encryption between you and the website
that you’re connecting to. It doesn’t prove
trusted, and any certificates issued by any that the website you’re using will handle
other CA will be rejected and a warning your data securely, or even that it’s
message shown. The adage of checking legitimate. As Dave points out, you should
the link destination against the website’s ensure that you’re visiting the correct
proper name before clicking is as important website by checking the URL carefully.
❱❱ Write in and win
Do you wish your computer was faster when booting and loading
applications? Thanks to Crucial, you can achieve your dream of a
faster PC or laptop with the BX300 SSD. The writer of our Star Letter
will be awarded one of these solid-state devices, which can be
installed in a desktop PC or a laptop.
This SSD is 300% faster and 45x more energy-efficient than your STAR
typical hard drive, and will make your computer boot incredibly quickly and PRIZE
your applications load faster. With 480GB of storage, there’s plenty of room for 480GB
Windows and all your apps, too. SSD
| COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360

because my old OpticSlim M12 only ran on
an old XP netbook, and not my desktop
Windows 10 PC.
I picked up a copy of Computer Shopper
at the station by chance and just ended up
saving myself around £80!
Daniel Fishman
I too have a perfectly operational
Epson Perfection 2450 scanner
(Helpfile, Shopper 358), and d am also irritated
by the lack of drivers for
Windows 10. Like many others,
I discovered the workaround und of
installing a driver for an Epson
Perfection 4990 scanner.
I have found that after a
software update, the OS
‘forgets’ about the scanner ner
driver, possibly because the
scanner reports itself as a
different model from the driver
installed, so the new softwareware
ignores it. Sure enough, after a
Windows Insider Preview
update, the scanner was
non-operational again, and nd one
has to go through the motions tions of installing
the 4990 driver again. It seems that the th
interface utility is ‘lost’ also, but if one
searches around the hard disk for
‘epsonscan.exe’ and runs the installation, all
is back to normal again.
This happens so regularly that I have the
workaround printed out and left on my desk,
so that I can restore the function again at
every update and put the Epson Scanner
icon back on the desktop. It’s a pain, and
shouldn’t be necessary, but at least it’s free.
David K Taylor
Hybrid theory
In your Synology DiskStation DS216J
review (Shopper 355), you also
mentioned the default configuration being
Synology Hybrid RAID (SHR).
I have read recently that drives that
have been formatted to this standard cannot
In the next issue
❱❱Ultimate Pi Guide
Find out how to choose the right
Raspberry Pi, turn one into a VPN, plus
loads more projects.
COMPUTER SHOPPER ISSUE 361 ON SALE IN NEWSAGENTS FROM 11th JANUARY
ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018
then be read out of the NAS, presumably
because SHR is a proprietary format.
Therefore, if the NAS develops a fault,
the data may presumably only be read in
another Synology device. For this reason, I
would suggest formatting as standard RAID
1 if mirroring is required.
Julian Hall
Synology Hybrid RAID is a proprietary
technology, but we don’t see that as a problem.
In the event of a NAS failure, buying
a new Synology
Sy NAS means that
you can just insert the disks
and the model will restore
your previous setup with
no interruption.
In addition, if you
upgrade to a bigger NAS,
such as a four-bay model,
you can use your old
disks and expand the
storage. Cleverly, SHR will
adjust the underlying
storage mechanism to
give you the most
amount of space, with
the highest level of data protection.
Flash in the pan
Computer Shopper is my go-to mag
for any kit that I intend to buy, as
well as drooling over all the gadgets that I
would like to own!
I like that over the past few years you
have included a lot more smartphone
reviews. Mobile phones and tablets have
taken the place of PCs for a lot of people
now, and as I have used them more and
more, I have dipped into the world of
modding (if that’s the correct term).
It would be great to see a regular feature
in Shopper on unlocking and rooting
phones and flashing new ROMs.
If you stick to the main ROMs, they
usually come with automatic updates, so it’s
just like having a stock installation with the
bonus of getting rid of a lot of unwanted
❱❱New
w Amazon
Echos tested
We review
iew the Echo
Plus, Echo 2nd
tion and
Generation nd Echo
Echo
Show to o find out
out
which voice assistant
assist
istant
istant
is best for you.
LETTERS
bloatware and being able to install handy
apps that only work when rooted.
So please, Shopper team, let’s have a few
pointers on the mysteries of modding.
Thomas Marshall
Rooting phones and installing
a different operating system is
certainly popular, particularly with
Android users looking to get a
different experience. Would other
readers like to see us cover this
more, say with the popular
LineageOS operating system?
Smart cookie
I enjoyed the article on the smart home
(Shopper 359), but have found some
products that you didn’t cover.
I have found that it’s possible to get
power sockets and light switches with
built-in Wi-Fi extenders. I was surprised at
how reasonably priced they were, and how
convenient they will be.
This is in addition to the range of
smart light switches and power sockets,
which can be controlled via a smartphone
or Amazon Echo. This seems a far neater
solution than plug-in models.
Grant Wilson
Wi-Fi extender power sockets certainly
look interesting and could be a neat way of
boosting wireless without the clutter. But the
models we can find only support 2.4GHz
networking, so we
recommend an
802.11ac wireless
mesh system, such
as the BT Whole
Home Wi-Fi, for
most homes.
Wireless sockets
and light switches are a convenient and neat
way to operate your devices for the DIY-
minded. Be careful with light switches, as the
lack of a neutral wire means that all models are
dimmers and require dimmable light bulbs.
❱
❱❱Smartphones
on test
Yo don’t have to
You
pa flagship prices
pay
to get the best
fe
features, as our
gro test shows.
group
7
 MEL’S WORLD
Anniversary update
History man Mel Croucher – who’s been with us since the very first issue – looks back
on the birth of the publishing phenomenon that is Computer Shopper
MEL CROUCHER
Tech pioneer and all-round good egg
letters@computershopper.co.uk
⬇ The pub where it all began, the
Marquis of Granby in central London
8 FEBRUARY 201
MY PHONE RANG. It was a
heavy old phone, with twisted
wires, a handset for collecting
spit and earwax, and a metal
bell that went ring-ring. A voice
said, “Do you know who Felix
Dennis is?” Yes, I knew who
Felix Dennis was; he was a
successful publisher who had
been imprisoned for “conspiracy
to deprave and corrupt the
morals of the Young of the
Realm”. My kind of guy. The voice
went on, “Do you want to help
set up a thing for Felix Dennis?”
Yes, I wanted to help set up a
thing for Felix Dennis. My caller
said, “Meet me in the Marquis of
Granby,” then hung up.
The Marquis of Granby is a
London pub, famous for its
literary clientele. TS Eliot had
emphysema there, George Orwell
had tuberculosis there, Dylan
Thomas had delirium tremens
there, and a jolly man called
Graeme summoned me there to
plan the launch of a new
magazine. We had worked
together before on magazines
with daft names like Crash, Ace
and Zzap that were aimed at
people who liked computer
games, but this was to be an
altogether more serious project.
Graeme used the bar-top as
his lectern and wrote with a fat
pencil on sheets of lined paper.
He declared his mission was to
create something that would
YEARS OF
be “best for price, best for advice,
and like nothing you’ve ever seen
before”. His gameplan was to
take a bunch of people who
loved computing but were not
professional journalists, and
mix them up with freelance
old tarts like me. He believed
this mixture of smouldering
anoraks and cynical hacks
would result in a great new
magazine, and the magazine he
wanted to create would be
called Computer Shopper.
NAME OF THE GAME
I opposed the name, not because
it was a bad name, but because it
was the name of the existing
flagship magazine owned by the
mighty Ziff Davis Corporation of
America. But a verbal deal had
already been done to use it, and
the plan was to launch the title
without buying the rights. Felix
Dennis reckoned the New York
corporate lawyers would be
baffled when faced with a
complete absence of paperwork,
and his instruction was to “just
f***ing do it!” I thought he was
bonkers. And that, in a nutshell,
is why Felix Dennis was a
multimillionaire and I wasn’t.
My job was to be different
from anyone else in the team.
Graeme summed it up in a
quotation he wrote down at that
meeting in the Marquis of
Granby, 30 years, three months
2018
and 12 days ago. The quote was
from the King James Bible, the
book of Acts, Chapter 9, Verse 5,
and my job description read, “to
kick against the pricks”. And so it
was I was given the best job in
the entire Computer Shopper
team. My job was to byte the
hand that fed us.
Graeme went on to achieve a
glittering career in politics and
prize-winning sausages, and then
he went and died. We put a pint
of beer on his coffin as it was
carried through the streets, and
when we got to the cathedral the
joyous sound of his favourite
hymn rang out. It was Ian Dury’s
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll. I’m still
here carrying out his simple
instruction to kick against the
pricks, and my editor is allowing
me to tell you how it all started,
for which many thanks.
FEMALE TUITION
Madeline, my current editor, is
a woman, as was my first editor
30 years ago. Her name was
Christina and she was responsible
for turning the contributions
from our gang of computer-
lovers and jobbing hacks into a
coherent production.
“I can’t remember exactly how
I came to be Shopper’s news
editor,” Christina told me. “I was
freelancing at the time and
writing about PCs for home and
leisure, which not many other
people were doing back then. I
think the publisher drafted me in.
I remember you being there, Mel,
so it must have been in the pub.”
She went on to say, “Of all the
magazine launches I was involved
in before and since, Computer
Shopper was the most satisfying.
We had a talented, diverse bunch
of people. I think Dennis
Publishing had the knack of
accommodating maverick
characters and getting great
work out of them. We were all
very clear that we were creating
⬅ Corrupter of youth and publisher
of Computer Shopper, Felix Dennis
| COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360

something recognisably different
from the other magazines of the
day, which were all business
tomes or games mags, and I
believe we succeeded.”
Christina then confided, “I
think it’s also the only computer
mag I worked on that’s still going
– which says more about the
magazine market than my
contribution to it. Was it really all
those years ago? That’s terrifying.”
For me it was more death-
defying than terrifying. This
magazine was born in a basement
The first Computer Shopper was printed on absorbent newsprint, with the
sort of transferable ink that makes it impossible to use for toilet purposes
storeroom deep in the bowels of
Rathbone Place, near Tottenham
Court Road Tube station. Natural
light was a stranger there, and
the sandwiches contained
soldering flux. It felt like a
mausoleum, which was
appropriate because computers
back then were the grey-beige
colour favoured by the dead.
The wipe-clean desks were never
wiped clean and the ashtrays
were inflammable coffee beakers.
Our writers and reviewers
submitted articles saved to floppy
disks, so called because they
were rigid and square, which
were put into envelopes and
entrusted to red pillar boxes.
Many contributors would
telephone the next day to check
if the postie really had delivered
their words. Some of the more
adventurous used a new-fangled
device called a fax machine to
transmit drawings, charts and
photographs at 96 dots per inch.
The editorial team put the
magazine together on a shared
Apple Mac, but that wasn’t too
difficult seeing as the editorial
team consisted of two people.
As for me, even in the late 1980s
I was saddled with being some
sort of industry veteran, having
abused computers in the 60s
and set up my first software
company in the 70s.
The first Computer Shopper
was printed on absorbent
newsprint, with the sort of
transferable ink that makes it
impossible to use for toilet
purposes. A few of the pages
boasted spot-colour in
kindergarten shades, but most of
the magazine overflowed with
FEBRUARY 2018 PPER | ISSUE 360
| COMPUTER SHOPPER
monochrome. Adverts offered
bargains such as a 286 Ethernet
Network Starter Kit, with two
workstation cards, a cable and a
12-month guarantee, all for a
mere £2,995.
The magazine was launched
with a belter of a manifesto on
the first page of the first issue.
How about this for a statement
of intent: “It is clear to us that
computer magazines have
become too bland and too
concerned with keeping in with
manufacturers. Computer Shopper
is different. You’ll read the truth
about machines, not
manufacturers’ hype. We only
take one side – yours.”
What a brilliant declaration
that was. And it got better. “We
cover the subjects that unite
computer users, whether you’re a
business or home user, a hacker
or a computer professional.”
Ah, those were the days.
When hacking was regarded as a
positive contribution to society
and not an act of terrorism.
FIRST PRINCIPLES
In issue 1 we had dedicated
sections for computers that are
now museum exhibits: the
Amstrad PCW, BBC-Archimedes,
Commodore 64, MSX, QL,
Sinclair Spectrum, Sinclair Z88,
the Macintosh and something
coyly headed “PC and clones”.
Our pages were wrapped
between eggshell-paper covers
and held together with the sort
of weapons-grade stapling
favoured by A&E. By the end of
the year we were allowed to
upgrade to proper binding and
attend the first ever Computer
Shopper Show. And we were
lucky to get in. Over three
thousand hopefuls got turned
away at the door, and my boss
began to suspect we had a
success on our hands.
A year from launch, a pair of
massive eyebrows called Jeremy
Spencer took over as editor. He
would be my boss for the next 15
years, during which time we
became Europe’s largest
circulation computer magazine.
Jeremy said of the team,
“Because they were part of my
audience they needed no
interference from me and
received very little. And we all
prospered.” It wasn’t long before
he emblazoned the words
‘Britain’s biggest-selling computer
magazine’ on the cover.
Jeremy stayed for 15 years. I’ve
been here for 30, kicking against
the pricks on your behalf, adding
a feature when invited, churning
out Rants and Raves when
allowed, and welcoming you to
my world in this column. Then
there is the infamous Back Page,
which I’ve been allowed to hijack
once a month. It’s been my job to
keep Zygote’s ear to the ground,
MEL’S WORLD
finger on the pulse and carcass
out of court, and I’m willing to
admit that he or she can be like
the Dalai Lama on a good day but
Vlad the Impaler on a bad one.
Which is the opposite to the
final item that has appeared in
every single issue of Computer
Shopper. I refer, of course, to the
Great Moments in Computing
cartoon strip, drawn by the only
other schmuck who has
contributed to every issue of this
magazine, my old chum Robin
Evans. For the first few years of
Great Moments, I would scribble
down the words and scrawl the
cartoon roughs. I’d then hand
them to Robin so he could ignore
them. Once a month I’d pay him a
pittance and Robin would call me
‘boss’ in exchange. It was a great
deal. When he didn’t like my
jokes, he’d scrap them and come
up with his own. After a while I
knew resistance was futile, so I
let him get on with changing my
scripts to whatever he reckoned
was funnier. It turns out that of
the two of us he was the funny
one all along. I can’t help bunging
in my own opinions. He just
wants to make you laugh at the
serious business of computing.
SHOPPERHOLICS
The Marquis of Granby is still
there, but the original office in
that basement storeroom is long
gone. Our illustrious publishers
now have an ultra-modern
magazine hub a few streets away,
complete with all the latest
luxuries, such as toilets you can
use and windows you can see
through. It’s been a while since I
wandered in there, but when I
last turned up the young lady at
reception smiled encouragingly
and asked who I was and what I
wanted. I told her I helped create
her job and was just popping in
to steal all the computers. She
gave me a look reserved for the
dementia ward and called
security. Of course she wasn’t
even born when all this began.
For her it has always been the
computer age, and Computer
Shopper has always been the
nation’s favourite computer
magazine. Now there’s a sobering
thought. Please raise your glasses
and join me in thanking everyone
involved. A very happy birthday
to Computer Shopper. It’s been a
privilege contributing to this
great magazine since the start.
Here’s to the next 30 years!
9
 UNDER DEVELOPMENT
Return of the shrewd
He’s back! David Robinson puts finger to keyboard once more and looks at how much
has changed over the past 30 years – and how much has stayed the same
WELL, HELLO THERE. Like
some grisly combination of a
boomerang, a bad penny and
Terminator, I’m back! Albeit just
for this 30th anniversary issue.
While preparing for the
dreadful ritual of sitting down
before a blank screen desperately
thinking up what to write, I
unearthed the first issue to grace
my presence, number 5 (August
1988), and a special 10th
anniversary supplement to issue
121. Preserving relics such as
these is useful in sharpening the
perspective you get on the
history and development of the
DAVID ROBINSON PC in this country, and the best
Software and systems developer magazine that reports on it all.
letters@computershopper.co.uk Issue 5 had 128 pages, was
98% monochrome and cost 78p.
Ten years later, issue 121 had an
asking price of £2.25, for which
you got over 1,000 pages and a
CD full of free software; some
useful and some just fluff. It was
almost as though the magazine
was physically mirroring the
performance progress of the
machines we were writing about.
PRIME TIME
In one sense a PC from 1988 was
a pretty primitive thing. The
cheapest offered in issue 5’s
adverts cost £385 plus VAT
(most prices were quoted
Almost all of 1988’s big names in both
hardware and software are long gone
without the twisted tax to make
them look more attractive). For
this, you got Amstrad’s build
quality, a lowly Intel 8088 CPU, a
monochrome monitor, 512KB of
memory and a floppy disk drive
that would hold as much as 1MB.
Bump up the spec to 640KB
of memory, a colour screen and
the luxury of a 20MB hard disk,
and the price almost tripled to
£1,139. And you still had no
software! The market leaders in
the ‘big three’ (word processing,
10
spreadsheet and database) –
WordStar, Lotus 1-2-3 and dBASE
III – together would set you back
another £750 plus VAT. Treat
yourself to a premium brand like
Epson, and the hardware cost
jumps to £2,524. Need to move it
all about? A top-of-the-range
Toshiba T5100 laptop cost £4,319,
or five grand with some programs
to actually make it do something.
The CPI measure of inflation
shows that, in the intervening 30
years, prices have approximately
doubled, so in today’s money the
cheapo Amstrad 1512 would cost
£770 (a higher VAT rate today
pushes the final price to £924),
and the Toshiba an eye-watering
£8,638 without the applications.
According to Auto Trader, I could
buy a new car for that. It’s
amazing that PCs caught on at all.
THOSE WE HAVE LOVED
Interestingly, almost all of 1988’s
big names in both hardware and
software are long gone. Even
Apple was entering its long
winter of despair – not because
its products (principally the Mac)
were crap, but its pricing,
distribution policy and the
attitude that you ‘do it the
Apple way or not at all’ had
turned it into a minority brand
used solely by arty types. The
Apple presence in Shopper was
almost exclusively represented
by the late, lamented manic
MacBiter (Tony Tyler), who had a
devoted following bordering on
the religious. Dear MacBiter
could often write entertainingly
for two whole pages and never
mention a computer once.
At the 10-year anniversary, all
the regular writers from 1988
were still at it, trying to fill the
gaps between the 1,000-plus
pages of glorious technicolour
adverts. All had a very individual
style that set Shopper apart from
the posh glossy mags. The ones I
knew personally were Steve
Baxter, Mike Bedford, Huw
Collingbourne, Mel Croucher, Kay
Ewbank, Graeme Kidd, Matthew
FEBRUARY 2018
YEARS OF
Holbrook, Chris Laing, Paul
Mullen, Bill Poel and Phil South.
Shopper was a monster that, if
you ever finished reading it,
could be used as an exercise aid,
either a stepper or a weight.
In 1988, Microsoft’s market
presence was really only as a
supplier of the operating system
MS-DOS. By 1998, that had all
changed. Somehow it had
survived the awfulness of
Windows 1, 2 & 3, which were
about as reliable as a politician’s
promise, and moved on to
Windows 95, which would
sometimes run all day without
falling over. Word, Excel and
Access had thoroughly kicked
the butts of WordStar, Lotus and
dBASE, and Microsoft was
starting to rule the world.
I PREDICT A RIOT
For the 10th anniversary
supplement, each regular writer
submitted a reflective piece.
Ever the visionary in computing
matters, Bill Poel concluded:
“Outrageous predictions for the
next 10 years? Unix will actually
triumph and open application
technologies based on object
modules will replace proprietary
systems… sell that Microsoft
stock now while you still can.”
Well, he was half right.
Microsoft shares were $12 then
and now trade for a miserable
$84, so no prizes for that one.
But the man in the street
knows not that his Android
phone and tablet is based on the
Unix-derived Linux operating
system, so perhaps Bill deserves
a B+ for clairvoyance.
But, as Jean-Baptiste
Alphonse Karr said, “plus ça
change, plus c’est la même
chose”. Shopper’s back to a
sensible size at 140 pages, the
last of which still bears the wit of
Zygote, aided by Mel Croucher
and Robin Evans. Kay Ewbank’s
still debunking the mysteries of
application software. Long may
it continue. Maybe see you again
in 2028 – all being well.
| COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360
 CYBER INSIDER
Scamming the scammers
Taking on the scammers and wasting their time seems like a good idea, but is it worth
the time and effort? Cyber Insider enjoys a bit of schadenfreude and finds out
THERE’S NOTHING QUITE like
the schadenfreude derived from
an email scammer getting their
comeuppance. Remember that
spate of comedy postings a while
back, such as the one where the
would-be victim convinced his
scammers to go to extraordinary
lengths, such as carving a
Commodore 64 out of wood?
As fun as these were to watch,
the work that went into pulling
them off was not insubstantial.
But what if you could take
yourself out of the equation and
get AI to take over the role of
harassing the fraudsters?
CHATTY MAN
The good news is that you can.
All you have to do is forward a
scam email to Re:scam (me@
rescam.org), powered by New
Zealand-based security firm
Netsafe. A chatbot picks up the
email, uses a proxy email address
(not yours) and starts sending
realistic-looking replies back to
the scammers in an attempt to
waste their time and resources.
It’s not hard to imagine a future where AI scammers are
talking to AI victims in an endless loop
For example, when sent a
‘beneficiary scam’ email (you
know the ones, where you have
to help someone in a foreign land
recover their late husband’s
fortune for a cut of the millions
of dollars), the chatbot replies
with something like this: “Thanks
for getting in touch. I’m sorry to
hear about your late husband. I
struggle with punctuality myself,
and I know how irritating it can
be. This sounds like new territory
for me aye. Before we get the
lawyers involved, would it be a
good idea for me to get some
legal advice?”
From there the bot will ask
questions, throw in jokes,
pretend that email attachments
have got lost and generally be a
12
right royal pain. And the
conversation will be had
indefinitely while the scammer
continues to reply.
By overwhelming the
scammers, there’s a good chance
that the chatbot can suck up
time and prevent someone else
getting scammed. And Re:scam
gets to collect thousands of
messages, giving a clearer
insight into the type of scams
that are most prevalent.
With no human time involved
(at least from the side of the
would-be victims), it’s a neat way
to start combatting the deluge of
scams that we all suffer from.
Yet if AI is smart enough to
reply to messages, it can’t be long
before the scammers turn to
their own chat bots, if it’s not
happening already. Using AI,
scammers could weed out the
replies from people that don’t
look like they’ll take the bait.
Then a real person steps in for
those that look hooked.
It’s not hard to imagine a
future where AI scammers are
talking to AI victims in an endless
loop. Still, for now, Re:scam is a
novel and fun way of making the
scammers suffer.
HELLO, THIS IS LENNY
Many scammers work the
old-fashioned way, calling your
telephone. There’s already a very
simple chatbot to deal with these
cold-callers, in the form of Lenny.
Only available for people and
businesses running the Asterisk
telephony server (there’s a US
number where you can forward
calls, although this can get
expensive), Lenny is a simple AI
bot. It detects silence on the
phone and fires back one of
many pre-recorded and
deliberately vague sentences.
FEBRUARY 2018
Lenny comes across as rather
bumbling, chipping in with things
like “hello, are you there?” and
“sorry, what were you saying?”.
Lenny also has longer sentences
where he rambles on about world
finances, a monologue about how
his daughter is the first to go to
university and, brilliantly, some
confusion as he gets interrupted
by some ducks in the background.
Typically, Lenny can stretch
out a phone call for a good 10
minutes, although he has been
known to push some calls to 20
minutes. Just search YouTube for
‘Lenny call’ to get some of his
highlights. At points, I almost felt
sorry for the cold callers.
It doesn’t seem unreasonable
to think that at some point we’ll
have a similar service more easily
available in the UK, or an app
that can step in and deal with
calls in a similar way.
TIME WASTERS
As surely as Re:scam wastes
scammers’ time, Lenny wastes
the time of cold callers. That
means there are fewer people
they can talk to, which could
even save someone else from
falling victim to their tactics.
Yet all of this ability to
automate annoying those that
deserve it shouldn’t pass without
a warning. First, tools such as
these should be used responsibly.
For example, a genuine marketing
call from a reputable company
shouldn’t be forwarded to Lenny;
instead, you can ask to be
removed from the caller list. You
can also choose to opt out of
marketing phone calls by
registering your phone number
with the telephone preference
service (tpsonline.org.uk). And
genuine emails shouldn’t be sent
on to Re:scam, wasting
someone’s legitimate time.
Provided everyone operates
within those rules, automated
services can hit back at the
scammers for now and take up
their time, all without any risk
to yourself.
| COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360
 RANTS & RAVES
The tech industry unleashed some weird and wonderful products on the world in 2017,
but it’s still unable to produce anything to prevent thieves stealing your car
r
James Arche
LIKE ANY REPUTABLE chicken restaurant chain, KFC will now
sell you a Faraday cage for $10,000. It’s billed as an ‘Internet Escape
Pod’, ostensibly designed to provide sanctuary from the blitz of
Black Friday and Christmas advertising that occurs late every year.
This silvery mesh igloo is a gag. Yet it’s reminded me of the
various weird gadgets that were revealed this past year, either as a
bold prototype or, against the odds and in defiance of sense,
something that made it all the way to market.
Take Razer’s Project Valerie, a gaming laptop equipped with two
additional fold-out screens. This hilariously wide notebook certainly
caught the eye of an unscrupulous CES attendee, who somehow
managed to swipe Razer’s sample off the show floor, from which it
wasn’t seen again until it popped up on a Chinese auction site.
w
David Ludlo
I CAME OUT of my house the other day to find my car door
wasn’t closed properly. This was strange, as I’d definitely
itely closed it
and locked the car the day before. Grabbing the keys, the remote no
longer responded, and jumping in the car, it wouldn’t start.
The light switch had been turned from automatic mode to off, and
the flap for the OBD port (used for diagnostics) was open. My spider
sense was tingling, but at this point I thought the battery was dead.
Out comes the charger. Nothing. I call the breakdown service; the
battery is fully charged. Explaining about the open OBD port, the
guy says, “Someone’s tried to clone your key and steal the car.”
Plugging in his OBD reader, my car fails to respond; the computer
has been corrupted in the attempt to steal the car. I call the BMW
garage and explain the situation. In all likelihood, the fix is to replace
the car access system (CAS) and keys, to the tune of over £1,000.
14
Another
Ano offbeat CES showing was the Spartan
Smart Underwear, which you can buy even if you’re
Sma
not a rich black marketeer. Like the Colonel’s Escape
Pod,
Po these boxer shorts block electromagnetic
waves,
wa but in this case it’s to protect a gentleman’s
reproductive
rep organs from smartphone radiation
rather than silencing push notifications. It sounds like
Silicon
Silico Valley snake oil, but a read of its marketing
blurb (particularly
(pa the fondness for the word ‘nuts’) points
towards a company
co that’s willing to acknowledge its silliness.
Even Shopperr hasn’t escaped: we gave the naff-looking Avegant
Glyph TV goggles four stars, and my only regret as reviews editor is
that I wasn’t around to witness David wearing it in person.
Sadly, for every charming piece of gear, there are about six that
cross the line into mirthless lunacy. The much-maligned Juicero
Press (a $400 contraption for squeezing fruit juice into a glass) was
mercy-killed by its creators, but no doubt we’ll continue to see
similarly over-serious tat well into 2018 and beyond.
Still, I for one appreciate the rise of bonkers hardware that is
either truly ambitious or at least a little bit self-aware. So, to the
dreamers, the madmen and the part-time comedians of the tech
world: I salute you. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
As my car has comfort access (you stand next to it
wit
with the key), the most likely explanation is that the
thieves
thi used an amplifier. One person stands next to
the house to pick up the signal from the key, which
is transmitted to another person standing next to
the car. Once inside, a laptop is plugged into the OBD
port,
por with software attempting to hack the CAS and
create
creat a new key so the car can be driven away. In this
case, eit
either the thieves were interrupted, or the software
corrupted th
the car’s systems. Either way, the car was so dead
that it had to be picked up and put on the back of a truck.
Thieves seem to be one step ahead of car firms such as BMW,
and the fact that they can get into a car without the keys and clone
new ones is terrifying and simply shouldn’t happen. For starters, the
OBD port probably shouldn’t be live if there’s no key in the ignition.
And why not have two-factor authentication on any firmware
updates or attempts to write a new key? Surely, the owner could be
sent a unique one-off code to prevent this kind of attack. Or car
companies could provide a code generator, as banks do, that ships
with the car and is kept securely inside.
The solution, for now, is to wrap the key in tinfoil to prevent it
transmitting, and to use a steering wheel lock. Frankly, that’s
useless, and car security needs to dramatically improve.
FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360
 I WANT TO BE
PROTECTED.
NOW MORE
THAN EVER.

Digital threats are all over the headlines these days, and they
do concern me. I want my computer and personal data to
be secure, and now I have Kaspersky Total Security I feel
protected wherever I connect.

Get protected now at Kaspersky.co.uk

Nothing guarantees complete protection, so please exercise caution online.

© 2017 Kaspersky Lab. All rights reserved. Registered trademarks and service marks and the property of their respective owners.
 AWARDS
2017 ★ ★
★★
★

16 FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360

 T
he Computer Shopper Technology Awards 2017
took place on 15th November in London. The
event, sponsored by AOC and Iiyama, celebrated
the best tech companies and products, and we
gave out 19 coveted Computer Shopper trophies.
The awards shortlist was decided on by the Shopper
team of experts, and we only selected the most highly
rated and top-performing products and vendors, so just
to make the shortlist was a huge achievement and mark
of merit. The winners were then voted for by you, our
readers, so winning an award is a great indication of
excellent customer satisfaction and service.
Here’s the shortlist in full and all the winners,
including a few Highly Commended awards where the
voting was too close to call, and joint winners where the
nominees received the exact same number of reader votes.

BEST STORAGE PRODUCT BEST PC

Samsung 960 Evo Crucial MX300 Palicomp i5 Titanium Yoyotech Warbird RS10v
Adata SV620 Wired2Fire Diablo Nucleus
Kingston SSDNow UV400 Upgrade Kit PC Specialist Apollo K-VR (HIGHLY COMMENDED)
★ Synology DiskStation DS216J (WINNER) ★ Chillblast Fusion Hubble (WINNER)
BEST NETWORKING PRODUCT BEST PC MANUFACTURER
TP-Link Archer VR2600 Netgear Orbi Chillblast Palicomp
Google Wifi BT Whole Home Wi-Fi Scan Cyberpower
★ devolo GigaGate (WINNER) Overclockers Wired2Fire
Yoyotech (HIGHLY COMMENDED)
BEST SMART HOME PRODUCT ★ PC Specialist (WINNER)
Netatmo Presence Nest Cam Outdoor
Amazon Echo Google Home BEST COMPONENT
★ Honeywell Evohome Security (WINNER)) Asus Prime Z270-A MSI B350M Mortar
AMD Ryzen 7 1700 Raspberry Pi Zero W
BEST SPEAKER ★ Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 (WINNER)
UE Wonderboom Steljes Audio Erato
Panasonic SC-All7CD Cambridge Audio TV2 v2 BEST DISPLAY
Wharfedale Diamond A1 Samsung C24FG70FQU Asus VC239H
★ Creative Sound BlasterX Katana (WINNER) Philips Brilliance 258B6QUEB/00
AOC Q2781PQ
BEST HEADPHONES ★ iiyama ProLite XUB2792QSU-B1 (WINNER)
Urbanears Plattan ADV Wireless
Marshall Major II Bluetooth Beats Solo3 Wireless BEST HIGH-RES DISPLAY
★ Bowers & Wilkins P7 Wireless (WINNER) Iiyama G-Master GB2888UHSU Gold Phoenix
AOC Agon AG271UG Samsung CF791
BEST SECURITY PRODUCT ViewSonic XG2700-4K
Symantec Norton Security Deluxe 2017 ★ Philips Brilliance P-Line 272P7 (WINNER)
Trend Micro Maximum Security
Eset Internet Security Yubico YubiKey 4 BEST SPECIALIST RETAILER
ExpressVPN Scan Box
★ Kaspersky Total Security (WINNER) Novatech
★ Overclockers (WINNER) ★ Ebuyer (WINNER)
BEST LAPTOP
Razer Blade Stealth Lenovo Yoga Book BEST PRODUCT 2017
Gigabyte Aero 15 Asus ZenBook 3 Dell XPS 13 Samsung Galaxy S8
Scan 3XS LG15 Carbon G-Sync (HIGHLY COMMENDED) Raspberry Pi Zero W AMD Ryzen 7 1700
★ Dell XPS 13 (2017) (WINNER) Chillblast Fusion Hubble Asus VC239H
ExpressVPN
BEST SMARTPHONE ★ Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 (WINNER)
Motorola Moto Z Play OnePlus 3T
Lenovo P2 Honor 8 Pro
CONGRATULATIO NS TO ALL
MINEES!
LG G6
★ Samsung Galaxy S8 (WINNER)
WINNERS AND NO
OUR

FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISS

ISSUE 360 17

BOOTING UP
1Xbox
Demand for the
One X
Outdoing its main rival, Sony’s
PlayStation Pro, and sure to be a
massive hit this Christmas
2Prince Philip
The Duke of Edinburgh has backed
an online anti-bullying campaign aimed
at young people, 49% of whom are
afraid of going online
3Cyber security studies
The government has launched a
£20m initiative to get schoolchildren
interested in filling the modern skills gap
that is threatening industry
4Mobile phone payments
The number of payments made via
phone has risen by 300%, prompting
many to declare ‘the death of cash’
1 Dodgy devices
Electrical Safety First, the UK’s
electrical safety experts, and FACT, the
intellectual property protection group,
warned that illicit streaming devices are
a threat to your home because many
are poorly made and could be a fire risk
2Trust in sales reps
SugarCRM research has released
research that found that over 50%
of sales reps use Facebook or other
social networking services, to stalk
their prospects
3Female IT workers
Women are reluctant to join an
industry that keeps them in a minority
of 11%. Most girls decide to opt out of
tech studies or careers by the age of 16
4UK workers’
job security
One in seven UK workers
areworried about being
replaced by robots or AI, and
just 29% expect technology
to have a positive impact
on their work
CRASHING
18
Uber paid hackers $100,000 to delete
stolen data
UBER, THE UNDER-FIRE taxi company, has
suffered a massive data breach, with hackers
stealing the personal data of 57 million users.
Even more shockingly, Uber paid the hackers
$100,000 to delete the stolen data in an effort
to keep the breach secret.
The attack took place in October 2016, with
two individuals accessing data that Uber had
stored in a third-party cloud system.
Uber claims no trip location history, credit
card numbers, bank account details, social
security numbers or dates of birth were stolen.
However, the hackers were able to steal the
names and driving licence numbers of around
600,000 Uber drivers in the US, and personal
information from 57 million Uber users.
The company said it had taken action at the
time to close down the unauthorised access. It
also admitted, “We subsequently identified the
individuals and obtained assurances that the
downloaded data had been destroyed”.
The assurances were obtained by Uber
paying the hackers $100,000 to delete the
data; a fee that the company has subsequently
confirmed, following a report by Bloomberg.
Villagers burn BT Openreach effigy to
protest against slow connection speeds
BONFIRE NIGHT IS a British institution, and
one village has turned to BT as the villain of
2017, building a whole effigy of one of its
Openreach vans, and burning it.
Residents of Templeton, Devon, built an
almost perfect replica of the van – changing
its branding from BT Openreach to “Won’t
reach” – to burn as part of their bonfire night
celebrations. This was to protest about the
BT-owned network infrastructure department
not doing enough to improve their paltry
connection speeds.
BT admits that it’s finding the rollout
of fibre to the region “more challenging”
because of its location. The company told
the BBC that it is working hard to find an
Uber has also landed itself in hot water with
the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
“Uber’s announcement about a concealed
data breach last October raises huge concerns
around its data protection policies and ethics,”
James Dipple-Johnstone of the ICO said in a
statement. “Deliberately concealing breaches
from regulators and citizens could attract
higher fines for companies.”
Uber has already been stripped of its licence
in London, with the company branded as not a
‘fit and proper’ private car hire operator. The
firm is currently appealing this decision.
Dara Khosrowshahi, who took over as
Uber’s CEO in August 2017, said: “None of this
should have happened, and I will not make
excuses for it. While I can’t erase the past, I can
commit on behalf of every Uber employee that
we will learn from our mistakes. We’re changing
the way we do business, putting integrity at the
core of every decision we make.”
Uber has said that it has seen no signs of
fraud from the stolen data. It has since
announced the departure of two employees
responsible for handling the 2016 breach.
alternative way to bring faster broadband to
the area. Meanwhile, Templeton resident
Roger Linden suggested that the firm was
badly serving the local community.
Many villagers say that their average speed
equates to around 0.7Mbit/s, meaning they
can’t stream content with services such as
Netflix or BBC iPlayer, and even struggle
simply to browse the internet.
Rural broadband is a big problem in the UK.
In 2015, the government promised to provide
superfast broadband to 95% of the country by
2017; we still haven’t had an update on just
how well that rollout is going, but reports of
the UK having some of the worst broadband
in Europe suggest it’s not going well.
FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360
Security flaws found in smart toys
NEW RESEARCH HAS found that many leading
internet-enabled toys contain security flaws that
allow hackers to talk directly to a child, prompting
calls for retailers to pull affected products from the
shelves before the Christmas rush.
The report, by Which?, the German
consumer group Stiftung Warentest and
a body of security experts, found that
the Furby Connect, i-Que Intelligent
Robot, Toy-Fi Teddy and CloudPets
cuddly toys were all susceptible.
The toys rely on Bluetooth
connections for some features,
including playing custom
messages, but these were found
to have no security, and therefore
could be easily hacked.
The unsecured connections meant researchers
didn’t need a password or a PIN to access the device,
although hackers would need to be within Bluetooth
range of the devices.
The Furby Connect, perhaps the best-known toy
on the list, was found to contain the Bluetooth flaw.
Researchers were able to upload a custom audio file
to the toy, which could be anything given the lack of
restrictions, including inappropriate material.
Furby manufacturer Hasbro told Which? it takes
the report “very seriously”, but claimed the exploits
would require someone to reconfigure the device’s
firmware, which would require expert knowledge.
The Toy-Fi Teddy, which is available from Amazon
and a number of other online retailers, allows
children to send and receive recorded messages
created using a smartphone or tablet app. Hackers
could send their own voice messages to the toy, and ▶ For the den
receive the replies from the child. The 2017 Amazon Fire TV with
It was also discovered that hackers could take 4K UHD isn’t a perfect media
control
contro of the voice unit in CloudPets toys streamer, to be sure – it lacks
that
tha allowed them not only to talk to support for Sky Now TV, for
children,
chi but even issue commands to instance – but otherwise, it’s
a nearby Amazon Echo speaker. a brilliantly
This isn’t the first time CloudPets well-featured
has been accused of failing to protect one, especially
its users. Earlier this year around for just £70.
2 million voice recordings created by Despite having
children and stored on CloudPets shrunk from the
toys
to were leaked online. 2016 model’s box
Spiral Toys, which makes CloudPets shape to a more
and the
th Toy-Fi Teddy, has yet to comment. discreet HDMI
Argos, which sells the Furby Connect and dongle, the internal hardware
I-Que Intelligent Robot, said: “We haven’t received is better and faster than ever,
any complaints about these products, but we are in and the bundled remote’s
close contact with the manufacturers, who are microphone allows for very
already looking into these recommendations.” effective voice control via the
Which? has called for all connected toys with Alexa assistant. There’s a fairly
known privacy or security issues to be taken off sale extensive list of 4K content
before parents begin their Christmas shopping. and streaming services to
Alex Neill, managing director of home products at choose from, and added HDR
Which?, said: “Connected toys are becoming ensures you’ll get the most
increasingly popular, but as our investigation shows, out of a compatible TV.
anyone considering buying one should apply a level (Page 33)
of caution. Safety and security should be the
absolute priority with any toy. If that can’t be
guaranteed, then the products should not be sold.” ▶ For the wallet
Like Amazon’s Echo Dot, the
Google Home Mini is a nifty

17% 25%
way to get a smart speaker in
your home on a budget. While
it can’t learn Skills like Alexa,
the Google Assistant is smarter
out of the box, and can add
voice controls to Chromecast
devices if you’ve got them.
(Page 40)

PROPORTION OF UK OFFICE WORKERS THAT ARE PREPARED Black market passwords that can be
TO PAY £20 ON A COLLEAGUE’S SECRET SANTA GIFT, used to access online accounts,
ACCORDING TO GOOGLE SEARCH TRENDS according to Google Research

2021 €30,000
THE YEAR BY WHICH PHILIP HAMMOND EXPECTS
UNATTENDED DRIVERLESS CARS TO BE CRUISING
ROUND BRITISH STREETS
The amount Microsoft must pay in fines for
not handing over customer access data
▶ For the shelf
Ultrawide monitors can be a
tempting luxury, but beware
with the Acer Predator X34A;
despite being billed as a

m 19
demanded by Belgian authorities
gaming monitor, complete with

£160m
£160
Nvidia G-Sync, it suffers from
input lag that can scupper
you in fast-paced titles. Add in
the fact that it
costs nearly
£900, and
you’re
better off
How much the UK government will spend THE NUMBER OF YEARS IT TOOK LINUX TO looking
to support development of 5G networks DOMINATE THE TOP 500 SUPERCOMPUTER LIST elsewhere.
(Page 32)

ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018 19

 The Faroe Islands
Ewe tube
Google has finally
provided the Faroe
Islands with Street
View imagery, thanks
to cameras mounted to the top of sheep.
The Sheep View campaign was launched in
2016 by Faroe resident Durita Andreassen,
and was quickly picked up by Google. In
August 2016, the firm loaned the Faroese a
Street View Trekker and 360º cameras so that
residents and tourists could assist the sheep
in capturing even more images of the
beautiful archipelago. Images were captured
using selfie sticks, bikes, backpacks, cars,
kayaks, horses, ships and even wheelbarrows.
USA
Samsung turns up the heat
Samsung has returned to the advertising
battleground in its fight against Apple and
the iPhone. Except this time it’s personal: the
firm is lampooning iPhone users and their
reluctance to move to the supposedly more
sophisticated Samsung
Galaxy range of devices.
The ad takes us on a
journey through time,
showing how Samsung’s
hardware has been a step
ahead of Apple: 2010 shows
more storage; 2013 shows a larger screen;
2016 demonstrates waterproofing; and 2017
offers wireless charging and a headphone
jack. It glosses over the exploding Note 7.
20
Czech Republic
Out for the count
A number of websites belonging to the
Czech statistical office have been subjected
to a distributed denial of service (DDoS)
attack during the counting process of the
recent parliamentary elections.
According to the Czech government, the
attack did not affect the counting process,
and the election continued as normal.
A number of other
countries, including
the UK, have
also expressed
concerns about
the manipulation
of elections.
Afghanistan
Crocheting with Bin Laden
The CIA has released the
files stored on Osama Bin
Laden’s computer. In addition
to terrorist manuals and
anti-western propaganda, it turns out he also
played both GTA and Counter-Strike; could
you have played against him online?
Bin Laden was also into anime, with the
entire Devil May Cry series. And it turns out
that he was a fan of the YouTube video
Charlie Bit my Finger, as well as Mr Bean. He
was also into crafts, judging by the number of
instructional crocheting videos. The CIA has
not released any files that breach national
security, copyrighted material or any NSFW
videos and images.
Japan
Barking mad
Sony is to
breathe new
life into Aibo,
its robotic dog. Sony put Aibo to
sleep a decade ago, but is now looking
to reunite it with its old users.
“Today I am pleased to introduce
an entertainment robot… that’s
worthy of love and is a delight to
nurture through emotional
connections with people,” Sony CEO
Kazuo Hirai said. The re-engineered
Aibo comes with AI and cloud tech
that disproves the old adage that you
can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
Australia
Cocka-chew
Cockatoos have wreaked havoc on Australian
communications by chewing through the
cables of the National Broadband Network
(NBN). The company spends thousands of
dollars on patching up chewed cables.
“They are constantly sharpening their
beaks and as a result will attack and tear apart
anything they come across. Unfortunately,
they’ve developed a liking to our cables,” said
Chedryian Bresland of NBN.
“You wouldn’t think it was
possible, but these birds are
unstoppable when in a swarm.
I guess that’s Australia for you:
if the spiders and snakes don’t
get you, the cockies will.”
FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360
 Intel and AMD processor collaboration
Powerful graphics and performance come together from the competitors of old

I DIDN’T THINK INTEL AND

AMD GOT ALONG
Traditionally they don’t, but strange times
make for strange bedfellows, and now
arch-rivals AMD and Intel have joined
forces to co-design an Intel Core
microprocessor with custom Radeon
graphics. For many, this collaboration is
seen as a way of challenging Nvidia.
Naturally, that is not the way that
Intel describes it. Rather, the company
says that AMD was pulled in to help it
create a high-performance CPU with
custom discrete graphics to enable sleeker,
thinner devices that can play games.
There are other benefits, too, with
Intel waving an ecological stick around,
explaining that there is 50% real-time
power saving across the GPU and CPU.
The chip is firmly aimed at the
enthusiast market.

DOES INTEL NEED MORE

GRAPHICAL OOMPH?
Christopher Walker, VP of Intel’s Client
Computing Group, has said that the
current CPU range was lacking. The new chips should be able “Helping to deliver on our vision for
this new class of product, we worked
“As we looked at this line-up, we
recognised an opportunity: thinner, to cope with the latest titles at with the team at AMD’s Radeon
Technologies Group. In close

Full HD resolutions
lighter, more powerful enthusiast
mobile platforms that deliver a
premium experience. Currently, most
enthusiast mobile PCs have Intel Core
H-series processors plus higher-powered discrete graphics, resulting
in systems that average 26mm in height. Compare this to thin and
light laptops that are trending down to 16 mm or less, with some
even as thin as 11 mm,” he explained.
HOW DID INTEL GET AMD TO TAKE PART?
AMD has been a very willing partner, apparently. “Our collaboration
with Intel expands the installed base for AMD Radeon GPUs and
brings to market a differentiated solution for high-performance
graphics,” said Scott Herkelman of AMD Radeon Technologies Group.
“Together we are offering gamers and content creators the
opportunity to have a thinner and lighter PC capable of delivering
discrete performance-tier graphics experiences in AAA games and
content-creation applications. This new semi-custom GPU puts the
performance and capabilities of Radeon graphics into the hands of an
expanded set of enthusiasts who want the best visual experience
possible,” he added.
HOW POWERFUL IS THE NEW CHIP?
Not bad from the sounds of it, not bad at all. What we are looking at is
some of the latest CPU and GPU tech in one neat package. The new
chip merges the latest 8th Gen Intel Core H-Series chip, along with
second-generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM2) and a specially
made third-party discrete graphics chip from AMD.
“It’s a prime example of hardware and software innovations
intersecting to create something amazing that fills a unique market
gap,” enthused Walker.
collaboration, we designed a new
semi-custom graphics chip, which
means this is also a great example of
how we can compete and work together,
ultimately delivering innovation that is good for consumers.”
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN IN REAL TERMS?
Leaked benchmarks have shown that the performance of the chip is
roughly half that of the Xbox One X, so 4K gaming won’t be possible.
But Full HD performance looks good, with the new chips showing that
they should be able to cope with the latest titles at this resolution.
HOW ARE THE CHIPS MADE?
H-Series CPUs will be the first consumer product to take advantage
of Embedded Multi-Die Interconnect Bridge (EMIB), the binding tool
that will let AMD and Intel hardware communicate and work together.
Walker could not be happier about it.
“EMIB is a small, intelligent bridge that allows heterogeneous
silicon to quickly pass information in extremely close proximity.
EMIB eliminates height impact as well as manufacturing and design
complexities, enabling faster, more powerful and more efficient
products in smaller sizes,” he puffed.
The CPU is also the first mobile processor to use HBM2. This
consumes much less power and takes up less space compared to
traditional discrete graphics-based designs using dedicated graphics
memory (see ‘The Data Game’, page 112).
“Some might say the PC market is mature and has been for some
time. At Intel, we challenge that notion every day. We are always
creating new possibilities people haven’t seen or experienced. Look
for more to come in the first quarter of 2018, including systems from
major OEMs based on this exciting new technology,” said Walker.

ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018 21

 SOUND
Amazon launches service that enables
delivery drivers to open your front door BYTES
We built Xbox
FED UP OF those pesky so that you can “watch the One X to give
couriers that wait until you’re delivery happening live”. game creators the most
out before trying to deliver “Amazon Key gives powerful platform to
your package? Amazon thinks customers peace of mind bring their visions to
it may have the answer with knowing their orders have life and to give gamers
its new Amazon Key system, been safely delivered to their the best console to play
which will let its delivery homes and are waiting for the games of the past,
drivers open your front door them when they walk through present and future”
and pop your package in their doors,” said Peter Larsen, Phil Spencer, head of gaming at
when you’re out. vice-president of delivery Microsoft, blows smoke up the
Users that sign up for the technology, Amazon. Xbox One X launch day
service, which is currently “Now, Prime members
only available in the US, pay a hefty $249 up front can select in-home delivery and conveniently see
While it is for
for a smart lock and Cloud Cam security camera. their packages being delivered right from their
political parties
According to Amazon, when a delivery is made the mobile phones.”
courier requests to enter your home with their As upbeat as Amazon was, customers weren’t
and campaigners to
handheld scanner. Amazon’s back-end service quite so keen to have strangers waltz into their
determine how best to
verifies that the package is in the right place, turns homes. According to a survey commissioned by
use the campaign
on the Cloud Cam and unlocks your door. You’ll be Recode, 61% of Americans don’t want the service.
techniques now
sent a notification when the delivery driver arrives No news of a UK launch has been announced. available, our priority
is to make sure that
transparency is
Qualcomm sues Apple over ‘breached’ maintained and to
ensure voters’
mobile chips contract confidence in the
system”
QUALCOMM IS SUING Apple for allegedly failing to and included an Intel engineer in on the query. Bob Posner, the UK Electoral
adhere to the terms it set out for using its licensed Apparently, this isn’t the first time Apple has asked Commission’s director of political
chips in iOS devices, saying the iPhone maker has for a competitor to try to access Qualcomm’s finance and regulation, wants to
used the information it provided to help rival Intel. confidential information. The Cupertino-based know if someone fiddled with the
Brexit vote
The chipmaker filed its lawsuit against the tech company apparently asked another engineer for
giant in San Diego, saying Apple breached the information about data download technology.
contract between the two companies. Apple has previously accused Qualcomm of I fear that AI may
It’s the latest in an ongoing battle between the charging too much for its patented technology, but replace humans
two companies over licensing fees that Apple the chipmaker retaliated by saying that Apple is altogether. If people
purportedly hasn’t paid Qualcomm, despite the lying to regulators to get out of paying the full fees. design computer
smartphone, tablet and computer manufacturer There are rumours Apple could drop Qualcomm viruses, someone will
using the chips as an integral part in its devices. chips from its devices now the company has design AI that improves
Qualcomm’s chips are present in a large number reportedly stopped providing some of the software and replicates itself.
of iPhones, but Apple has started using Intel chips in needed for the tech manufacturer to test its devices. This will be a new form
some models of its iPhone to carry out the same job. The chipmaker said this wasn’t the case, though. of life that outperforms
Now Qualcomm has accused Apple of allowing “We are committed to supporting Apple’s new humans”
Intel access to its software secrets, after Apple devices consistent with our support of all others in Stephen Hawking warns people
reportedly requested information from Qualcomm the industry,” Qualcomm said. about robots again

‘Adversarial objects’ used to trick Google’s AI Tech has the

capacity to
IF IT LOOKS like a turtle and walks like a Goo
Google’s public object detection algorithms, destroy us.We see the
turtle… it’s a gun, says Google’s AI. how
however, it looks like a rifle. negative effect of
Researchers at MIT have managed to “Our work demonstrates that social media. And no
trick image recognition algorithms into adversarial examples are a significantly ethical considerations
incorrectly identifying objects. larger problem in real-world systems are going into dev of
In the past, ‘adversarial images’ have than previously thought,” said tech.You can’t put this
been created. With these pictures, noise the researchers. stuff back in the box.
and patterns are deliberately added to a The findings raise big concerns over Once it’s out there, it’s
2D picture to fool AI. Simply rotating or the future of AI to detect threats. A turtle out there. And there
cropping an image can spoil the effect, so the MIT incorrectly being detected as a gun might set off a are no guardians. It’s
researchers went one step further and created false alarm; a gun disguised to look like an umbrella terrifying. The end”
3D-printed objects to fool the algorithms. to AI could slip past security undetected. Silicon Valley star Kumail Nanjiani
The turtle looks like a turtle to the human eye, Google has said that it’s already looking at these doesn’t like what he sees in the
albeit one with a slightly psychedelic shell; to techniques itself as it looks to boost its AI. tech industry

22 FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360


Computer Shopper
In the words of our founder, Felix Dennis
BACK IN 2007, I’d taken over the reigns of
Computer Shopper just in time for its 20th
birthday. My big idea was to get the back
story behind the magazine, written by the
man who started it all and the owner of
Dennis Publishing, Felix Dennis.
What followed was some of the most
entertaining, thoughtful and insightful copy
I’d seen. It also captured how warmly Felix
thought of the magazine he’d launched.
Now, 10 years on, it’s time to reprint the
original story in Felix’s own words. With the
magazine continuing to evolve, I’m sure Felix
would be as proud today of the magazine as
he was back then. It’s also a fitting reminder
of Felix, who died in 2014 but will have a
lasting legacy through the Heart of England
Forest charity (www.heartofenglandforest.
com) that he founded, and which now, via
Dennis Publishing, owns this very magazine.
David Ludlow, editor, 2007-2013
THE STORY BEHIND SHOPPER,
BY FELIX DENNIS
Just over 20 years ago, Dennis Publishing was
a small but thriving company with a
motorcycle magazine, a hi-fi magazine, a
number of one-shot publishing ventures and a
toehold in personal computer magazines.
To be strictly accurate, we had been the
publisher of Europe’s first PC magazine,
Personal Computer World, which I had already
I stood on the chair and began banging the top of the
managing director’s head with this brick of a magazine
sold for a small fortune to VNU. The only
other thing that set Dennis Publishing apart
from its rivals was our presence in America.
I first came across Computer Shopper in
the most bizarre environment – I was at a
personal computer show for Apple’s new
Macintosh in San Francisco. While wandering
around one of the less salubrious areas of that
extraordinary city, I came across a small street
with scores of newsstand vending machines
selling magazines of, shall we say, a highly
dubious nature to the gay community. These
magazines, of course, interested me not a
whit, but plonked in among them was a
machine selling an odd title called Computer
Shopper. Fortunately, I had some change in my
ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018
pocket, and I purchased one. I read it in my
hotel room and then promptly forgot all about
it – it was a pretty thin magazine back then.
A year or so later
my American partner,
Robert Bartner, began
nagging me to consider
publishing something
like Computer Shopper
in the UK. I obtained a
copy and was astonished
to see the degree to which
the magazine had grown in
the US – there seemed to
be hundreds and hundreds
of pages of advertising,
along with a great deal of
useful editorial.
On my return to the UK, I nagged Dennis
Publishing’s managing director, Stephen
England, in turn. However, neither he nor his
colleagues appeared to be very interested.
Eventually, Robert Bartner sent me the
largest issue of a magazine I have ever held in
my hands, which was, of course, the latest
edition of the American Computer Shopper.
I called a board meeting and waited while
everyone seated themselves around the
table. I then took a chair and placed it next to
Stephen England, stood on the chair and
began banging the top of his head with this
brick of a magazine. While doing this, I ranted
and raved at the appalled and ashen-faced
managers sitting around our rickety table:
“DO THIS NOW! I am not asking you, I am
telling you. DO THIS NOW!”
While Stephen created a team to
investigate the possibility of launching
Computer Shopper in England, I flew to
America. I had just sold the North American
rights to a magazine I had launched called
MacUser to Bill Ziff of Ziff-Davis for an
astronomical sum, so we had plenty of money
to consider launching Computer Shopper in the
UK. To my amazement I was contacted by
Glenn Patch of Patch Communications, the
owner and publishers of the US edition of
Computer Shopper. He was anxious to sell his
YEARS OF
own magazine to Ziff-Davis and
wondered if I would help him by
sharing the details of my negotiations
with Bill during the sale of MacUser.
AD ENOUGH
After consulting my lawyers, I flew to
Titusville, Florida, to meet up with Glenn and
his colleagues. The offices of Computer
Shopper there were extraordinary, filled to
capacity with people selling advertising. I had
never seen anything like it in my life before.
Fortunately, Glenn and I came to an
arrangement where, in exchange for me
providing background information to assist
him in his negotiations with Ziff-Davis, Glenn
promised to “look the other way” while I
launched Computer Shopper covertly in Britain.
This we did and the rest is history. Ziff-Davis
were certainly not best pleased to discover
that they didn’t have the right to publish
Computer Shopper in the UK because I had
gazumped them, but they soon got over that.
The British edition of Computer Shopper
broke several records in the UK magazine
industry. At least one edition contained over
1,000 pages of advertisements, and we were
contacted by the Post Office (Royal Mail as
it’s known now) and warned that if Computer
Shopper became any bigger their postmen
(there were no postwomen at that time!)
would refuse to deliver it because the
magazine was injuring their backs and wrists
during the delivery process!
I am immensely proud of Computer Shopper
and especially proud of the standard of
editorial excellence to which it has clung like a
limpet for 20 years. It is one of the most loved
magazines in Britain, and Dennis Publishing is
mighty proud to be its publisher.
23
 REVIEWS
YOUR TRUSTED GUIDE TO WHAT’S NEW
LGA 1151 PROCESSOR
INTEL Core i5-8600K
★★★★★
£285 • From www.ebuyer.com
VERDICT
It’s not as fast as we hoped at stock speeds, but the
Core i5-8600K’s six cores take very well to overclocking
THE PAST FEW months in the desktop CPU
market have been the most interesting in
years. AMD finally made itself relevant
again with the Ryzen 7, 5 and 3 lines, as well
as the more enthusiast-focused Threadripper.
Intel, whose laurel-resting was evident in
the underwhelming Kaby Lake generation,
responded with a range of premium
Kaby Lake-X and Skylake-X chips that
were so expensive that they were out of
most people’s reach.
Not long after, Intel came up with even
more surprises. First, its 8th-gen line-up
would include not just the main 14nm Coffee
Lake chips, but a series of updated ‘Kaby
Lake refresh’ parts and even some 10nm
Cannonlake designs. Second, the Coffee Lake
Core series would be receiving an extra two
cores across the board – so the successors to
7th-gen dual-core chips would be 8th-gen
quad-core chips, and so on.
Hence, we have the Core i5-8600K, the
headliner of Intel’s latest mid-range Coffee
Lake CPUs. It replaces the Kaby Lake Core
i5-7600K, and since that was a quad-core
24
chip, this new
part comes with six
cores. Again, there’s no
Hyper-Threading support, so it has
six threads as well. The trade-off initially
appears to be per-core speeds: the Core
i5-8600K has a base clock speed of 3.6GHz, a
slight drop from the i5-7600K’s 3.8GHz,
although maximum Turbo Boost speeds have
increased a tad, from 4.2GHz to 4.3GHz.
LIQUID’S IN
Since the extent to which Turbo Boost can
increase clock speeds is dependent on
thermal headroom, sufficient CPU cooling is,
therefore, more important than ever,
especially since Intel has crammed the extra
cores on to a processor that’s physically
no larger than its Kaby Lake predecessor.
Indeed, it slots into the very same LGA 1151
socket, though the new Z370 chipset
means that you’ll need to purchase a new
motherboard regardless.
We tested the Core i5-8600K with a
Cooler Master MasterLiquid Pro 240
watercooler, along the with usual 8GB
of DDR4 RAM. Running our 4K
application benchmarks at stock
speeds, it scored 141 in the image test,
159 in the video test, 116 in the
multitasking test and 134 overall.
That’s a minor improvement over
the Core i5-7600K on the whole,
and we were expecting better
from such a drastic design
overhaul. The multitasking score
is particularly disappointing; this
is where Coffee Lake’s added
cores should shine, but the
Core i5-8600K score sits far
behind that of its hexa-core
Ryzen rivals. The Ryzen 5
1600X (Shopper 357), for
example, managed 209 in
the multitasking test (186 overall), while
the cheaper, less boost-able Ryzen 5 1600
scored 197 (174 overall).
Intel’s chip beats both these AMD
alternatives in the image test, suggesting that
the tactic of adding cores hasn’t compromised
Intel’s historically superior single-core
performance too much. That said, it isn’t any
better than the Ryzen 5 1600X for gaming,
judging by our gaming benchmarks. With a
Radeon R7 260X graphics card, our Coffee
Lake-powered PC setup produced 84fps in
Dirt Showdown running at 1,920x1,080
with Ultra settings, and 25fps in Metro:
Last Light Redux with the same resolution
and Very High settings. Both scores are
identical to the Ryzen 5 1600X.
Since the R7 260X is an old card, we also
ran the same tests with a 6GB Nvidia GeForce
GTX 1060, which is the kind of GPU you’d
much more likely want to pair with a Core
i5-8600K these days. Still, the only opening-
up of performance differences happened
in AMD’s favour: the Intel-based setup
produced 111fps in Dirt Showdown, which
was again identical to the 1600X, and 41fps
in Metro: Last Light Redux, which is 9fps
less than the Ryzen. The biggest letdown
comes when comparing the i5-8600K to the
Core i5-7600K, which did better in both
games with the GTX 1060 by up to 14fps.
UHD-ENIED
This is particularly saddening knowing that
the Core i5-7600K, like the Skylake Core
i5-6500K before it, had a well-earned
reputation as the best gaming CPU (in terms
FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360
of price versus performance) you could buy.
Higher-end chips, such as the Core i7-7700K,
could wring a few extra frames out, especially
with premier graphics cards, but was a lot more
expensive for such small gains. The Core
i5-8600K seems to break this tradition, arguably
leaving its 7th-gen precursor as the optimal
mid-range chip for gaming.
On the subject of graphics, Intel has
rebranded its integrated GPU as Intel UHD
Graphics 630, to reflect the fact that it can now
natively support 4K Ultra HD content, as well as
HDR. However, we had serious problems with it.
Even with Intel’s latest drivers installed, the
integrated graphics defaulted to the wrong
resolution and aspect ratio for our 4K monitor
and, surprisingly, couldn’t even get to the main
menu of Dirt Showdown before crashing (we
usually test CPU graphics with a 720p test).
The Core i5-8600K desperately needs a saving grace.
Luckily for Intel, it has one: this is an absolutely
fantastic CPU for overclocking
Hiccups can often happen with the pre-
production engineering samples Intel sends
out to reviewers, but the lack of reliability
and stability is concerning even if this isn’t
an accurate representation of UHD Graphics
630’s performance.
ON THE UP AND UP
The Core i5-8600K, as you can probably tell
by now, desperately needs a saving grace.
Luckily for Intel, it has one: this is an absolutely
fantastic CPU for overclocking.
There’s no Ryzen Master-style software
utility for making overclocking accessible to the
masses, but like all K-series chips, it can be done
in the motherboard’s UEFI BIOS easily enough.
We attained a sizable speed increase to 5GHz,
using the same MasterLiquid Pro 240 cooler,
and this proved as stable as if it had been set
straight out of the box.
Best of all, it had a remarkable effect on
the Core i5-8600K’s benchmark scores.
Image and video test results shot up to 168
and 172 respectively, and its multitasking test
score practically exploded, reaching 200.
With an overall score of 185, an overclocked
Core i5-8600K finally gets on an equal footing
with the Ryzen 5 1600X.
AMD’s chip is a bit of an odd one when it
comes to overclocking: we’ve seen it score 217
overall when running at 3.8GHz in the Wired2Fire
Pyro Reactor, but when we pushed it to 4GHz in
our test PC, it actually scored worse than at base
speeds, despite temperatures staying low.
If only such vast performance gains were
applied to gaming as well. Sadly, even at 5GHz, all
but one of our gaming tests (on both graphics
cards) put out the same frame rate as when the
processor was running at stock speeds, the
exception being Dirt Showdown with the GTX
1060. Here, it gained a hardly transformative 2fps.
ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018
Still, there are other impressive aspects to
the Core i5-8600K, mainly its firm grasp on
temperatures. Back on stock speeds, we recorded
idle temperatures around 30°C, rising to 50 to
54°C under the heavy load of our 4K
benchmarks, with a peak of 59°C. All three are
slightly lower, by about 4 to 5°C, than we’re
used to seeing from Intel CPUs, and the same is
true of both the Ryzen 5 1600X and the 1600.
After we applied the 5GHz overclock, it
typically idled at 37°C, which isn’t too bad at all.
Load temperatures varied but generally stayed
within the 70 to 80°C range, and the highest
peak we recorded was 85°C. Again, these are
good showings for a heavily overclocked CPU
on an all-in-one cooler; after the toasty Kaby
Lake Core i7-7700K and the addition of 50%
more cores, we were worried, but the Core
i5-8600K is as cool as we’d like.
Energy consumption is slightly up, from 91W
TDP on the Core i5-7600K to 95W here, but
that’s not particularly surprising given the switch
to six cores. It’s not a losing number either, as the
Ryzen 5 1600X is rated at the very same 95W.
SEVEN ATE FIVE
Ultimately, Intel’s top mid-ranger is saved
from likely uselessness by its overclocking
potential. Its Ryzen foes may outpace it at
stock speeds, but the Ryzen 5 line-up in
particular struggles to take such ambitious
boosts. With the Coffee Lake CPU’s very
manageable temperatures, it’s a good choice
for those who wish to learn their way around
the advanced mode of a BIOS.
However, there is one more issue here: the
price of £285. This isn’t unreasonable for a
new, mid-range, hexa-core desktop chip, but for
that money you could get an octa-core Ryzen 7
1700 (Shopper 353), never mind the Ryzen 5
1600X. AMD’s octa-core, 16-thread chip is also
overclocker-friendly, and performs as well at
base speeds as the Core i5-8600K does at 5GHz.
If you’ve got the cash, go for that, though
dedicated gamers can save some money by
sticking with the older Core i5-7600K.
James Archer
SPECIFICATIONS
• •
SOCKET LGA 1151 CORES 6 FREQUENCY (BOOST) 3.6GHz
•
(4.3GHz) INTEGRATED GRAPHICS Intel UHD Graphics 630 •
•
WARRANTY Three years RTB DETAILS www.intel.com •
PART CODE BX80684I58600K
Windows overall 134
Multitasking 116
84fps
Dirt Showdown
0% -50 Reference +50 +100
See page 72 for performance details
 DESKTOP GAMING PC
PALICOMP AMD Galaxy
★★★★★
£1,300 • From www.palicomp.co.uk
VERDICT
Stuffed with high-end components, the potent AMD
Galaxy is worth both the money and the noise
THE AMD RYZEN 7 1700 is a fantastic
octa-core CPU, yet we haven’t seen any PCs
that use it. Palicomp’s AMD Galaxy finally adds
one to the list, overclocking (as is the norm for
premium Palicomp systems) the Ryzen chip
from 3.0GHz to 3.8GHz – an ambitious boost
that has also has required a 240mm Auraflow
all-in-one watercooler to be fitted.
There’s also an 8GB GeForce GTX 1070
graphics card, making the AMD Galaxy look a
very attractive prospect: a combined 4K-ready
gaming rig and straight-faced workstation, all
for a relatively reasonable £1,300.
DOING DOING DONE
It got off to a great start in our 4K tests. The
overclocked CPU does some heavy lifting and,
with a generous 16GB of DDR4 RAM, it scored
149 in the image test, 273 in the video test and
a spectacular 328 in the multitasking test, for
280 overall. You can get better single-core heft
for about the same cash, but for multithreaded
work, the AMD Galaxy is a powerhouse.
It also makes good on the promise of 4K
gaming. In Dirt Showdown, on Ultra settings, it
produced a velvety 153fps at 1,920x1,080, 138fps
at 2,560x1,440 and 79fps at 3,840x2,160, so for
older or less demanding titles, it’s more than
enough for smooth play at any resolution.
Metro: Last Light Redux is a different story:
the AMD Galaxy’s 72fps at 1,920x1,080 is fine,
as is its 42fps at 2,560x1,440, but at 4K, it sank
to 19fps. Still, there’s not a GPU in existence
that can handle this game, at this resolution,
with only a single-card configuration, so that’s
fair enough. More importantly, it doesn’t take
26
any big sacrifices to get it running
much better; by switching to the
High preset and disabling SSAA,
which is hardly useful at 4K anyway,
the frame rate improved to 52fps.
We haven’t tested any similarly
specced PCs for a while, so comparisons are
tricky. The discontinued Yoyotech Blackbox SP
(Shopper 356) managed a handful of extra
frames per second in our gaming tests, even
though it paired its GTX 1070 with a lower-end
CPU, the Intel Core i5-7600K. But the AMD
Galaxy is £350 cheaper than the Blackbox SP
was at launch, so would be much better value.
Palicomp’s PC also breezes through virtual
reality, with a score of 10.9 in the SteamVR
Performance Test. While this isn’t the perfect
11 we usually see from this GPU, the difference
is so small it’s effectively meaningless.
END OF THE RAINBOW
Everything is housed in a tasteful Phanteks
Eclipse P300 chassis. The tempered glass side
panel gives a clear view into the impressively
tidy main chamber, and while there’s a lot of
pulsing, multicoloured lighting – on the cooler
pump, the graphics card and an added strip in
the rear-left corner – it’s all RGB, so you can
use various software applications to set
whatever colour or colours you like.
The Eclipse P300 is short on upgrade
potential, though. There’s only room for one
additional 2.5in and 3.5in drive each, unless
you buy another 2.5in mounting kit, and it’s
outright impossible to fit a 5.25in optical drive.
At least you won’t need to make any
storage updates for a while. One of the
motherboard’s two M.2 slots is filled
with a 256GB NVMe SSD, the main
drive, and you also get a huge 2TB
hard disk to hold other large files or
applications. The SSD is brilliantly
quick, too: using the AS benchmark,
we recorded a sequential read speed
of 2,400.96MB/s and a sequential
write speed of 1,392.04MB/s.
The motherboard also supplies a
healthy number of expansion slots
and rear external ports. On the
inside, there are three PCI-E x16 slots
with two-way SLI support, another
three PCI-E x1 slots (though one is
covered up the GTX 1070), plus four
RAM slots with two going spare. On
the outside, seven full-size USB3.1
ports – more than enough for most
users – are complemented by a USB
Type-C port and S/PDIF, C/SUB and rear
speaker outputs, alongside the standard line
out, mic and headphone jacks.
Displays are taken care of by two HDMI
and four DisplayPort outputs, and there’s also
a dual-link DVI-D slot. A single PS/2 port and
Gigabit Ethernet connector round things off,
not forgetting the two USB3 ports at the front
of the case, for a little extra convenience.
ROAR BRINGER
The AMD Galaxy is very nearly a slam-dunk
purchase, but unfortunately there are some
rough edges. Chiefly, the fans on both the
watercooler’s 240mm radiator and on the
graphics card can get very loud, peaking with
some truly off-putting whirring in – of all things
– Dirt Showdown. We also initially couldn’t set
our display resolution to 2,560x1,440 in either
Windows or our benchmark games, despite it
being supported by our monitor. After a
fruitless driver update we fixed this by creating
a ‘custom’ resolution in Nvidia Control Panel,
but it was an annoyance nonetheless.
These niggles hold the AMD Galaxy back
from full marks, but at least you can fix them
or drown them out with a decent headset.
Otherwise, this PC presents good value for
the performance you’re getting, whether it’s
from the CPU, graphics card or storage.
James Archer
SPECIFICATIONS
PROCESSOR 3.8GHz AMD Ryzen 7 1700 • RAM 16GB DDR4 •
FRONT USB PORTS 2x USB3 • REAR USB PORTS 7x USB3.1,
• GRAPHICS CARD 8GB Gigabyte GeForce GTX
1x USB Type-C
• STORAGE 256GB SSD, 2TB hard disk •
1070 G1 Gaming 8G
DISPLAY None • OPERATING SYSTEM Windows 10 Home •
WARRANTY Three years RTB • DETAILS www.palicomp.co.uk
• PART CODE RYZ2
Windows overall 280
Multitasking 328
Dirt Showdown 153fps
Metro: Last Light 72fps
0% -50 Reference +50 +100
See page 72 for performance details
FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360
DESKTOP GAMING PC
PC SPECIALIST Enigma K6
★★★★★
£779 • From www.pcspecialist.co.uk
VERDICT
A respectable all-rounder with plenty of room for upgrades and additions
THE ENIGMA K6 seems quite expensive for
an Intel Core i3-based system, but there are
two good reasons for that.
First, it has a brand new Coffee Lake CPU,
the Core i3-8100. It could be argued that
lower-end chips such as this stand to gain the
most from Intel’s core-adding strategy; the
Core i3-8100 now has four, a full doubling of
the core count on its dual-core Kaby Lake
predecessor, the Core i3-7100. It comes with
the trade-off of a slightly lower clock speed
– 3.6GHz, from 3.9GHz – and a higher 65W
TDP, but having twice the cores is no joke.
Second, this PC is equipped with the best
mid-range gaming GPU around, the GeForce
GTX 1060, and it’s the full 6GB VRAM version.
Since most Core i3 systems go with either an
entry-level graphics card or no graphics card
at all, this pushes the price up in comparison,
but then again we’re struggling to think of
many other PCs that manage to include the
GTX 1060 and stay this far below a grand.
SMASHING THE BOTTLENECK
The usual problem with pairing a low-end CPU
with a powerful GPU is that the former can
limit the latter. Happily, this doesn’t seem to
be the case with the Enigma K6. Running Dirt
Showdown on Ultra quality, the GTX 1060
didn’t seem held back at all, scoring 120fps
at 1,920x1,080, 100fps at 2,560x1,440 and
55fps at 3,840x2,160. This is about dead
even with what the £999 Wired2Fire Pyro
Reactor (Shopper 358) achieved, and that
combined its own 6GB GTX 1060 with a
hexa-core 3.8GHz Ryzen 5 1600X – the king
of AMD’s mid-range CPU line-up.
ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018
The same was true in Metro: Last
Light Redux, where the Enigma K6
produced 51fps at 1,920x1,080, 30fps at
2,560x1,440 and 13fps at 3,840x2,160; all
good showings, though we’d recommend
turning off SSAA at 1440p, as this
improved the frame rate to 56fps. At 4K,
further concessions were necessary to
get things running smoothly, and we
settled on Medium quality (down from
Very high) with SSAA off, which resulted
in 52fps. Again, we’d expect these kinds
of performances from the GTX 1060, though
not necessarily with a Core i3 in charge.
Clearly, then, this chip is a big step up
from the Core i3-7100. To fully measure the
improvement, we turned to our 4K application
benchmarks, which would strain both the
processor and the 8GB of DDR4 RAM.
QUAD HIKE
Having an extra two cores, unsurprisingly,
meant that the heavily multithreaded video
and multitasking tests saw the biggest gains,
with scores of 109 and 106 respectively. The
Enigma K6’s image test score of 103 is
remarkably similar what we’ve seen from Core
i3-7100 PCs – the Wired2Fire Diablo Vertext
(Shopper 354) got 104 – but then this can
easily be pinned on the reduced clock speed.
Overall, the Enigma K6 scored 106, indicating
that the Core i3-8100 is about as capable as
the 7th-gen Intel Core i5-7500, which is a
commendable achievement in itself.
Nonetheless, Intel isn’t just competing with
itself, and neither is this PC. The Enigma K6 is
firmly beaten in our benchmarks by the
Overclockers Titan Merlin (Shopper 356),
which takes advantage of its
Ryzen 5 1400 to score 122 overall.
Its 4GB Asus ROG Strix RX 570
OC GPU also keeps it just a few
frames behind the Enigma K6 in
games, and since this particular
spec has dropped to £795, it’s not
a great deal more expensive.
The mid-tower PC used here is
a lot more upgradable than the
compact Titan Merlin, though. Its
stack of drive cages (including
three 3.5in bays, six 3.5in bays
and two 2.5in bays) and full-size
ATX motherboard are big
advantages for budding modders,
with special mention going to the
two M.2 slots on the latter. As the
Enigma K6 eschews SSD storage
in favour of a cheaper 1TB SSHD
hybrid drive, you can use one of the M.2 slots
to add an Intel Optane drive, which is a
relatively cheap method of granting near-
NVMe speeds to slow mechanical storage.
Clear plastic side window aside, this isn’t
the best-looking PC you can buy (the front
panel is especially over-designed), so it’s good
that the chassis is as functional and flexible as
it is. You even get a two-speed fan switch at
the top, next to two USB2 ports and an extra
USB3 port. These themselves are great
additions, as the rear I/O panel is a bit lacking,
with just two USB2 and four USB3 ports.
EXTENSION WORK
As much as we’ve focused on the Enigma K6’s
processor, the choice between this and the
Titan Merlin comes down to whether you’re
interested in making customisations in the
future. Out of the box, the Titan Merlin is a
classier PC with more processing power, which
is a convincing consolation for its single-digit
frames-per-second deficit in games.
With the Enigma K6, though, there’s much
greater scope for adding storage, upgrading
cooling, and generally making it your own.
On these grounds, it’s still a good purchase.
James Archer
SPECIFICATIONS
• RAM
PROCESSOR Quad-core 3.6GHz Intel Core i3-8100
8GB DDR4 • FRONT USB PORTS 2x USB2, 1x USB3 • REAR
USB PORTS 2x USB2, 4x USB3 • GRAPHICS CARD 6GB
GeForce GTX 1060 • STORAGE 1TB SSHD • DISPLAY None
• OPERATING SYSTEM Windows 10 Home • WARRANTY
Three years labour, including one year parts and one month
collect and return • DETAILS www.pcspecialist.co.uk •
PART CODE Enigma K6
Windows overall 106
Multitasking 106
Dirt Showdown 120fps
Metro: Last Light 51fps
0% -50 Reference +50 +100
See page 72 for performance details
27
 12.3in CHROMEBOOK
GOOGLE Pixelbook
★★★★★
£999 • From store.google.com
VERDICT
A beautifully designed laptop with plenty of
power, but it could be more flexible
THE GOOGLE PIXELBOOK elicits gasps of
appreciation when people first set their eyes
on it. It’s a staggering bit of work, just 10.3mm
thick with a distinctive profile. Make no
mistake: this is a highly desirable laptop.
There’s not much room on a chassis this
thin, so you get just two USB Type-C ports.
They’re Thunderbolt 3 models, though, so can
be used with converters to hook up the
Pixelbook to an external screen.
The Pixelbook will also elicit gasps when
the price is revealed: a starting price of £999
puts this firmly into premium Windows 10
laptop territory, yet this is a Chromebook.
Aren’t they supposed to be cheap?
Clearly, Google is trying to raise the profile
of Chromebooks, and the Pixelbook redefines
what you can expect from the devices. Gone
are the days of Chromebooks being budget
laptops with limited use, as the Pixelbook
expands what these computers are capable of.
APPY DAYS
Since Chromebooks first went on sale, times
have changed. Whereas the reliance on
Chrome apps and web services used to be
a limitation, that’s not the case any more.
Just think how many services you use purely
online, and you’ll probably be surprised at
how few desktop apps you use.
The core component of a Chromebook is
Google Drive. It’s now a powerful and flexible
office suite, with amazing collaboration
features and a great offline mode.
But there are always going to be times
when the web doesn’t quite cut it, which
is why the Pixelbook (and some other
Chromebooks) now support the Google Play
Store, so that you can install Android apps.
This massively expands the range, whether
you want to run Office 365 or Adobe’s
cloud-based Lightroom CC for photo editing.
Mobile app support turns the Pixelbook into a
full-on iPad Pro competitor, too.
The big difference is that ChromeOS
handles Android apps in a better way than the
iPad Pro handles its apps: with ChromeOS,
you can run apps in windows, resizing them
to fit your screen and working patterns.
28
The increased amount of storage (128GB,
256GB or 512GB options) makes a lot of sense,
as you can download all the apps you need and
still have enough room for the files you create.
There are limitations to this approach,
though. The biggest is that many Android
apps aren’t as accomplished as their Windows
counterparts. It can be hard to get files into
them; copying photos on to the Pixelbook and
making them available to the Android version
of Photoshop is far harder than doing the
same thing in Windows, for example.
Second, there just aren’t Android versions
of some apps. If you use a particular app on
Windows, you could be disappointed by the
move to ChromeOS.
HARDWARE HEAVEN
Aside from these limitations, there’s a lot to
like about the Pixelbook, and its usability lives
up to its looks. For starters, the keyboard is
one of the best we’ve used on a mobile device.
Although the flat keys don’t have a lot of
travel, they provide just the right amount of
feedback to let you know when you’ve
correctly hit a key. We were tapping away at
full speed straight away.
The touchpad is a thing of beauty, too.
In fact, we’d go as far as saying that it has
MacBook levels of usability and
responsiveness. That’s high praise indeed.
Thanks to Chromebooks’ low power
requirements, the dual-core Core i5-7Y57
processor has more than enough power, and it
uses Hyper-Threading to add two more virtual
cores. Combined with 8GB of RAM on the
entry-level model, everything just flies on this
laptop: our usual 4K benchmarking software
isn’t compatible with ChromeOS, but
anecdotally, it’s quick to boot, fast to use, and
Android apps have never felt so responsive.
Battery life is good, too. Google quotes up
to 10 hours on a single charge. We managed
to get 8h 25m of video playback, which is
impressive; if you’re mostly web browsing
and using work apps, you’ll get close to
Google’s quoted level.
Google has used a 12.3in screen with
a resolution of 2,400x1,600. Everything
looks incredibly sharp and detailed on this
screen, and it’s up there with the best displays
on Windows laptops. We measured the
display as capable of producing a healthy
96.3% of the sRGB colour gamut.
There’s a nifty trick to this screen: it
rotates all the way back and sits flush with the
Pixelbook’s rear, turning it into a tablet. With
its responsive touchscreen, you’ve essentially
got an Android tablet when you want it, too.
For an optional £99, you can buy the
Pixelbook Pen, so you can tap and draw in
apps, too. The pen works brilliantly and is up
there with the Apple Pencil. There’s only one
drawback: the stylus is powered by a AAA
battery, rather than having an internal battery.
PRIME TIME
With the Pixelbook, Google shows that
ChromeOS is almost there as a top-tier
operating system. Supporting Android apps
is a big step forward, making the Pixelbook
far more useful than its predecessors.
Indeed, for a lot of people, the Pixelbook
may provide everything that you need in a
smoother, neater package than a Windows
10-based computer.
But as we’ve seen with the iPad Pro, there
are occasions where you suddenly find that
you can’t do something and need a ‘real’
Windows or macOS computer with a greater
choice of applications. Still, if ChromeOS and
the range of Android applications suit your
needs, the Pixelbook is a slick, beautiful and
flexible laptop that you’ll love using.
David Ludlow
SPECIFICATIONS
PROCESSOR Dual-core 3.3GHz Intel Core i5-7Y57 RAM •
•
8GB DIMENSIONS 290x220x10.3mm WEIGHT 1.1kg • •
•
SCREEN SIZE 12.3in SCREEN RESOLUTION 2,400x1,600 •
GRAPHICS ADAPTOR Intel HD Graphics 615 TOTAL •
•
STORAGE 256GB SSD OPERATING SYSTEM Chrome OS •
•
WARRANTY Two years RTB DETAILS store.google.com •
PART CODE Pixelbook
Battery life 8h 25m
0% -50 Reference +50 +100
See page 72 for performance details
FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360
BEND YOUR REALITY
AG352UCG AG352QCX
 BUDGET WINDOWS 10 2-IN-1
LINX 12X64
★★★★★
£250 • From www.amazon.co.uk
VERDICT
It’s not powerful, but with a Full HD display
and bundled keyboard, the 12X64 is a bargain
TWO-IN-ONE laptops are proving to be
increasingly popular, but most tend to be
pretty pricey. Not so with the Linx 12X64, a
Windows 10 tablet with a bundled detachable
keyboard and a 12.5in Full HD multitouch
display that costs just £250.
The design is uninspiring: the Linx’s hard
plastic shell is bland and nowhere near as
attractive as the colourful HP Stream 11 or
the Asus Transformer Mini (Shopper 356)
with its stunning aluminium frame. We like
the aluminium kickstand, however. It’s fully
adjustable, just like the far more expensive
Microsoft Surface Pro (Shopper 356), and
allows you to prop up the 12X64 on a desk
or your lap. With the stand folded away, you
can lay it completely flat, too.
TRACK IN BLACK
Another point in the Linx 12X64’s favour is
that it comes with the keyboard attachment
in the box. This connects to the main body
of the tablet with a magnetic strip located at
the bottom of the tablet, and it feels very
comfortable to type on. There’s a slight flex
in the base when it’s tilted at an angle, but
with the keyboard placed flat on a solid
surface, it doesn’t budge. The trackpad
under the spacebar is a joy to use, too;
it’s accurate and doesn’t suffer from any
tracking problems at all.
On the left-hand side of the laptop, you’ll
find a USB3 port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a
Micro HDMI output, a microSDHC/XC card
reader and a Micro USB port used for
charging. The power button and volume
rocker are at the top, while two sideways-
firing speakers sit near the bottom of the
tablet. Unlike most other budget 2-in-1s
and clamshell laptops, these speakers
actually sound rather decent.
30
You also get front and rear 2-megapixel
cameras, though these are only really useful
for the occasional video call. For wireless
connectivity, the 12X64 has 802.11ac Wi-Fi
and Bluetooth 4.0.
TRUE COLOURS
Impressively for such a cheap device, the
12X64 packs an IPS display running at
1,920x1,080; the only other budget 2-in-1
we’ve seen with this is the Venturer PrimePro
12 TS (Shopper 354), which costs around £275.
The 12X64’s screen is not a bad panel, either:
with a respectable contrast ratio of 1,148:1,
the laptop is able to achieve an impressively
low black level of 0.25cd/m2 at maximum
brightness. That beats the Venturer PrimePro
12 TS on both counts.
It’s a little on the dark side, with a peak
measured brightness of 290cd/m2, which is
too low to use comfortably in direct sunlight.
Colours also lack potency; the Linx covers
only 63.2% of the sRGB colour space (the
PrimePro 12 TS managed 87.8%) and,
judging by its average delta-E of 4.36, colour
accuracy is low as well. Overall, the 12X64’s
display is fine for basic tasks, but don’t try to
do serious image or video editing on it.
Speaking of basic tasks, the 12X64’s
performance was never going to be its
strongest suit, not with its low-power
1.44GHz quad-core Intel Atom x5-Z8350
processor and 4GB of dated DDR3
RAM, both of which are dead giveaways
of this 2-in-1’s budget nature.
For browsing the web, light multitasking
and office work, the Linx 12X64 has enough
power, but throw anything more demanding
at it, such as multiple Chrome tabs, and
you’ll find it lagging. Put through the paces
of our demanding 4K benchmarks, the
12X64 scored just 21 in the image test, 18 in
the video test, a measly 3 in the multitasking
test and just 11 overall.
We also ran GeekBench
4, a multiplatform
GPU benchmark, in
which Linx’s 2-in-1
scored 705 in the
single-core test and 2,037 in the multicore
test. These are some of the lowest results
we’ve recorded on a Windows device. Don’t
expect to play anything but the most basic
games on it, either, as the integrated Intel HD
Graphics 400 will struggle with anything
remotely demanding.
EIN, ZWEI, DRY
Battery life was slightly underwhelming at
7h 10m in our battery rundown test. By
comparison, the Asus Transformer Mini
achieved 11h 19m, though both devices outlast
the PrimePro 12 TS, which kept going for only
5h 23m before running out of juice.
Storage capacity is low, as you only get a
64GB eMMC Flash drive; you’ll need to make
use of the SD card slot when this fills up.
That said, performance is fairly good by
Flash standards: we recorded a read speed
of 132MB/s and a write speed of 77MB/s
using the AS SSD benchmark.
We never expected the Linx 12X64 to be a
high-performance machine, and so it proved.
Nevertheless, at only £250 for a 2-in-1
Windows 10 laptop with a Full HD display and
a bundled detachable keyboard, the Linx is as
viable a low-cost option as the Venturer
PrimePro 12 TS. If you can afford a little more,
though, the Asus Transformer Mini is the
superior choice, with its better battery life and
a more attractive design.
Christopher Minasians
SPECIFICATIONS
PROCESSOR Quad-core 1.44GHz Intel Atom x5-Z8350•
RAM 4GB • DIMENSIONS 315x189x10.7mm • WEIGHT 930g
• SCREEN SIZE 12.5in • SCREEN RESOLUTION 1,920x1,080
• GRAPHICS ADAPTOR Intel HD Graphics 400 • TOTAL
STORAGE 64GB SSD • OPERATING SYSTEM Windows 10
Home • WARRANTY One year RTB • DETAILS www.
linxtablet.co.uk • PART CODE LINX12X64/BUN
Windows overall 11
Multitasking 3
Battery life 7h 10m
0% -50 Reference +50 +100
See page 72 for performance details
FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360
DISPLAY CASTER
amer
AIRTAME Wireless HDMI Streamer
★★★★★
£260 • From www.lambda-tek.com
VERDICT
It’s expensive, but this product makes connecting
a laptop to external displays a doddle
TRYING TO HOOK up a laptop to a monitor
or projector to do a presentation is often an
exercise in futility. Whether it’s trying to find
the right cable, or just getting a picture to be
displayed, these things seem to go wrong
more often than right.
Wouldn’t it be better if there was a simpler,
more straightforward way of getting
connected? With the Airtame Wireless
HDMI Streamer, you can stream your screen
over your wireless network.
DING DONG
Similar to Google’s Chromecast, the Airtame
Wireless HDMI Streamer is a small dongle
that plugs into an HDMI port on the device
to which you want to connect. It should be
able to plug directly into an HDMI port, but
there’s a small extension cable in case your
chosen device has recessed ports that the
dongle won’t fit into.
HDMI ports don’t provide enough power,
so you have to use the Micro USB connector
and provided power adaptor, too.
Once plugged in, you just have to
download the app (there’s one for Mac,
Windows and Ubuntu) and follow the
simple instructions to get your Airtame
connected to your network.
⬆ The simple Airtame app is available for Mac,
Windows, Ubuntu, iOS and Android
ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018
Once your Airtame me
is set up, the app willll
automatically detect it.
A single click is all
you need, and your
screen is instantly
mirrored to the
Airtame with no
hassle. Should you
have any problems
setting up the
device, Airtame
promises to be on hand to
provide any urgent technical support.
As the Airtame has an HDMI 1.4 connector,
the maximum supported ported picture resolution is
1080p. Cleverly, the streamed image is scaled
to fit; our MacBook Pro’s higher-resolution
higher resolution
screen looked great when scaled down to
work on an HD TV.
Performance is great, too. We found
that there was very little lag in operation,
and we could easily work via an Airtame-
connected screen. Click the speaker icon and
you get improved video playback performance
and your computer transmits audio, too.
No matter how complex your presentations
are, or what you want to demonstrate, the
Airtame is capable of keeping up.
Image quality will depend a lot on the
display that you connect it to, but we noticed
that the image was refreshingly clear of noise
and compression artefacts.
Android and iOS apps are also available,
although these only let you send files
(image files, presentation and most office
documents are supported), rather than
mirroring the screen.
MULTI-BALL
If you have multiple Airtame devices, you can
connect one computer to them all at the
same time. For presenting in larger rooms
with more than one screen, then, Airtame
works a treat and doesn’t require any
specialist hardware.
There are times when you need to travel to
do a presentation, but Airtame can go with
you. It presents its own wireless network.
So you can go practically anywhere and
connect directly to your Airtame’s wireless
network to mirror your computer’s display.
If you have a Chromecast, you’ll know
that you can perform a similar screen-casting
option using that device and the free Chrome
Extension. For some people, this will be good
enough, and a Chromecast is a lot cheaper
than buying an Airtame.
tha
However, as good as the
How
Chromecast is, the
Chr
picture quality doesn’t
pic
live up to the hype, and
fast-moving images such as
fast-m
videos don’t play well when
screen mirroring.
We also don’t think that
Chromecast is as easy to
the Chrom
configure for screen mirroring,
making it a less versatile choice
reliability and simplicity
where reliab
are required.
NO EXTENSION
That’s not to say that tthe Airtame doesn’t
The biggest one is that it
have its limitations. Th
only supports screen mirroring, and doesn’t
appear to Windows or macOS as a new
display. That means that everything on your
main screen is visible to everyone.
The more significant issue is with
applications that support dual displays, such
as PowerPoint. When you hook up
PowerPoint to an external screen via a cable,
you can put the main presentation on one
screen, leaving a preview window with notes
on it on your laptop’s main display.
This can make presentations easier to
deliver and gives you a preview of what’s
coming up next. It’s a shame that Airtame
can’t replicate this option, installing as a
display, rather than simply streaming.
However, building this functionality would
be considerably harder (if at all possible) and
would make the product much harder to use.
Given that Airtame’s job is to make
connecting to external devices easier, we can’t
see the benefit of adding extra complexity.
The Airtame Wireless HDMI Streamer
isn’t for everyone, and it’s fairly expensive.
For occasional use, a Chromecast (or a plain
old cable) make more sense. If, however, you
make presentations regularly or have a
meeting room or two that could be easier
to use, Airtame’s high-quality display and
ease of use make it a winner.
David Ludlow
SPECIFICATIONS
SUPPORTED OPERATING SYSTEMS Windows 7+, macOS
10.9+, Ubuntu 15.04+, iOS 9+, Android 4.2.2+, Chrome OS 48+
• SUPPORTED RESOLUTION 1080p @30fps, 720p @60fps
• NETWORKING 802.11n (dual-band) • DIMENSIONS
77x41x14.3mm • WARRANTY One year RTB • DETAILS
www.airtame.com • PART CODE Airtame
31
Chillblast
sales@chillblast.com ULTRAWIDE QHD MONITOR
01202 068 333
ACER Predator X34A
★★★★★
£889 • From www.ebuyer.com

VERDICT
A good-quality monitor, but it’s expensive and
doesn’t cope with certain games very well

THE PREDATOR X34A is a 1440p ultrawide

monitor that offers all the right design elements
you’d want from such a display – and just as Outputting 100Hz consistently at 1440p is no
well, considering how much it costs. easy task, so you’ll need a powerful graphics
With its tiny bezels on the top and sides, it card. We’d suggest a GeForce GTX 1070, an
resembles a stretched-out version of Acer’s own AMD Radeon RX 56, or better.
FUSION AERO GTX 1080 XF270HUA gaming monitor. The stand provides We found the monitor’s input lag bearable
PROCESSOR: INTEL CORE i7-7700K KABY LAKE tilt, pivot and height adjustments, and its but, in demanding first-person shooters, it could
CASE: AEROCOOL P7-CO impressive build quality reverberates across the be a little slow to respond to mouse movements.
CPU COOLER: CHILLBLAST 120 WATER COOLER entire monitor. Better still, an adjustable LED The monitor’s response time is rather sluggish,
MOTHERBOARD: ASUS PRIME Z270-P strip under the monitor lets you switch between too. Without Overdrive enabled, it struggles to
MEMORY: 32GB DDR4 2400MHz colours to add a colourful hue to your desk. cope with intensive games.
GRAPHICS CARD: NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1080 8GB
As for connectivity, there’s a single Turning on Overdrive introduces a lot of
OS DRIVE: 500GB SAMSUNG 960 EVO M.2
POWER SUPPLY: EVGA 80 PLUS WHITE 600W
DisplayPort and HDMI video input and a 3.5mm inverse ghosting, however, most notably in its
SYSTEM: WINDOWS 10 HOME 64-BIT headphone jack for audio output. Four USB3 Extreme mode. Leaving Overdrive on Normal
ports can be found at the rear, too. mode seems to provides a good middle ground.
PRICE FROM £1799.99 The monitor also has two DTS-certified 7W This is similar to the AOC AG352UCG, which
speakers, which provide excellent sound quality. incurs almost the same problems but manages
www.chillblast.com They won’t replace a set of PC speakers, but for
once, we felt comfortable listening to music and
to respond a touch faster than the X34A.

playing games with built-in speakers. PACE VALUE

WARMING UP
Acer uses IPS technology to portray a vivid,
colour-accurate image on this 34in UWQHD
(3,440x1,440) curved monitor, and image quality is
impressive. There’s no sRGB mode, but the User
and Warm modes proved a pretty close match.
The monitor hits 99.1% of the sRGB colour
space, so colours are vibrant and pop with life.
Contrast is decent rather than excellent, at
1,113:1, and at maximum brightness we recorded
black levels at a low 0.3cd/m2. As a result, dark
scenes in movies and games don’t suffer from a
greyish tone. Colour accuracy is also good
FUSION PHOTO OC VIII enough for a spot of photo or video editing, with
an average delta-E of 1.63.
PROCESSOR: INTEL CORE i7-7820X 8 CORE The panel also reaches a peak brightness of
CASE: FRACTAL DESIGN DEFINE R5 340cd/m2. That’s bright enough for most
CPU COOLER: CORSAIR H100i V2 CPU COOLER
circumstances, but it might be a tad dull for
MOTHERBOARD: GIGABYTE X299-UD4
MEMORY: 32GB DDR4 2133MHZ
those who game in bright rooms. Brightness
GRAPHICS CARD: NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1060 6GB uniformity, on the other hand, is rather
OS DRIVE: 250GB Samsung 960 EVO M.2 disappointing. There’s up to 22% variance from
HARD DISK: 2 x Seagate 3TB HDD in RAID 1 the top corners to the monitor’s centre-point.
OPTICAL DRIVE: Blu-Ray ReWriter Drive Because of the horizontal alignment of liquid
CARD READER: Akasa 17 in 1 Card Reader
crystals in curved IPS panels, the X34A suffers
POWER SUPPLY: CORSAIR CX750 80 PLUS BRONZE
from backlight bleed, notably around the top
SYSTEM: WINDOWS 10 HOME 64-BIT
corners. This also results in an image roll-off at
£2399.99
PRICE FROM both sides of the monitor, a problem we’ve seen
in the past with big curved displays. This means
If you’re a casual gamer who doesn’t require a
monitor with a fast response time or low input
lag, the X34 is perfectly respectable. For example,
if you plan on playing RTS games, you’ll enjoy
the X34A’s broad expanse and 1440p resolution.
If, however, you’ll be playing twitch shooters,
the panel’s slow response time and input lag
will probably put you off.
It’s worth noting that the Acer X34A has
Nvidia G-Sync, an excellent technology used to
eliminate tearing. You’ll need a compatible Nvidia
graphics card to benefit from this; AMD graphics
card owners should look elsewhere.
Gaming aside, the Acer X34 delivers decent
colour accuracy from an IPS panel, excellent
build quality and an attractive, low-profile design.
At £889, however, it’s pricey, and it isn’t the
best monitor of its type. For around £200 less
you can buy the AOC AG352UCG, which offers
practically the same specifications and offers a
better gaming experience. With that around,
there’s little reason to go for the X34A instead.
Christopher Minasians
SPECIFICATIONS
SCREEN SIZE 34in •
RESOLUTION 3,440x1,440 •
SCREEN TECHNOLOGY IPS • REFRESH RATE 60Hz/100Hz •
VIDEO INPUTS HDMI, DisplayPort •
WARRANTY Two years
RTB • DETAILS www.acer.co.uk • PART CODE UM.CX0EE.A01

if you view it at an extreme angle, you’ll notice CONNECTION PORTS

the image fade to black around the extremities. HDMI DisplayPort
By default, the X34A’s refresh rate is set to
60Hz, though you can get it up to 100Hz over
USB3 x4 3.5mm headphone jack
DisplayPort if you dive into the OSD settings.
Thankfully, there’s no frame skipping or gamma
shift at its fastest settings.
Terms and conditions are on the website.
All trademarks are acknowledged.
Pictures are for illustration only.
Prices are correct at time of going to press (20-11-17) E&OE
32 FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360
4K MEDIA STREAMER
AMAZON Fire TV
with 4K Ultra HD (2017)
★★★★★
£70 • From www.amazon.co.uk
VERDICT
Amazon’s latest Fire TV does 4K and HDR
and it does them well – it’s the best TV
streamer if you don’t want Now TV
AMAZON’S ORIGINAL FIRE TV with 4K UHD
(Shopper 324) wasn’t the roaring success it
could have been when it launched in 2015,
largely thanks to the paucity of 4K content at
the time. Nowadays, there’s both a lot more
content and a lot more competing media
streamers, many with HDR support, making it
Amazon’s turn to catch up.
So, besides shrinking down from a
set-top box to a more slimline form factor
that can hang discreetly from your TV’s
HDMI port, the new Fire TV with 4K Ultra
HD supports both HDR10 and Dolby Atmos
audio, provided you have a compatible TV
and sound system.
Like the non-4K Fire TV Stick, and unlike
its rival, the Chromecast Ultra (Shopper 351),
the Fire TV with 4K Ultra HD comes with a
remote control, and it works brilliantly. It’s
slim, light, fits in the hand neatly and isn’t
overburdened with buttons. It connects via
Bluetooth so you don’t have to point it at the
TV to get it to work, and comes with Alexa
compatibility to boot. Essentially, you can
speak to it in much the same way as you can
to an Amazon Echo or Echo Dot.
As before, you don’t have to use the
remote if you don’t want to. The Fire TV with
4K Ultra HD can also be controlled via the
free smartphone app, which works on iOS,
Android and Fire OS devices.
HI, DYNAMIC RANGE
The big changes, however, are inside, and here
there’s support for 4K (naturally) and HDR10
content at up to 60fps. There’s also an
improved 1.5GHz quad-core Amlogic S905Z
processor backed up by 2GB of RAM and 8GB
of storage for installing games and apps.
Wireless connectivity is delivered by
dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and the device also
has dual-antenna 2x2 MIMO. If nothing else,
this should ensure it can hold a stronger
connection, although if you’re having difficulty
getting a reliable connection, it is possible to
hook up the Fire TV with 4K Ultra HD via
Ethernet using an optional £14 adaptor.
The big streaming video services are in
place, including Netflix, BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub,
All 4 and My5 – with the added bonus of
Amazon Video, of course, which delivers
plenty of 4K content. Music is also well
covered, with support for Amazon Music,
Spotify and TuneIn Radio all built in. If you
ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018
stream your music from a NAS device or
shared drive, you can install Plex as well.
As ever, there are one or two big names
missing from this list. Most notable, for UK
users at least, is Sky’s streaming service
Now TV, but there’s also no Tidal for music
fans. It is possible to fill in the gaps by
sideloading, but that’s a faff we’d rather not
have to go through. If Now TV is important
to you, the Roku Streaming Stick+ is a better
option as it has wider coverage, including
Sky’s streaming service.
Generally speaking, however, there’s
plenty of content on the Fire TV with 4K
Ultra HD, and it all looks absolutely stunning.
In fact, compared with the integrated apps
on the HiSense TV we tested it on, we
found the picture quality much cleaner and
clearer, and the UI was far more responsive
and easier to get around.
SPEAK EASY
In keeping with the redesign accompanying
last year’s Fire Stick refresh, the Fire TV
stick is now more Netflix-like, with a
featured item filling much of the upper
portion of the display and category
carousels lined up horizontally below.
The Alexa-based functions, accessed via
the bundled voice remote, work beautifully.
Hold down the microphone function on the
remote and you can search across multiple
services for TV and movie titles from the
home screen.
It’s also possible to play, pause and skip to
specific positions in the programme you’re
watching, and you also can access most of
Alexa’s other functions, including smart
home integrations. If you have, say, some
Philips Hue lightbulbs, or a Hive or Nest
smart thermostat, you can control it via the
Fire TV’s voice remote exactly as you would
via an Amazon Echo.
Disappointingly, you can’t use Alexa’s
extremely useful Drop In function to call Echo
and Echo Dot speakers, a feature that would
be useful in any Echo-festooned house.
ULTRA QUALITY
Amazon has taken its precious time about
it, but the new Fire TV with 4K Ultra HD is
finally here and it works very well indeed.
The Alexa facilities, in particular, are great
to have and make finding content across
multiple services incredibly easy.
This integration is also what elevates
Amazon’s device over Google’s similar
Chromecast Ultra: their streaming
capabilities don’t vary much, but the Fire
TV with 4K Ultra HD has a dedicated
remote and doesn’t require you to shell out
an extra £50 on a Google Home Mini in
order to enable voice facilities.
If you already have a Google Home
device, the Chromecast Ultra is a much
better fit, and the Roku Streaming Stick+ is
arguably better if you want Sky Now TV.
Otherwise, the Fire TV with 4K Ultra HD is just
about the best 4K streamer on the market.
Jonathan Bray
SPECIFICATIONS
VIDEO OUTPUTS 1x HDMI • NETWORKING 802.11ac Wi-Fi
• DIMENSIONS 65x65x15mm • STREAMING FORMATS
UPnP, AirPlay, DLNA, Plex • INTERNET STREAMING
SERVICES Amazon Video, Netflix, BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4,
My5 • WARRANTY One year RTB • DETAILS www.amazon.
co.uk • PART CODE Fire TV with 4K Ultra HD (2017)
33
 VIRTUAL-REALITY HEADSET
GOOGLE Daydream View 2017
★★★★★
£99 • From store.google.com
VERDICT
A fun way to experience VR through your phone, but this headset is only a minor improvement on last year’s
GOOGLE MADE ITS first foray into VR with
the fun and cheap Cardboard, before having a
more professional go with the Daydream View
headset. This year, the company is back with a
revamped Daydream View.
As with the original, Daydream View works
with an existing handset, which you slip into
the front to act as the screen and brains of the
VR experience. Last year, only the Google Pixel
and Pixel XL were compatible with the headset,
but this year you have the Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL,
Samsung Galaxy S8, Galaxy Note 8, plus
handsets from Asus and Motorola. The list of
compatible headsets is, at last, growing.
MATERIAL WORLD
From the outside, there doesn’t appear to be
much different in this version of Daydream
View compared to the original. It’s all in the
feel. Whereas last year’s headset used a kind
of jersey material (the type that’s used for
bedding sets that supermarkets bundle up
into a soft bag), this year Google has gone for
a firmer, harder-wearing fabric.
It’s a good move, as this is a device that
you’ll wear for a while and, frankly, sweat into.
More durable and less absorbent material thus
makes for a nicer experience for all. There’s a
choice of colours, too, with fog (light grey),
charcoal and coral (bright red) options.
Google has added a third strap this year,
looping over the top of your head. We never
had a problem with the old headset being too
difficult to keep in place, but the extra strap
at least gives more comfort options.
It’s important to adjust the straps correctly.
If you do, the Daydream View is comfortable
to wear; if you don’t, it can feel tight.
Flip the flap down at the front, and you’ve
got space to drop your handset in. The original
phone holder had a small cutout to hold the
remote control when the headset wasn’t in
use. That’s now been replaced by a remote
holder located at the back of the strap.
34
Google has also improved airflow, adding air
vents to the front flap. With the original, we
found our handset got extremely hot; now
everything stays much cooler.
With your phone in place and flipped up,
Android auto-launches the Daydream View
app and walks you through the initial setup
phase. This shows you how to operate the
remote, centre your view and use the system.
WAVING AROUND
Google hasn’t changed the Bluetooth remote
since last year. We don’t mind, as it’s a quality
bit of kit. Powered by an internal battery and
charged via USB Type-C, the remote is
lightweight and feels comfortable to hold.
Motion tracking lets you swing the remote
around like a Nintendo Wii remote. A clickable
touchpad gives you a finer degree of control,
with a select button, home button and volume
controls completing the set.
Of course, the headset also tracks
movement so that you can look around your
3D world. The combination of head tracking
and remote proved a winner last year and
continues to impress this year. Sure, you’re
not going to get full in-depth VR experiences,
such as when you use the dual Windows
Mixed Reality controllers (opposite), but
that’s not what this system is about.
Instead, Daydream View is supposed to be
entertaining and easy to pick up.
Crucially, the controller makes it easy to
navigate through your library of games and
even use the Play Store. Microsoft really
needs to look at the simple Daydream View
experience and do something similar, rather
than sticking with its overblown Cliff House
interface for Mixed Reality.
Google has boosted the viewing angles of
the new headset, at the expense of a bit of
image fidelity. It seems a fair trade-off to us, as
the headset now pretty much fills your
peripheral vision, immersing you in a 3D world.
As the lenses magnify what’s on your
screen, there is a slight screen-door effect,
where you can see your phone display’s pixels.
As you relax into the experience, you start to
ignore this and enjoy the 3D world. However,
dedicated VR headsets, such as Mixed Reality
models, give a cleaner and more detailed view.
Content has improved since the original
Daydream View; 360˚ videos in the YouTube
player are just as exciting (or terrifying,
depending on the content), but resolution
limitations can make videos look a little soft.
CARTOON CAPERS
Gaming content comes out better, with most
titles using cartoon-like graphics that are well
suited to the headset. There’s a great range on
offer, with Hunters Gate giving you a chance to
destroy monsters. Its table-top-style setting
looks fantastic in real 3D, giving a proper sense
of depth. We’re fans of Lola and the Giant, too,
which sees you play as both a little girl and a
stoney giant as you solve puzzles.
Daydream View doesn’t give you the full-on
hardcore VR experience that Mixed Reality or
the Oculus Rift do. Still, it’s great fun, and the
kind of thing you can pass and share around
for smaller, more fun experiences.
The downside is that this new headset is
more expensive than its predecessor by £30,
and yet only represents a minor upgrade. If
you’ve got the old headset, then, the new one
isn’t different enough to make it a worthwhile
upgrade. If, on the other hand, you don’t have
Daydream View and have a compatible phone,
it’s a neat and fun way to get into VR.
David Ludlow
SPECIFICATIONS
PHONE COMPATIBILITY Daydream View-Ready handsets •
ACCESSORIES Bluetooth remote control • WARRANTY One
year RTB • DETAILS store.google.com • PART CODE
Daydream View
FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360
VIRTUAL-REALITY PLATFORM
MICROSOFT Windows
ws 10
Mixed Reality
★★★★★
From £380 • From www.microsoft.com
VERDICT
Mixed Reality makes VR more accessible, but
the lack of apps is a problem
LAST ISSUE WE reviewed the Fall Creators
Update, which introduced Windows 10’s VR
platform. This month, with matching headsets
landing from all the big PC names, including
Acer, Dell, HP and Lenovo, we’re taking a more
in-depth look at how the system works, how it
holds up to the competition and which
product (if any) you should buy.
Currently, despite the name, the platform is
solidly VR, competing with the likes of the
HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. To run it you need a
PC with the right specs, including a powerful
enough GPU: Microsoft has a Windows Mixed
Reality PC Check app available in the Store
that will tell you if your computer is ready.
HEAD CASE
All the available headsets are based on the
Microsoft reference design, so have the same
core specs. They have two 1,440x1,440
screens, which is a higher resolution than the
1,080x1,200 used by both the Vive and the Rift.
One of the key strengths of the headsets is
that you need no external sensors to use them.
Instead, stereo cameras mounted in the front
track both your location and the location of
the controllers. As a result, you need just a
single HDMI and USB cable, and you’re done.
Setting the system up is a doddle, following
the onscreen instructions. All you have to do
is hold the headset and move around, drawing
a bounding rectangle onscreen; you need a
7x5ft area to use the system. In the 3D world,
your boundary is presented by a white cage,
so you know how far you can move without
tripping over furniture. If space is tight, you can
opt for the standing/sitting experience instead.
No headset has built-in audio, with all
providing a 3.5mm audio jack so you can
connect your own gaming headset and mic.
On all the models we’ve seen, this has felt a
ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018
little like an afterthought, and trying to put on
a pair of headphones over the top of the VR
headset is a little fiddly. It’s a shame Microsoft
didn’t allow manufacturers a little more leeway
to come up with their own designs.
COLD COMFORT
All the headsets are built similarly. A headband
slips over your head and is tightened using a
dial at the back. The 3D visor then hangs from
the front, but crucially doesn’t put pressure
on your face, as with other headsets.
The real differences between the headsets
come down to looks, overall comfort and
price. For example, Acer’s headset is kitted out
in electric blue plastic, which certainly grabs
attention. Dell’s pure-white Visor looks far
more futuristic and not quite as fun, but its
foam-padded interior arguably makes it the
most comfortable headset to wear.
Control in the 3D world is via the dual
controllers. The only difference between
manufacturers’ controllers is the branding.
Again, it seems a shame that Microsoft didn’t
allow manufacturers more freedom to come
up with their designs.
A ring of LEDs lights up to let the headsets
track the controllers’ positions in 3D. As well
as physical movement, controllers have
triggers, side buttons, joypads and touchpads.
They’re very similar to the Oculus controllers,
although a little chunkier. Even so, we found
that their movement was tracked accurately
and we found them comfortable to use
whether we were firing away at aliens or
delicately trying to move a piece of a puzzle
around. Moving around is fun, too, with
the headsets accurately picking up all
movement, whether walking or turning.
Currently, there’s a
limited number of titles
available for Mixed Reality.
Superhot VR is great fun,
letting you take on an
army of ninjas, as you
punch, shoot and lob
shurikens at them. But
there’s a fair amount of
dross available in the
Windows Store, too.
⬅ The Cliff House interface is
overly complicated
A lot of content is interactive videos. Sure,
it’s fun seeing Machu Picchu in 3D, for
example, but it’s the kind of content we’ve
seen before with phone-based VR.
The real change will come when SteamVR
support is finalised, as this will make mixed
reality headsets compatible with a wider range
of VR games available through Steam.
Currently, the software is in preview stage and
not particularly reliable. We should see final
compatibility before Christmas, although a
final date hasn’t been announced.
Using Steam, you’ll also be able to avoid
Microsoft’s over-complicated Cliff House
interface. Rather than giving you a simple
menu to launch your apps, you instead have
an entire house to walk around. App shortcuts
can be pinned to the walls to give you a
shortcut, but you have to remember where in
your house it is, which is frankly annoying.
Cliff House also has some 2D apps, rendered
in a 3D window that you can drag and resize
around you. For example, you can watch a film
on a big-screen media player if that takes your
fancy, or view your Windows desktop.
As fun as this is, using any windowed-
application soon becomes annoying, and
many generate additional pop-up windows
that fill up your house. The sooner Cliff
House is bulldozed and replaced with a
simpler menu system, the better.
HEAD, SET AND MATCH
There’s no denying that Microsoft’s push
into VR is a good one, dramatically increasing
the number of headsets available. It’s far
simpler to set up than the competition and
needs just two cables to your computer.
Unfortunately, the content currently lags
behind higher-end headsets. When Steam
support comes online, Mixed Reality will be
great for anyone that wants VR, but we’d hold
off until then. In terms of headsets, they’re all
similar, but the Dell Visor is currently the
cheapest (£380) and the most comfortable.
David Ludlow
SPECIFICATIONS
REQUIREMENTS Intel Core i5-4950 or AMD Ryzen 5 1400 or
higher, 8GB RAM, Nvidia GTX 960/1050 or AMD RX 460/560
or higher GPU • SCREEN RESOLUTION 2x 1,440x1,440 •
CONNECTIONS 1x USB, 1x HDMI
35
 DESKTOP SCANNER

CANON imageFormula
DR-C230
★★★★★
£323 • From uk.insight.com

VERDICT
The imageFormula DR-C230 is a good
document scanner for a busy small office

IF YOU’RE HANDLING paperwork in a busy Once scanning

office, or you want to get rid of boxes of old
correspondence, nothing beats a sheet-fed
document scanner. Canon’s imageFormula
DR-C230 is a typical mid-range desktop
example, capable of scanning one or both
sides of a document at once. It can reach
speeds of up to 30 pages per minute (ppm),
or 60 A4 images per minute (ipm). Its 600dpi
maximum resolution is typical for the class,
and plenty for office work.
The DR-C230 is about the size of a
high-end deskphone, with three buttons and a
simple display allowing you to choose, start
and stop predefined scan jobs. At the top,
there’s a well-engineered automatic document
feeder, capable of holding up to 60 sheets.
We were a bit less impressed with the paper
output tray, which fell apart when we first
tried to extend it. After putting it back
together it worked perfectly, doubling as a lid
to keep dust off the scanner when not in use.
The main paper path is hinged, opening wide
to give ample access to any jams.
CUT TO THE CHASE
Canon supplies the DR-C230 with the latest
version of its CaptureOnTouch Pro software,
which processes scan jobs triggered either
from the PC or the scanner itself. You can
assign up to 10 shortcuts to the front panel
controls, but the software itself can
remember many more, and you can create
custom jobs as you need to.
is under way,
pages appear in the
preview screen; when
the job is complete you
can make simple edits
such as rotating, trimming or
deleting pages.
We found CaptureOnTouch’s interface
more confusing than earlier versions,
particularly the way in which it hides its
Standard Scanning and Edit sections by ended up looking dingy), but office
default. However, once you know your way documents were generally captured well.
around it’s very powerful, letting you quickly We had to tweak the blank page sensitivity
capture, check, tweak and save jobs either to to avoid the feature discarding a couple of
disk or to cloud services including Google printed pages. More significantly, the
Drive, Evernote or Dropbox. File format automatic orientation feature didn’t work
You can assign up to 10 shortcuts to the front panel
controls, but the software itself can remember many
more, and you can create custom jobs
options include standard image and PDF perfectly in our jumbled-up torture test;
choices; integrated optical character this was the first time we’ve seen one of
recognition (OCR) means you can create a the standard black and white document
PDF with searchable text. pages escape rotation.
With a bit of tweaking, the imageFormula
SPEED BUMPS DR-C230 produced consistent, high quality
In our tests, the DR-C230 came close to results across our tests. Even where the
Canon’s rated speeds, managing 28.2ppm at page had escaped automatic rotation,
150dpi over 24 pages; CaptureOnTouch made it simple to fix
we’d expect it to meet or manually before saving the result. While it
exceed the claimed isn’t quite perfect, the imageFormula DR-C230
30ppm on a longer job. is fast, reliable and easy enough to use that
Upping the resolution we can certainly recommend it.
to 300dpi slowed Simon Handby
scans down to 20.0ppm,
while switching on SPECIFICATIONS
options such as OCR
and automatic
TECHNOLOGY Dual CIS sheet-fed scanner •
MAXIMUM OPTICAL SCAN RESOLUTION (OUTPUT
orientation added a few
seconds of additional • DIMENSIONS
BIT DEPTH) 600dpi (24-bit)

processing time at the

231x291x530mm • WEIGHT 2.8kg • MAXIMUM PAPER
SIZE A4/legal • WARRANTY One year RTB •
end of the job.
DETAILS www.canon.co.uk • PART CODE 2646C003
The results were
impressive, but with
150dpi A4 scan 7s
some caveats. Some
300dpi A4 scan 9s
detail was lost from 6x4in photo 13s
among dark shades, @ 600dpi
0 5 10 15
most noticeably on See page 72 for performance details
⬆ OCR capabilities mean you can create PDFs with searchable text darker photos (which

36 FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360

MESH WI-FI SYSTEM
ASUS Lyra
★★★★★
£380 • From www.box.co.uk
VERDICT
Plenty of features and a neat design with great performance,
but the price makes this kit hard to justify
fy over the competition
MESH WIRELESS NETWORKING systemss
make a lot of sense for most people, giving a
way to upgrade wireless performance without
having to replace your router. The latest to get
in on the act is Asus, with its Lyra system.
As with the main competition, Lyra
consists of three discs that you can place
around your house to expand coverage into
any black spots that you might have. Each
Lyra access point can be placed flat on its feet,
or you can wall-mount them, which may be
easier if you want to place the access points in
a hallway or just out of the way in a room.
WIRED UP
Every access point has dual Gigabit Ethernet
ports, which is handy if you want to plug a
couple of devices into each access point.
That’s far more flexible than the BT Whole
Home Wi-Fi (Shopper 358), where each disc
has a single Ethernet port. Only one Lyra
access point needs to be wired in, and you
have a choice of installation modes. By
default, the Lyra hooks into your main
network, leaving your existing router alone.
Alternatively, you can change the mode of
the router to PPPoE, so you can connect it to
⬆ Every access point has dual Gigabit Ethernet ports
ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018
a modem and replace your existing
router. Annoyingly, you can only change
modes via the web interface, not the app,
which you need for installation. In other
words, you have to install the system first,
then you can sort out replacing your router.
For BT YouView users, the system doesn’t
support IGMP proxying, so you can’t watch
streamed channels such as BT Sport.
Following the simple instructions in the
Lyra app (for Android and iOS), you simply
place the other access points around your
home. These connect to the first access point
wirelessly, building up the mesh network.
As with similar products, the Lyra creates
its own network and dishes out its own IP
address to connecting devices. There’s no
option to change the DHCP address range
that’s given out via the app, although you
can change the range using the web interface.
It’s slightly frustrating that the web interface
has more features than the app.
A downside of this system with an existing
router is that you end up with a situation
where you’re using double Network Address
Translation (NAT): once on the Lyra system
and once on your main router. This can make
configuring port forwarding on some devices a
little trickier; if you can, replace your existing
router to simplify matters.
BLOCK AND LOAD
The benefit of the way that the Lyra works is
that additional services can be baked into the
network. As with Google Home, Lyra lets you
create user profiles for your family. Each
profile lets you assign that person’s devices.
For example, you could have your child’s
laptop and phone listed under them.
Using these profiles, you can pause an
individual’s internet connection, schedule
when they can and can’t go online, and
add web filtering to block unsuitable
content. It’s a great implementation and
makes the Lyra a flexible way to control
what your family can and cannot do.
Asus also provides a guest network via the
Lyra, so visitors can access the internet but
can’t see your other devices. This means you
can also give internet access without having
to dish out your main network password.
AirProtection, powered by Trend Micro,
can actively block malicious sites and prevent
infected machines from sending information
back to the cyber criminals. It’s a neat
additional layer of security to add to your
existing internet security software.
Speed and range are the most important
aspects of a wireless mesh system. With the
Lyra, each access point has a tri-band radio
inside, with two 867Mbit/s 5GHz radios and a
single 400Mbit/s 2.4GHz antenna. These
networks are also used to build the mesh,
with the Lyra choosing the best connection.
As with other mesh systems we’ve tested,
the Lyra presents just a single network,
using band steering to direct devices to the
best-fit network, based on capability,
performance and range.
Performance was generally good: at close
range, we saw throughputs of 216.24Mbit/s.
Moving to the first floor, we saw throughputs
of 344.14Mbit/s, most likely because the floor
is easier for the wireless signal to penetrate
than the thick wall in our first test. On the top
floor, performance came in at 149.32Mbit/s.
That puts the Lyra at a similar speed to the
BT Whole Home Wi-Fi, but a little behind the
TP-Link Deco M5 (Shopper 358).
SIGNAL BOOST
Testing outside, where we traditionally
struggle to get a signal, we found that we
could get throughputs of 171Mbit/s outside
the kitchen window and 47.1Mbit/s at the
bottom of the garden. That’s a little behind the
BT system, but better than the Deco M5,
which wasn’t quite so good at extreme range.
The biggest issue with the Lyra is the price.
At £380, this is one of the most expensive
mesh systems available, which makes it hard
to justify, despite the range of features and
decent performance. The BT Whole Home
Wi-Fi is currently just £190; it doesn’t have
the same scheduling or parental controls, but
long-range performance was better.
Alternatively, there’s the TP-Link Deco,
which costs around £200. It lacks the
long-distance performance, but has a similar
range of features. At these kinds of price
differences, the Lyra is just too expensive.
David Ludlow
SPECIFICATIONS
MODEM Gigabit Ethernet• WI-FI STANDARD 802.11ac •
• USB
STATED SPEED 2x 867Mbit/s (5GHz), 400Mbit/s (2.4GHz)
PORTS 0 • WALL MOUNTABLE Yes • WARRANTY Two years
RTB • DETAILS www.asus.com • PART CODE MAP-AC2200
5GHz close 216.24Mbit/s
5GHz 1 floor
344.14Mbit/s
5GHz 2 floors 149.32Mbit/s
0 200 400 600
See page 72 for performance details
37
 TWO-BAY NAS
NETGEAR ReadyNAS 212
★★★★★
£241 • From www.ebuyer.com
VERDICT
A very fast NAS, but the basic interface and
high price slightly let it down
ALTHOUGH CLOUD STORAGE has really
taken off, you can’t beat a NAS if you want
fast local storage for sharing files. With a
barebones NAS, such as the Netgear
ReadyNAS 212, you also have a handy way
of reusing any old mechanical hard disks
that you’ve got lying around.
A small shoebox-sized device, the
ReadyNAS 212 is relatively easy to set up.
Open the front door, and you’ve got two 3.5in
hard disk bays that pop out, so that you can
fit your hard disks. There’s support for up to
20TB of storage via two 10TB hard disks.
Netgear uses a screwless design for its
NAS, with plastic retaining clips designed to
hold your hard disks in place. These are very
fiddly to use, and it took us a while to secure
our two 2TB hard disks in place. There are
also three USB3 and a single eSATA port for
adding external storage and printers.
PORT OF CALL
Once installed, you just hook up your NAS to
your network and power it on. Netgear
provides two Gigabit Ethernet ports. If you
have a router or switch that supports link
aggregation, you can combine the two ports
into one big 2Gbit/s pipe.
That won’t improve performance to a
single device – you’ll still be running 1Gbit/s
from your clients – but it provides more
bandwidth for multiple devices. For example,
two devices could access the NAS at the full
1Gbit/s each. Link aggregation is configured
post setup.
Once the ReadyNAS 212 is connected to
your network, you just need to follow the
quick setup guide. Our computer couldn’t
detect the NAS on our network using the
suggested web portal. Instead, we
downloaded the Netgear RAIDar software,
which soon found our unconfigured NAS.
A quick jaunt through the setup wizard
soon had our NAS up and running.
38
By default, the
ReadyNAS chose to
configure our disks in a
RAID 1 configuration.
This cuts the total
storage space in half
(we got 2TB of usable
space from 4TB of disks),
but data is written to
both hard disks. Should
one disk fail, your data remains safe. This is
the configuration that we recommend,
although you can choose to override the
setting and reformat the disks as RAID 0. This
gives you the full capacity of both drives, but
you’ll lose all your data if either disk fails.
THROUGH THE PORTAL
Netgear’s management portal is very basic,
using static web pages. Compared to the
graphical interface used by Synology, the
ReadyNAS 212 looks positively out of date.
The basic functions of creating a share and
adding users are simple enough, and it’s easy
to create the shared folders that you need.
Digging into the interface, it becomes clear
that the ReadyNAS 212 is more powerful than
looks would have you believe. First, there are
the basic services that you can toggle on and
off, such as an FTP server and a DLNA media
server (ReadyDLNA).
If you want more, then there’s an apps
section. Similar in principle to Synology
Packages, apps let you expand the capabilities
of the NAS. It might be worth adding the Nero
MediaHome server to replace the built-in
ReadyDLNA option, as you get easier control
and more configuration options.
Netgear doesn’t quite have the breadth
of services that Synology does, but the
basics are covered, from web servers to a
network camera recorder.
Netgear has a Cloud section for the NAS’s
cloud connectivity. You can synchronise your
Dropbox or Google Drive
account to your NAS, which is a
handy way of adding cloud
backup to the ReadyNAS 212.
There’s also the ReadyCloud
feature, which lets you access
your NAS from over the
internet, from anywhere in
the world. Using this is far
easier than setting up an FTP
server manually, as Netgear
takes care of all the
configuration options.
Netgear has installed 2GB of RAM and a
quad-core 1.4GHz Cortex A15 processor. That’s
a fairly high spec for a two-bay NAS.
The results of this power showed in our
benchmarks. We found that the NAS could
read huge files at 111.15MB/s and write them
at 100.05MB/s. Large files were read at
111.15MB/s and written at 104.91MB/s. Small
files, which require lots of small operations,
managed a fast read speed of 87.59MB/s and
a write speed of 76.68MB/s.
CRYSTAL CLEAR
We saw similar performance in the
CrystalDiskMark benchmark. Sequential file
speeds came in at 118.4MB/s read and
114.1MB/s write, while in the 4K random file
tests the NAS managed a healthy 14.56MB/s
read and 11.58MB/s write speeds. These
speeds typically put the ReadyNAS 212 at
between 10 and 20% faster than the excellent
Synology DiskStation DS216J (Shopper 355).
If you want a super-fast two-bay NAS,
there’s no arguing with the ReadyNAS 212’s
performance. But the cost of that capability is
high: this is one of the most expensive
two-bay NAS devices we’ve reviewed.
The Synology DiskStation DS216J is almost
£90 cheaper, not much slower, and has a
neater and easier-to-use web interface. On
balance, it’s the better NAS for most people.
David Ludlow
SPECIFICATIONS
CAPACITY N/A (up to 20TB)• 3.5in HARD DISK BAYS (FREE)
2 (2)• NETWORKING 2x Gigabit Ethernet • DLNA MEDIA
SERVER Yes • PRINT SERVER Yes • DIMENSIONS
171x291x261mm • WEIGHT 3.8kg • WARRANTY One year RTB
• DETAILS www.netgear.com • PART CODE ReadyNAS 212
Huge files 105.6MB/s
Large files 108.03MB/s
Small files 82.14MB/s
0% -50 Reference +50 +100
See page 72 for performance details
FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360
 SMART HOME ASSISTANT
GOOGLE Home Mini
★★★★★
£49 • From store.google.com
VERDICT
A neat-looking and cheaper way to get the Google
Assistant, but you can’t hook it up to a better stereo
THE ORIGINAL GOOGLE Home (Shopper
353) was a neat smart speaker, but at £129
it was never going to be a convenient way
to put the Google Assistant in every room
in your house. Learning from Amazon’s
cheaper Echo Dot, Google has decided to
follow a similar path this year with the
smaller, cheaper Google Home Mini.
As good as the Amazon Echo Dot is, it’s
a rather functional-looking product that
doesn’t blend in particularly well with its
surroundings. It’s not a mistake that Google
has made: the Home Mini is a sleek, pebble-
shaped device that’s been designed to look
as good as it is useful.
Covered in a robust and hard-wearing
fabric, we’re fans of this unobtrusive device.
And, as with the Google Daydream View 2
(page 34), the Home Mini is available in
chalk, charcoal and coral colours, so you can
match it to your home decor.
From the outside, the Home Mini looks
plain, but as soon as you talk to it, a screen
lights up and shines through the fabric top.
It’s a very clever design and maintains the
Mini’s unobtrusive looks.
Around the back is a Micro USB input,
used to power the smart speaker, and a switch
to disable the speaker’s microphone. It’s a little
fiddly to reach; we prefer the mic mute button
on top of Amazon’s Echo devices.
HOME RUN
You join the Home Mini to your network
using the Home app, which is available for
Android and iOS. Setup takes just a few
minutes, and the device is up and ready to go
listening for your commands.
You can use a choice of two wake-up
phrases (‘OK Google’ or ‘Hey Google’)
depending on your preference; either works
well in our experience. We prefer having a
two-word wake-up phrase, as Amazon’s
single word (‘Alexa’) means that our Echo
devices are often triggered by accident.
Google originally intended to have a
tap-to-talk feature, where you could rap on
top of the Home Mini and have the Assistant
spring to life. Sadly, some initial units were
faulty and listened in to all conversations, so
Google disabled this feature with a firmware
update and has no plans to re-enable it.
However, there are still tap controls to adjust
volume: tap the right-side of the device to
increase volume and the left-side to decrease.
As the Home Mini is powered by the
cloud-based Google Assistant, it has all the
40
same features
as its big
brother. We
found that the
Google Assistant
is smarter out of
the box and easier to
converse with than
Alexa; the former picks up
natural language more easily,
whereas Alexa often expects requests
to be phrased in a certain way.
As Google can pull information from its
other services, it’s generally smarter, too.
For example, the Home Mini can give you
traffic reports to any location; Alexa can only
give you traffic reports between the two
locations that you set.
The Google Assistant is also context-aware,
so you can continue a conversation. For
example, you can ask what the weather is
like today and then say ‘and tomorrow’ to
get the next day’s report. Alexa makes you
say the full request each time.
Support for multiple users is neat, too,
dishing out different calendar, email and
other bits of information based on the voice
it recognises. This is a feature now shared
with Echo devices too.
SUITE NOTHINGS
Sadly, the Google Assistant is also marred by
its limitations and inability to expand. It
currently can’t work with G Suite (paid-for)
Google Calendars, whereas Alexa can, and
while you can add Skills to Alexa to expand
its abilities, Google has no such options.
It means that if you’re happy with the
out-of-the-box experience, Google Home is
great, but you can’t make it do more to fill in
any gaps that you find.
Google has started to expand its Smart
Home section, increasing the number of
supported products. Most of the major smart
home products are supported (Nest, Philips
Hue, Tado and SmartThings, among others).
There are still some noticeable exceptions,
such as Honeywell Evohome, which is only
available for US customers.
In terms of
overall support,
then, Alexa still
rules the roost,
supporting a
broader range of
products. In addition,
Amazon has pushed its
smart home lead further,
updating Alexa to support
routines, where you can control
multiple devices with a single voice command.
Google is slightly lagging behind here.
You can stream music to the Home Mini
using Spotify, Google Play Music or Bluetooth
from your phone. Sound quality is OK for the
occasional listen, but the Home Mini lacks
bass and presence, and distorts at high
volumes. Really, it’s a voice assistant first and
foremost, much like the Echo Dot.
It’s a shame, then, that there’s no 3.5mm
audio output or ability to create a Bluetooth
connection to an external speaker, as you can
with the Echo Dot.
That said, the Home Mini does support
casting, so you can send audio to any
compatible speakers. Chromecast integration
is also appealing, as it means you can control
what you watch on TV and even pause the
action using your voice.
BROADCASTING HOUSE
Google is planning to bring its broadcast
feature to the UK soon, which lets you
transmit a simple message to all your Home
devices. It’s not quite as neat as Amazon’s
calling system, which lets you have a two-way
conversation between Echo devices, both
inside your home and with friends.
Both Amazon and Google are adding calling
features to their smart speakers, so you’ll be
able to make calls to UK landlines and mobiles.
As a pure voice assistant, the Google
Home Mini is smarter and easier to converse
with than Alexa. But Amazon has a more
mature system, better smart home support,
a wider range of devices and a huge range of
expandable skills, making the Echo a better
choice for most people.
David Ludlow
SPECIFICATIONS
•
DRIVERS 1x 40mm driver RMS POWER OUTPUT Not
• •
stated DOCK CONNECTOR None WIRELESS 802.11ac
• •
Wi-Fi DIMENSIONS 42x98x98mm WEIGHT 173g •
•
WARRANTY One year RTB DETAILS store.google.com•
PART CODE Home Mini
FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360
PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

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DJI SPARK
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Strait 3.0 Black
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www.cpc.farnell.com
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Cherry’s reputation for precision engineering and high-
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iPhone 6s
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The innovations of the iPhone
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Creative
Sound BlasterX Katana
uk.creative.com
£279.00
Soundbars designed to sit under your TV also make sense
under your monitor, especially when they’re as compact and
powerful as the Katana. Music, movies and games all sound
awesome thanks to the 24-bit DAC (digital to analogue
converter) and five speakers driven individually by amplifiers
using DSP (digital sound processing). The unique Aurora
Reactive lighting system lets you create stunning colour
effects with 49 programmable LEDs controlled from your PC.
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£159.98
https://store.google.com
£69.00
Looking for that perfect Christmas gift
for your favourite gamer? ROCCAT has
you covered. The Kone AIMO offers Google’s Daydream View lets you join the
a new immersive lighting system to virtual-reality revolution without spending
brighten your gaming experience. a fortune – just slide a compatible
The highly precise Owl-Eye Optical phone into the fabric-clad case
sensor, ergonomically placed buttons, and you’ll be immersed in another
and benchmarking shape make the world. By sensing your every move,
Kone AIMO the perfect mouse for any it makes games feel brilliantly
gamer. And because it’s Christmas why realistic. Daydream’s standout
not add the unique Hi-Res Audio gaming feature is its wireless controller –
headset, the Khan Pro. Both products just make sure you hold on tight to
are available in black, grey and white. the handy wrist strap to stop it flying
out of your hand in the excitement!

MX Board 3.0
www.scan.co.uk
£60.00

Cherry has been manufacturing some of the best keyboards

in the world for over 40 years, and the exclusive Gold
Crosspoint contacts in its MX key switches ensure perfect
keystrokes every time. This professional wired USB model
with laser-etched key caps is sturdier than ever, and comes
with a choice of red or brown switches: both provide a fast,
lightweight linear action with no annoying click sound, with
brown providing an extra bump of tactile feedback.
 Oakley
Radar Pace
www.wiggle.co.uk
£320.00

Imagine having the benefit of a professional coach, urging

you to train faster and for longer. Pair Oakley’s Radar Pace
glasses with your phone and they’ll use sensors to analyse
your running, giving you audio feedback to improve your
technique and a well-balanced training program that
gradually increases the intensity of your speed training.

Apple iPad with

Retina Display 64GB
Wi-Fi + cellular
https://softoption.buytech.store
£303.06 from SoftOption

Seven years on from its arrival, the iPad continues to push

at the boundaries of tablet innovation. This ‘Good as New’
edition includes 4G connectivity, an ultra-sharp Retina-
display screen and an iSight camera that records videos
in 1080p resolution. At £303, it costs around half of the
original price and comes with 64GB storage – an option
that’s no longer available from Apple’s store.

Beats SOLO3
Wireless On-Ear
Headphones Affinity Photo &
https://softoption.buytech.store Affinity Designer
£214.19 https://affinity.serif.com
From £19.99
With a battery life of up to 40 hours, the
Solo3 headphones ensure you’ll never be
The Affinity Photo and Designer programs enable
marooned without your favourite tunes.
you to work faster than ever on image-based
Charge them up for just five minutes and the
projects, whether you’re carrying out a quick photo
Fast Fuel feature guarantees three hours
edit or putting together a complex document
of playback. Hold them near your iPhone
involving hundreds of layers or stacked images.
and they’ll connect simultaneously to your
Version 1.6 of the programs contains new tools that
Apple Watch, iPad and Mac. For the best
raise the bar for creative software, including an
audio experience, customise the ear cups for
impressive ‘Light’ user interface, which provides a
optimum comfort.
vibrant alternative to the ‘Dark’ mode. Available on
Mac, Windows and iOS.
 BUDGET ANDROID 7.1 SMARTPHONE

MOTOROLA Moto G5S

★★★★★
£220 • From www.amazon.co.uk

VERDICT
The Moto G5S is a step in the right direction,
but at this price it’s hard to recommend

AFTER THE DISAPPOINTING Moto G5

(Shopper 353) launch earlier in the year,
Motorola has gone back to the drawing
board. Its latest ‘budget’ handset, the Moto
G5S, seeks to learn from the mistakes of
its predecessor, with a larger battery, an
upgraded camera and a newly refined design.
There’s one problem: the G5S’s asking
price is £45 dearer than its smaller G5 sibling,
and £70 more than the trusty Moto G4
(Shopper 343). So is the new G5S really
worth paying the premium for?
Design-wise at least, the G5S marks a big
step up from its predecessor. Where the G5
merely had an aluminium rear panel, the
G5S’s unibody design is cast entirely from
aluminium. This makes the 5.2in phone look
and feel a lot more upmarket – the little
details, such as its chamfered edges, are a
rare sight on a budget smartphone.

DOUBLE DIGITS
Look beneath the IPS screen and
Motorola has again opted for a front-
mounted fingerprint reader. As you’d
expect, this doubles up as the home
button, too. In our time with the phone,
we found it unerringly responsive – it just
works, quickly and unfailingly.

Turn the phone over and you’ll first notice
the G5S’s protruding camera, but you may
miss one of the more subtle design touches:
Motorola’s indented logo, which provides a
subtle finger-hold that makes the phone
easier to grip and use with one hand.
The G5S is well appointed for
connectivity and expansion.
However, if you’re looking to
expand the G5S’s 32GB of internal
storage, you’ll have to decide
which is more important to you:
a 256GB microSD card or a
second SIM. As a dual
nano-SIM smartphone, you
can run a pair of SIMs
concurrently, but the
second SIM will occupy
the microSD slot.
USB Type-C users
are going to be
disappointed, but
there’s a Micro
USB port at
the bottom
and, thankfully,
a 3.5mm
headphone jack at the top. Dual-band Wi-Fi
802.11a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.1 make the
grade, too, and aptX support guarantees
high-quality audio streaming over Bluetooth,
which is a nice bonus on a £220 phone.
If there are any downsides to the G5S’s
design, they’re relatively minor ones. For
instance, it’s a shame that, despite the
non-removable 3,000mAh battery, the G5S
isn’t dust- or water-resistant.
TO BE IMPRECISE
The G5S has a 5.2in Full HD (1,920x1,080)
IPS display. This gives it a slightly lower
pixel density than the Moto G5, which
stretched the same resolution over a
very slightly smaller 5in display, but the
difference isn’t really noticeable.
The G5S’s backlight is particularly
potent, with it hitting a peak of 500cd/m2
in our tests. That’s great news: crank up
the display to maximum brightness, and
you’ll be able to read what’s onscreen
under even the brightest sunlight.
Image quality is pretty good across the
board, too. With a contrast ratio of 1,708:1
and sRGB colour gamut coverage of 80.4% ,

46 FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360

Motorola has made its smartphone a real budget
contender. Its fingerprint reader is fast; the design is
beautiful; the near-stock Android experience is a breath of
fresh air; and the camera is simply incredible at this price
the G5S is able to produce a relatively
wide array of colours, while retaining dark
shadows and bright whites.
It isn’t colour accurate, though, with an
average delta-E of 3.48 and a maximum of
8.47, indicating that colours are a little off
their intended target. This isn’t all too
uncommon on budget phones, to be fair, but
it demonstrates the display’s inability to
reproduce the most vibrant colours.
STANDING STILL
As ever, Motorola hasn’t tinkered extensively
with the stock version of Android: turn on
the G5S, and you’re faced with a barely
touched installation of Android 7.1 Nougat.
Better still, Android 8.0 Oreo is slated to
come to the phone some time this winter.
If, however, you were hoping that
Motorola might have addressed the
criticisms of the G5’s performance, then
you’re going to be disappointed. The Moto
G5S retains the same 1.4GHz quad-core
Snapdragon 430 processor and 3GB of
RAM as its predecessor.
This results in near identical performance,
with the G5S scoring 632 in Geekbench 4’s
single-core test and 2,303 in the multicore
test. The old Moto G4 managed to match this
single-core mark to the point, and edged
ahead on multicore performance with 2,453.
More recent rivals such as the Lenovo P2
(Shopper 352) and Vodafone Smart V8 also
outperform the G5S.
The exact same can be said for its gaming
performance: in GFXBench Manhattan 3.0,
the G5S merely keeps pace with its Motorola
siblings, with 7fps in the on- and offscreen
tests. The Smart V8, by comparison, managed
8fps, while the Lenovo P2 scored 10fps
(again, in both on- and offscreen tests).
With a 3,000mAh battery replacing the
G5’s 2,800mAh battery, we were also hoping
for a better result in our video playback
benchmark. These hopes were dashed,
however: the G5S lasted 12h 12m, which
marks only a small improvement over the
G5’s 11h 51m. Both still trail the incredibly
long-lasting Lenovo P2, which kept going
for 28h 50m in the same test.
CLICKING ALL THE BOXES
The G5’s rear camera was a slight
improvement over the G4, principally because
it added phase-detect autofocus for speedy
captures. The G5S takes it one step further
and ups the pixel count from 13 to 16
megapixels with an aperture of f/2.0.
The results are seriously impressive,
making the G5S’s camera something of a
saving grace. Comparing it to the capable
snapper in the Vodafone Smart V8, the
G5S is dramatically better – in fact, we’d go
as far as to say it has the best camera we’ve
seen on a budget smartphone.
The G5S’s camera picks up plenty of light,
ekes out plenty of detail and captures
natural-looking colours. In outdoor shots, it
can pick up long-range details such as the
brickwork on buildings or reflections on a
window, and the sky isn’t oversaturated or
blown out. Enable HDR, and things get even
better, with foliage coming to life and colours
being represented even more accurately.
In low light, the G5S’s sensor
isn’t able to pick up as much
detail, with image noise visible
throughout the shot. Colours
are slightly washed out, too, and
images begin to lack a certain
punch and vibrancy. With flash
enabled, shadows and image
noise are both completely
eliminated, but the image still
has a strong yellow tint.
The G5S’s selfie camera isn’t
bad at all, and the larger
aperture, down from f/2.2 on
the G5 to f/2.0 on the G5S,
means that the sensor can now
capture more light. The big
problem here, however, is
pixel count: sticking with a
5-megapixel sensor sees it
struggle when compared to
the Vodafone Smart V8’s
8-megapixel front-facing camera.
BACK ON TRACK
Despite its flaws, the G5S
deserves a lot of praise.
Motorola has taken much of the
negative criticism it received for
the G5 and made its smartphone
a much better budget contender.
Its fingerprint reader is fast; the
design is beautiful; the near-
stock Android experience is a
breath of fresh air; and the
camera is simply incredible at
this price. If you’re looking for
the best-looking budget
smartphone, with the best
camera, then this is it.
However, there are several
issues that deny the G5S a more
substantial endorsement. The
killer blow is that performance
still hasn’t moved on from
2016’s G4, and given how this
new handset is more expensive
than most other budget
smartphones, that’s a real
sticking point. Our advice would
be to hold off on a purchase
either until the G5S drops below
£200, or something else comes
along that can challenge it in
the design and camera stakes.
Christopher Minasians
SPECIFICATIONS
PROCESSOR Octa-core 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 •
• SCREEN RESOLUTION 1,920x1,080 •
SCREEN SIZE 5.2in
REAR CAMERA 16 megapixels • STORAGE 32GB •
WIRELESS DATA 4G • DIMENSIONS 150x74x8.2mm •
WEIGHT 157g • OPERATING SYSTEM Android 7.1 •
WARRANTY One year RTB • DETAILS www.motorola.co.uk
• PART CODE PA7V0009GB
Battery life 12h 12m
0% -50 Reference +50 +100
See page 72 for performance details
47
 ANDROID 7.1 PHABLET
MOTOROLA Moto Z2 Force
★★★★★
£719 • From www.motorola.co.uk
VERDICT
Motorola’s tough phone is back, and building
on the ambitions of its predecessor
WITH ITS RUGGED, shatterproof housing
and long-lasting battery, the Moto X Force
(Shopper 347) was one of our favourite
smartphones of 2015, hence the
disappointment when its 2016 follow-up – the
Moto Z Force – failed to reach UK shores.
Blighty hasn’t been forgotten this year.
The Moto Z2 Force is here and it looks to
strengthen the indestructible qualities of the
original, with up-to-date internals and an
intriguing pair of dual rear cameras.
The Moto Z2 Force cuts a familiar figure.
Its brushed metal exterior may look identical
to Motorola’s previous efforts, but as with
the Z2 Play (Shopper 357), there are a handful
of subtle improvements.
For starters, the Z2 Force’s aluminium
unibody is just 6.1mm thin, which is 13%
skinnier than last year’s, and it weighs 143g.
The rubberised rear has disappeared, too, in
favour of a slick, more fingerprint-friendly
gun-metal finish. You’ll spot the volume rocker
and power button on the left edge, with a USB
Type-C port on the bottom, but no 3.5mm
headphone jack beside it, which is a shame.
Surprisingly, given its tough credentials,
Motorola is still to add proper waterproofing;
the Z2 Force only has a water-resistant coating.
MOD’S LAW
Love them or loathe them, the Moto family’s
range of modular add-ons are here to stay. The
Moto Mods offer a bunch of extra hardware
capability and connect to the back of the
phone via a series of magnetic connector pins.
There’s a good selection to choose from.
Our favourites are the TurboPower pack,
which attaches an extra 3,490mAh battery;
the Moto Gamepad, with its Nintendo
Switch-style mini-joysticks and buttons; and
the Moto 360 camera which, as the name
suggests, adds a 360-degree
camera to the phone.
The Moto Z2 Force’s screen
isn’t cutting edge, but it does
the job. It’s 5.5in across the
diagonal, with a resolution of
2,560x1,440, and uses a pOLED
panel, like the Google Pixel 2
and Pixel 2 XL (Shopper 359).
Like the Z2 Play, you can
choose from either Standard or
Vibrant display modes in the
settings. The latter produces
colours that are horrifically
oversaturated, while Standard
isn’t quite so in your face.
48
Neither setting is selective focus, along
particularly colour with image background
accurate. In Standard replacement and
mode, our X-Rite colour selective black-and-
calibrator returned an white editing.
average delta-E of 3.06 (0 In testing, outdoor
is perfect), with the display scenes didn’t pose the
struggling to reproduce camera too much of a
colours across the palette. problem. In fact, the
Maximum brightness isn’t Moto Z2 Play picked up
all that impressive, either, plenty of rich colours
reaching only 355cd/m2; and crisp details in
you may have to shade sunny conditions,
the screen in bright light particularly in hard-to-
to read it. capture areas such as
Still, given it’s a pOLED foliage. Flicking on HDR
panel, contrast ratio is in did a tremendous job at
effect perfect, which means lifting the shadows, too.
both movies and photos benefit The Moto Z2 Force’s
from plenty of pop, and perceived detail levels dual cameras did struggle in low-light
are absolutely superb. conditions, however. Simply put, neither lens
let in enough light – the f/2.0 aperture isn’t
LESS IS MORE the brightest – and photos captured in low
The slimmer chassis has also necessitated a light lacked detail and were ridden with noise.
drop in battery size, from 3,500mAh on the This is a shame, especially as the cheaper Moto
Moto X Force to 2,730mAh here. Regardless, Z2 Play did such a good job at producing
the Moto Z2 Force overcame this downsizing punchy, detail-rich images in low light.
to reach 16h 40m in our continuous video
playback test before running flat, where the BREAK TIME’S OVER
Moto X Force lasted 15h 12m. This stacks up With Motorola guaranteeing its five-layer
pretty well against 2017’s other flagships, too. ShatterShield screen won’t crack for four
Qualcomm’s octa-core Snapdragon 835 is years, the Z2 Force would see you through to
inside, along with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of your next phone upgrade in 2021, and perhaps
storage, expandable via microSD. Because it as a holiday backup for a couple of years after
uses the same SoC as most other 2017 that. That makes Motorola’s tough phone a
flagships, general processing performance is tempting alternative to the usual crowd of
about the same: in Geekbench 4, the Moto fragile beauties we normally see in shops. If
Z2 Force scored 1,905 in the single-core test you’re plagued with a case of butter fingers,
and 6,700 in the multicore test, putting it on Moto’s Z2 Force offers peace of mind that no
a par with the Samsung Galaxy S8+ (Shopper other smartphone brings to the table.
355), OnePlus 5 (Shopper 356) and HTC U11 The only thing that gives us pause is the
(Shopper 355), among others. price, which at £719 means it isn’t quite the
As for GPU performance, force to be reckoned with that it once was.
the Z2 Force managed an Nathan Spendelow
excellent 63fps in GFXBench’s
Manhattan offscreen test, but SPECIFICATIONS
its 41fps in the onscreen test PROCESSOR Octa-core 2.35GHz Snapdragon 835• SCREEN
is a little lower than most of its • SCREEN RESOLUTION 2,560x1,440 • REAR
SIZE 5.5in
CAMERA Dual 12 megapixels • STORAGE 64GB •
rivals. The high-resolution
WIRELESS DATA 4G • DIMENSIONS 156x76x6.1mm •
display is to blame here and, WEIGHT 143g • OPERATING SYSTEM Android 7.1 •
unlike on the Galaxy S8+, you WARRANTY One year RTB • DETAILS www.motorola.co.uk
can’t lower the resolution for • PART CODE PA900012NL
better performance.
The Z2 Force’s new Battery life 16h 40m
12-megapixel dual-camera 0% -50 Reference +50 +100
setup on the rear allows for See page 72 for performance details
post-shot and real-time
FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360
ANDROID 7.1 SMARTPHONE
RAZER Phone
★★★★★
£595 • From www.three.co.uk
VERDICT
With a slick 120Hz screen, the Razer Phone is
unique, but isn’t without its flaws
RAZER HAS LAUNCHED a smartphone.
Yes, just when you thought the handheld
release calendar was winding down and all
the main players had launched their
flagships for the year, along comes a
gaming peripheral outfit – of all things –
with the high-end Razer Phone.
This is no ‘me too’ smartphone either,
and Razer has done something that no
other smartphone manufacturer has done:
the 5.7in display runs at an adaptive 120Hz
refresh rate. There’s also a Qualcomm
Snapdragon 825 processor, 8GB of RAM and
a massive 4,000mAh battery. For £595 on
pay-as-you-go, that’s a pretty fine specs list.
Its design, sadly, isn’t the prettiest. Razer’s
characteristically high build quality is present
and correct, but compared to the recent glut
of slim-bezelled handsets with edge-to-edge
displays, the tall, square Razer Phone looks a
little old hat, and those sharp corners are
raring to wear a hole in your pocket.
HOW REFRESHING
There are some nice touches, though. The
matt, fingerprint-resistant aluminium chassis
feels good in the hand, especially with
chamfered edges at the top and bottom of
the phone, as well as its rounded sides.
For some extra flair, there’s also Razer’s
three-headed snake logo on the back panel,
beneath the dual camera arrangement.
It’s also not left wanting for features. You
can add to the 64GB of onboard storage with
a microSD card up to 1TB in size, there’s a
fingerprint reader positioned sensibly on the
right-hand side of the phone (which pulls
double duties as the power button), and the
USB Type-C port on the bottom edge supports
the latest Quick Charge 4 standard.
It’s the Razer Phone’s adaptive 120Hz
refresh-rate screen that really
seals the deal. Touching,
scrolling and playing games
on this 5.7in 1,440x2,560 IGZO
LCD screen is a far more
fluid experience than on any
other phone available today.
It really needs to be played
around with to be believed:
this leap from the 60Hz on
most handsets looks and
feels phenomenal.
Most apps support this
silky smooth refresh rate, but
you aren’t locked at 120Hz if
you run into any issues.
ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY
FEBRUA
FEB RUARY
RUARY 201
20188
Should you need to,
you can bump the
display down to 90Hz
or the standard 60Hz.
Colours are pretty
decent, covering
93.8% of the sRGB
gamut, though with a
measured luminance
of 325.7cd/m2, it’s
not a particularly
bright screen.
SAP DANCE
Performance is on a
par with other 2017
flagships. That’s no
surprise, given how common the Snapdragon
835 is, but the Razer Phone’s Geekbench 4
scores of 1,928 in the single-core and 6,580 in
the multicore test mean it runs almost exactly
as well as the Google Pixel 2 (Shopper 359),
Samsung Galaxy S8 (Shopper 353) and Sony
Xperia XZ Premium (Shopper 356).
Graphics performance is a similar story,
though as with the Galaxy S8, the 1440p
resolution means performance takes a hit
compared to phones with 1080p screens.
GFXBench’s Manhattan 3.0 test recorded a
native resolution onscreen result of 40fps,
and an offscreen score of 63fps; that’s about
the same as the Galaxy S8, but the Full HD
Pixel 2 managed a higher onscreen score of
56fps. This is unfortunate for the Razer Phone,
given that you’d need a higher frame rate to
make to the most of 120Hz, though less
demanding games can still take advantage.
Since the 4,000mAh battery is so huge, it
should be a winner on the longevity front.
However, the display causes issues here, too;
that high resolution and refresh rate just
seems too power hungry.
In our continuous video
playback test, with the
screen set to our standard
170cd/m2 brightness and
flight mode engaged, the
Razer Phone reached just
10h 37m before hitting zero.
In comparison, that’s a good
six hours less than the
Galaxy S8, and in fact, only
the 4K Xperia XZ Premium
lasts for less time out of the
current crop of premium
Snapdragon 835 models. In
the real world, we managed
to scrape a day’s use
on a single charge
with moderate use.
The Razer Phone is
equipped with a pair
of 12-megapixel
rear-facing cameras,
complete with
phase-detect
autofocus. The main
f/1.7 aperture camera
uses a wide-angle
sensor, while the
secondary camera
uses a narrower f/2.6
2x telephoto lens,
which helps with
capturing scenes from further away.
Outdoors in bright conditions, the Razer
Phone’s rear camera performs splendidly. It
captures photos with crisp details and rich
colours, while exposures are balanced and
focus assured. We liked the software, too:
there are no pro or manual shooting modes on
offer, but the ability to switch between both
lenses simply by zooming in is most welcome.
RAZER’S EDGE
It’s perfectly capable indoors and in low light,
too. Noise levels were kept to a minimum, and
the flash helped to pierce through the
darkness. Objects did look a touch soft, and
weren’t as well defined as the Pixel 2’s efforts,
but this is a superb rear shooter nonetheless.
Ultimately, the Razer Phone has too many
minor issues to pose any serious threat to
the smartphone industry’s usual suspects.
Nevertheless, it’s a still a powerful handset
with a great camera, and its unique 120Hz
display really does set it apart from the
competition. That is, at the very least,
something to commend in a year filled to
the brim with near-identical handsets.
Nathan Spendelow
SPECIFICATIONS
PROCESSOR Octa-core 2.35GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 835
• SCREEN SIZE 5.7in • SCREEN RESOLUTION 2,560x1,440
• REAR CAMERA Dual 12 megapixels • STORAGE 64GB •
WIRELESS DATA 4G • DIMENSIONS 159x78x8mm •
WEIGHT 197g • OPERATING SYSTEM Android 7.1 •
WARRANTY One year RTB • DETAILS www.razerzone.com
• PART CODE Razer Phone
Battery life 10h 37m
0% -50 Reference +50 +100
See page 72 for performance details
49
 SMART SECURITY CAMERA
SWANN Heat-Sensing
Camera CCTV Kit
★★★★★
£350 • From www.maplin.co.uk
VERDICT
Great image quality, but a fiddly interface and lack
of cloud storage hold this security system back
ONE OF THE issues with security cameras is
that motion detection can be set off too easily,
flooding you with alerts. This is a particular
problem with outside cameras, where there’s a
lot more movement to deal with.
Swann thinks that it has the answer with
its Heat-Sensing Camera CCTV Kit. Rather
than monitoring the video for motion, the
system uses passive infrared (PIR) sensors,
similar to those on security lights or security
systems, to detect heat and motion. The result
should be that only large warm objects trigger
alerts, rather than trees blowing in the wind.
CABLE TIDY
Rather than using wireless cameras, all four of
the Heat-Sensing Camera CCTV Kit’s cameras
are wired to the hard disk personal video
recorder (PVR) via the provided BNC cables.
You get 18m of cabling per camera. As long
as you place the PVR somewhere central, you
should be able to get your cameras to reach
where you need them. Neatly, the cameras are
all IP66 rated, so you can attach them indoors
or outdoors, using the provided brackets. The
cameras don’t record sound, only video.
⬆ The app is straightforward to use
50
The PVR has slots for up to eight cameras,
so you can expand the system at a later date if
you want more coverage.
The downsides of this system are twofold.
First, installation is trickier than with wireless
cameras. Second, if someone breaks in and
steals the PVR, you’ll lose all your footage.
On the upside, wired connections are more
reliable than wireless, and a thief is unlikely to
steal the PVR if you hide it out of the way.
And with a 1TB hard disk, you’ve got enough
storage for a year or so of video.
MOUSE HOUSE
Once your cameras are wired up, you just
have to configure your system to work. The
easiest way to get going is to plug the PVR
into your TV via its HDMI connection, connect
it to the network via its Ethernet port and
then plug in the mouse. Following the
on-screen instructions, you can then create an
account and get your system running.
Having the PVR connected to your TV
makes viewing footage simple, and provides a
neat way to see what’s going on in real time.
The interface is very basic, though, making it
hard at times to change the settings you want.
For that reason, there’s also the HomeSafe
View app, which connects remotely to the
PVR so you can manage settings and stream
footage to a smartphone. Make sure you get
the right app, as Swann has alternative apps
for different systems, which aren’t compatible
with the Heat-Sensing Camera CCTV Kit.
By default, the app uses the basic
SubStream, which lowers bandwidth
requirements but drops image quality. You can
switch to the full 1080p stream instead. It’s a
shame the HomeSafe app isn’t smart enough
to pick up your internet speed automatically
and present the best stream for you.
Using the live view, you can get an
overview of all your cameras, or tap one to
view it in detail. Image quality from the
cameras is excellent, with clear, noise-free
images. Each camera takes in 102º, so make
sure they’re positioned carefully to capture as
much of a room or outside space as possible.
When it gets too dark, the cameras switch
to IR mode, capturing detail even in pitch
black. Image quality remains impressive.
By default, the cameras are set to record
when their PIR sensors pick up motion.
That’s neat, as you can just plug the system
in and it starts working. Detection is very
good, and we didn’t get false positives from
common situations, such as the sun suddenly
casting a shadow in the room.
The PIR sensors should pick up people,
large pets, cars and anything else that
generates a lot of heat; basically, the kinds of
things that you’d want to record in action.
Notifications can be sent to your phone via
the app and via email, but we had some
problems with phone notifications. They
worked initially, but later we couldn’t enable
them, getting a ‘BaiDu Push init Error’.
Recorded events can be found in the app,
but they’re a pain to get to, following a
laborious process: select the year and month,
and whether you want the MainStream or
SubStream; select the PVR to connect to;
select the channel of the camera; tap the
date of the event; select the type of recording
you want (all, motion events, and so on); and
tap Confirm. You then can scroll through a
timeline to view all matching events.
ON SCHEDULE
If you’d rather not have your cameras
recording all the time, you can set a schedule
for when they detect movement. Annoyingly,
you can’t do this from the app but have to
turn to the PVR’s interface. It’s fiddly to set up,
using a grid system to pick the times of day
that you want motion recording to be active.
It’s also a real shame that there’s no
geofencing option, so that your cameras can
turn on and off automatically depending on
whether you’re at home or not.
With four high-quality cameras and a PVR,
the Swann Heat-Sensing Camera CCTV Kit is
good value. However, the app feels
underdeveloped and doesn’t provide the full
range of features, and it’s frustrating to find
motion events. For outside use, the Netatmo
Presence (Shopper 348), which can tell the
difference between people, cars and animals,
is better; inside, the Nest Cam Indoor or Nest
Cam IQ (Shopper 356) have far better apps.
David Ludlow
SPECIFICATIONS
VIDEO RESOLUTION 1080p• CLOUD STORAGE No
• NETWORKING Gigabit
(1TB hard disk included)
Ethernet • WARRANTY One year RTB • PART CODE
SWDVK-849804845
FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360
SMART SECURITY CAMERA
ZYXEL Aurora
★★★★★
£144 • From www.ballicom.co.uk
VERDICT
This camera is stylish, but it’s expensive, and there are better, cheaper alternatives
ZYXEL’S AURORA VIDEO camera looks
great. Its triangular head reminds us of a
Star Wars robot, rather than a security
product. That’s good news, as you’re more
likely to want to have the Aurora on display,
which means that it’s more likely to be
noticed and, therefore, may put off any
opportunistic thieves.
The Aurora attaches to a neat desktop
stand, letting you point, tilt and swivel the
camera to get the best view of your room.
If you prefer, the camera can be wall-
mounted using the provided bracket, or
you can use its magnetic base to attach it
directly to a metal surface.
Once powered on for the first time, via
the provided USB Type-C adaptor, you can
use the Aurora app to hook up your camera
to your Wi-Fi. First, you need to register a
new user account. This requires you to verify
the details on the Zyxel website by clicking
Image quality is very good, with the camera shooting clear
and detailed video with little noise when it’s bright
the link in the email that’s sent. Although we
did this, the Aurora app was stuck waiting
for us to verify our details; we hit the Skip
button, which seemed to work. We soon had
our camera added to our home network and
ready to go in the app.
VIEW ASKEW
Once the camera has been added, you can
choose to display a coloured LED strip
around the outside of the camera’s lens.
This draws attention to the Aurora, although
it’s a little distracting at times. We turned our
LED off using the app.
⬆ The camera uses a 145° lens to capture most of a room
ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018
At its simplest, the Zyxel Aurora can
simply be viewed from wherever you are,
streaming content at a resolution of 1080p.
The camera uses a 145° lens to capture most
of a room. Certainly, we could easily place the
camera to take in an entire room.
Image quality is very good, with the
camera shooting clear and detailed video with
little noise when it’s bright. It’s when it gets
dark that things become more of an issue, as
the Aurora doesn’t have an IR mode.
Instead, it turns the LED strip to
bright white in an attempt to illuminate
a room. It’s partially successful,
although the light has trouble
lighting up the far edges of the
room, and close up the bright
light can smooth out facial detail.
Ultimately, a camera with an IR
sensor is more flexible and works in
a greater array of situations.
When motion is detected, an alert is sent
via email and to your phone via the app. You
can dive into the app to view the notification,
although it’s not always successful and we
got a ‘No matched video data of the event’
error message on a few occasions.
By default, recorded video is saved at a
As with most security cameras, the resolution of 720p, although it’s possible to
Aurora supports two-way chat via the app, increase the quality to the full 1080p. This will
so you can speak to anyone that you spot on eat into the camera’s built-in 16GB of storage
camera. You may just want to keep a pet quite quickly, however, so you may want to
company, but you can use the feature to leave the default recording option.
scare away an intruder, too.
CLOUD CONTROL
GOT THE MOVES Alternatively, you’re supposed to be able
More realistically, you’re going to want to to add cloud storage through the Zyxel
record and store video automatically using Personal Cloud Storage system, but this
the camera’s built-in motion detection. isn’t an option in the Aurora app. Cloud
You can’t adjust sensitivity, but you can storage is available only if you have a
select the parts of the screen that will trigger compatible Zyxel NAS, which is a little
motion to help prevent false positives. restrictive. However, the camera is compatible
You can choose when the with Synology NAS devices and the
camera records by setting a Surveillance Station, so you can record all
schedule in the app. This your footage there instead.
uses a grid, where you The biggest problem for the Zyxel Aurora
select which times the is its price. At £144, it’s more expensive than
camera is on or off. It’s a the Nest Cam Indoor, which is easier to set up,
little confusing to use and has IR night vision, and a far superior cloud
not as clear as being able to storage plan. It’s the better choice at this price.
simply set start and end David Ludlow
times for recording periods.
It’s a shame that there’s SPECIFICATIONS
no geolocation feature built
in; this would allow the
VIDEO RESOLUTION 1080p video recording •
camera to turn on and off
•
CLOUD STORAGE No (16GB of onboard storage)
NETWORKING 802.11n (2.4GHz) • WARRANTY One year
automatically based on RTB • PART CODE CAM3115-EU0101F
whether you’re home or not.
51
 LGA 1151 MOTHERBOARD
MSI Z370 PC Pro
★★★★★
£120 • From www.ebuyer.com
VERDICT
A respectable, no-frills ATX board for Coffee
ee
Lake, helped along by a user-friendly BIOS
AS IS USUALLY the case, if you want to putt
one of Intel’s new desktop CPUs in your PC,
you’ll have to shell out for a replacement
motherboard as well. Indeed, while these
8th-gen Coffee Lake processors share the
same LGA 1151 socket as their Kaby Lake
forebears, the accompanying Z370 chipset
puts paid to any hopes of backwards
compatibility: Coffee Lake chips only work in
Z370 motherboards, and Z370 motherboards
will work with Coffee Lake chips only.
Where to start, then? We’re trying this, the
MSI Z370 PC Pro. Design-wise, it resembles a
cut-price version of MSI’s Kaby Lake-era Z270
SLI Plus: all black, grey and aluminium, with
the expansion slots and many of the rear I/O
ports in the same place. The Z370 PC Pro is
launching at £20 less than the Z270 SLI Plus
did, and it shows, with far less metallic accents
and reinforcement. The latter is present only
on one of the two PCI-E x16 slots, leaving the
remaining PCI-E x16, three PCI-E x1, single PCI
and four RAM slots to make do with plastic.
SINGLES NIGHT
A more crucial difference is that the Z370
doesn’t support Nvidia’s SLI tech for doubling
up graphics cards. Instead, you can only have
two-way AMD CrossFire, and even that isn’t
ideal as the card occupying the lower PCI-E
x16 slot will run at x4 speeds. The top slot runs
at x16 speeds, so is fine for single-GPU setups.
This is no feature-starved budget board.
There are two M.2 slots, to use with blazingly
fast NVMe SSDs or hard disk-accelerating
Intel Optane Memory drives, and the six fan
headers (including one for a watercooler
52
pump) can handle a pretty expansive cooling
configuration. Thanks to the Z370 chipset,
there’s full overclocking
lockin support
ort fo
for Intel’s
latest K-series processors, and the maximum
RAM speed is high, albeit vaguely defined.
MSI lists it as “4,000+ MHz”, which gets well
into the hyper-enthusiast territory.
As for performance, you can find a detailed
breakdown in our Intel Core i5-8600K review
(page 24), as this is the motherboard we used
to test it. In short, the CPU/motherboard
combo (running at stock speeds) scored 141 in
This is no feature-starved budget board. There are two M.2
slots, six fan headers and support for Intel’s K-series CPUs
the image test, 159 in the video test, 116 in the
multitasking test and 134 overall. That seems
low for a hexa-core chip that can boost itself
up to 4.3GHz, but it’s overclocking where both
components make their mark.
LEAVE TO THE PRO
MSI deserves as much credit for our stable
5GHz overclock as much as Intel does – all we
had to do was change the core multiplier value
in the BIOS, and the Z370 PC Pro handled the
rest. We’d normally have to tweak voltages
manually to get a boost like this (or, at least,
to ensure it runs well) but simply leaving
everything on ‘Auto’ gave the motherboard a
chance to show how well it could adapt.
Naturally, we won’t know how well the
Z370 PC Pro compares to other Z370
motherboards until we
test some more, but it
never felt like it was
holding the Core
i5-8600K back, and with
overclocking specifically,
looked more like it was
actively enabling one of
the CPU’s best qualities.
Rear connections are
divided into two USB2
ports, four USB3 ports,
one USB3.1 port, one
USB Type-C port, one
PS/2 port, single HDMI,
DisplayPort and VGA
outputs, a Gigabit
Ethernet port and the
standard 3.5mm jacks:
line out, mic and
headphones. All the basics
are covered and then some,
although it’ ildly dis
it’s mildly ointing that MSI
disappointing
has repeated the Z270 Tomahawk Arctic’s
(Shopper 355) questionable step of using
a years-old audio codec, in this case the
Realtek ALC887. Again, we’d have liked to
have seen (or, if we’re being pedantic, heard)
something more up to date instead.
MSI’s BIOS, on the other hand, remains
one of the best in the industry. We say this
every time we review a motherboard from the
firm, but the Advanced mode’s grid-based
layout is perfect for keeping things relatively
accessible to inexperienced users, while
containing all the tools demanded by experts.
OVER AND OVER
Highlights include the welcome ability to save
multiple overclocking profiles, as well as load
new profiles from a USB drive. OC Genie 4 is
present to apply a hardware-dependent CPU
overclock in a single click, along with the XMP
utility, which does a similar thing for the PC’s
memory. These are aimed at users who might
not be confident enough to apply a manual
overclock themselves, though should such
users be reading this, it’s not as tricky as it
might sound: as we said, we just changed the
CPU multiplier value to 50 and got a stable
5GHz on our Core i5-8600K. That’s faster, and
barely more difficult to achieve, than the
4.4GHz offered by OC Genie.
The MSI Z370 PC Pro might not be the
most exciting motherboard in the world,
blending the basic (legacy PCI and PS/2 ports)
with more modern, high-end features (dual
M.2s, a quality BIOS and fine overclocking
control), but it is a good one. At £120, there’s
little to complain about, especially if you don’t
care about luxury connections or flashy looks.
James Archer
SPECIFICATIONS
•
PROCESSOR SOCKET LGA 1151 DIMENSIONS 305x244mm
• • •
CHIPSET Intel Z370 MEMORY SLOTS 4 PCI-E x16
• • •
SLOTS 2 PCI-E x1 SLOTS 3 PCI SLOTS 1 USB PORTS
•
2x USB2, 4x USB3, 1x USB3.1, 1x USB Type-C VIDEO
•
OUTPUTS HDMI, DVI-D, VGA WARRANTY One year RTB
• •
DETAILS www.msi.com PART CODE Z370 PC Pro
FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360
 SMART FITNESS TRACKER

FITBIT Ionic
★★★★★
£290 • From www.amazon.co.uk

VERDICT
A good-looking fitness watch with a great
screen and battery life, but it’s afflicted by a
multitude of niggles

FITBIT HAS LED the way in the fitness

band market for some time now, but in the
smartwatch arena, it has struggled. Its first
watch was the Surge, which worked well for
fitness duties but struggled to compete with
smartwatches for style or smart features.
Its next effort, the Fitbit Blaze, wasn’t that
much better, upping the ante on the style
front, but omitting key features such as
waterproofing and GPS.
Finally, it seems as if there’s a Fitbit
watch that fixes these problems: the Fitbit
Ionic, which looks great, has GPS and
waterproofing and combines all that with
smartwatch-style features.
The Ionic is Fitbit’s most fully featured
watch to date, but it’s also the company’s
most expensive: at £290, it edges into Apple
Watch Series 3 and Samsung Gear S3 Frontier
territory (Shopper 355). It’s also more
expensive than the recently discounted
Android Wear-based Huawei Watch 2
(Shopper 355), which you can now pick up for
a very reasonable £210, as well as the £220
TomTom Adventurer and the very nice-
looking Garmin Vivoactive 3 at £280.
FAIR AND SQUARE
In spite of all this close competition,
however, the Ionic still manages to stand
out, both in terms of the way it looks and
its comfort on the wrist.
Some might not like its square-edged
profile, preferring the softer edges of the
Apple Watch or the more traditionalist round
faces of the Samsung Gear S3 and Huawei
Watch 2. We were largely of the same opinion
– until we’d pried the Ionic from its box.
It’s available in three different colours –
silver, burnt orange and dark metallic grey –
it’s topped with a slightly convex Gorilla
Glass 3 touchscreen, and it looks gorgeous
whichever one you go for. By default, the
watch is supplied with a textured rubber
wristband (both small and large versions
are included in the box), but you can swap
this out for the optional £50 leather
wristband or the two-tone £25 rubber
sport band if you want a different look.
Alas, although the straps clip in and out
neatly and easily, there isn’t a standard fitting,
so until Fitbit decides to release more strap
options, that’s all the choice you have.
watch: one on the left that activates and
deactivates the screen and serves as a back
button; and two context-sensitive function
buttons on the right edge.
The design is subtly stylish and
understated, but the OLED display is the
star here. It’s amazingly bright, reaching a
peak of 1,000 nits, and it’s extremely crisp.
To our eyes, it’s the best display we’ve seen
on any smartwatch or fitness wearable.
Most importantly it’s incredibly readable,
whether you’re pounding the pavement on
your evening jog or cramming in the lengths
at the local swimming pool. Some might
take issue with the black border surrounding
it, but this means there’s room for a light
sensor, which adjusts the brightness of the
display automatically, depending on the
ambient conditions.
On the rear is the watch’s heart-rate
monitor, plus yet another proprietary Fitbit
charging adaptor (make sure you don’t lose
your cable; replacements are £17), and inside
the watch case are further sensors. In addition
to the usual three-axis accelerometer and
gyroscopes, the Ionic has an altimeter so the

BEHIND THE SCREENS

Many of the Ionic’s features are accessed
via the touchscreen, but there are also
three textured buttons on the sides of the

54 FEBRUARY
FEBRUA
FEB ARY 2018
RUA | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360
watch can track the number
umber of
staircases you’ve scaled during
the day. It also takes advantage
antage
of GLONASS/GPS satellite e handling of notifications. Not only
positioning radios, which
should, in theory, improve
ve
positional accuracy over
regular single GPS devices.
es.
ENDURANCE
TRAINING
The Fitbit Ionic caps it all
with battery life to put even en
the best smartwatches in the
shade. Over the course off two
weeks’ use, we only had to
charge it three times; that’s
hat’s
four to five days per charge.
arge.
Obviously, if you use the GPS
and exercise-tracking features
atures
more intensively than we did,
you’ll need to charge it more
frequently. Fitbit states that
hat the
watch will last up to 10 hours
with continual GPS use, but that’s
still impressive, especially when you
realise the Ionic is continually
ually monitoring
your movement and heart rt rate.
Fitbit’s fitness trackingg credentials are
second to none, and the Ionic takes that to
the next level. It will track all the usual stuff a
Fitbit Charge 2 can, of course, displaying all
that in a friendly and accessible manner in the
Fitbit app on your smartphone.
It will keep tabs on your heart rate right
through the day and overnight, track your
sleep, your steps and floors climbed, and
if you take it out on a run or a bike ride
without your phone, it will track your speed
and distance travelled accurately, even
plotting it all out on a map in the Fitbit app
when you get home.
WATER WONDERFUL WORLD
The GPS tracking is accurate, the heart rate
close enough and the rest of the metrics are
presented in such a manner that they’re easy
to understand and act upon. Better still, the
watch’s auto-pause mode lets you track only
those moments when you’re actually moving.
The breadth of exercise types it tracks is
pretty comprehensive, too. Full waterproofing
means swim-tracking is available for the first
time in one of Fitbit’s smartwatch-style
fitness trackers, with the watch keeping tabs
on elapsed time, lengths swum and distance.
You can also ask the Ionic to track cycling,
running, treadmill and weights sessions.
There’s an interval training mode and a
generic Workout mode, which tracks your
ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY
FEBRUA
ARY 201
2018
heart rate continually but doesn’t activate the
GPS, while the Fitbit Coach app takes you
through various workouts, step by step, with
instructions displayed on the screen.
All good stuff, but what’s great about the
Fitbit Ionic isn’t necessarily what it tracks or
the data it supplies afterwards; it’s how good
it is at picking up on activity automatically.
If you forget to select the running mode, for
instance, it will detect what you’re doing and
activate it automatically, GPS and all.
It will do the same if you walk somewhere
at a brisk pace, even though there’s no
specific walking exercise mode, and when we
forgot to hit the Start button on a swim
session, it still worked out what we were
doing and activated itself automatically.
We had to add a lap because that’s how long
it took before recognising what we were
doing, but it’s still a very useful feature to
have. If only it was able to detect stroke types,
like the Apple Watch now can.
TOOTHLESS
Unfortunately, this is where we get into
more negative territory. The biggest irritation
is that, once you’ve looked at the summary
of your most recent exercise session, then
dismissed it, you can’t then look back at
that summary again. You can tap to see
your Today summary, which shows your
activities – steps, heart rate, floors climbed
and so on – but for in-depth analysis, you’re
forced to check the app.
Even then, you might just be stymied,
because the Ionic’s Bluetooth synchronisation
is patchy to say the least. The first issue is
that it seems to take an absolute age to
transfer data from watch to phone, and it
might fail entirely
enti for no readily
apparent reason.
rea
Worse than this is the Ionic’s
can you not
n do very much with
them when they arrive – they
can be expanded slightly, but
emails and longer messages
can’t be read in full – but they
tend to
t arrive sporadically
and in batches. You might
as well
wel just check your
phone,
pho in other words.
MONEY
MO WALKS
The Ionic’s performance is
also disappointing: list
scrolling
scroll and screen-to-screen
animations
animat are far from smooth.
In addition, although Fitbit has
opened up the Ionic’s API to
third-party developers,
de there’s
precious little to run as of yet, aside
from what’s pre-installed
pre on the watch.
In fact, the only
on smartwatch-type
feature that really convinces on the Ionic
is Fitbit Pay. For the purpose of testing, Fitbit
issued a prepay Boon Mastercard, which we
loaded into the Fitbit app and activated in the
app. It worked perfectly
perfec on the occasions we
used it on Oyster card readers on the London
Underground and at contactless payment
terminals in various places. All you do is press
and hold the button on the left-hand side of
the watch, hold the watch near the reader and
it buzzes when the payment has been made.
The key to the system’s ongoing success,
however, will be ongoing bank and credit card
support. So far it’s looking good; there’s
already support from American Express,
Mastercard and Visa, and Fitbit Pay users will
soon be able to add their HSBC, Santander
and Capital One cards to the app, with more
set to be added over the coming months.
ELECTRIC TASTES
The Fitbit Ionic is far from the perfect
smartwatch/fitness-wearable hybrid. It has
issues with Bluetooth connectivity and
notification delivery, and its UI has both
usability and performance issues.
Even then, if Fitbit had priced this around
the £200 mark, we’d be perfectly happy to
recommend it, purely because it’s a great-
looking fitness-tracking smartwatch with an
extremely impressive battery life.
As it is, the price puts it firmly into Apple
Watch Series 3 and Samsung Gear S3
territory, and it’s nowhere near the all-rounder
that those watches are. That’s a shame,
because there’s great potential here.
Jonathan Bray
SPECIFICATIONS
PEDOMETER Yes • HEART-RATE MONITOR Yes •
• RESOLUTION 348x250 • OS
DISPLAY SIZE 1.5in
SUPPORT Android, iOS • BATTERY LIFE Five days •
WARRANTY One year RTB • DETAILS www.fitbit.com •
PART CODE FB503GYBK-EU
55
 Choosing a... PC system
01 A basic PC costing around £350 will
be able to run everyday office,
multimedia and education software and will
easily cope with surfing the internet. It might
even be able to run some modern games.
Many PCs can be sold either with or
without a monitor. If you don’t like the
display that the manufacturer is offering,
you can always use your current one, or
buy another one separately.
02 If you want to play games, you’ll
have to upgrade the graphics card.
Budget cards such as the Nvidia GeForce GTX
1050 will cope well with many 3D games, but
to play the latest 3D games smoothly (and
enjoy the best-quality graphics) it’s worth
upgrading to a more powerful card such as
the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070.
PCs
RASPBERRY Pi
Zero W
★★★★★
£10 • www.thepihut.com
The Pi Foundation’s latest
pocket-sized hobbyist PC is
a big improvement on the
original Pi Zero, thanks to integrated Wi-Fi
and better performance. It’s not as fast as
the more expensive Pi 3, nor as generous
with connections and ports, but the bargain
Zero W is perfect for low-power projects.
PROCESSOR 1GHz single-core Broadcom BCM2835 • RAM 512MB MB • USB PORTS 1x Micro USB
(power), 1x Micro USB OTG • TOTAL STORAGE MicroSD card slot • DISPLAY None •
OPERATING SYSTEM Raspbian • WARRANTY One year RTB • DETAILS www.raspberrypi.org •
PART CODE Pi Zero W • FULL REVIEW Jun 2017
WIRED2FIRE Pyro Reactor
★★★★★
£999 • www.wired2fire.com
The rise of Ryzen CPUs
has brought about a
rush of excellent
AMD-based PCs, perhaps the best of
which is Wired2Fire’s Pyro Reactor.
Its GeForce GTX 1060 will breeze through
most games at 1440p, and its hexa-core
Ryzen 5 1600X is capable of getting
serious work done. It’s a real all-rounder
at a very fair price.
PROCESSOR Hexa-core 3.8GHz AMD Ryzen 5 1600X • RAM 16GB • FRONT USB PORTS 2x
USB3 • REAR USB PORTS 2x USB2, 6x USB3.1 • TOTAL STORAGE 250GB SSD, 1TB hard disk •
GRAPHICS CARD 6GB Zotac GeForce GTX 1060 • OPERATING SYSTEM Windows 10 Home •
WARRANTY Three years labour including two years parts • DETAILS www.wired2fire.com •
PART CODE SYS_W2F_PYRE2 • FULL REVIEW Dec 2017
56
03 All modern PCs come with at
least a dual-core processor and
are capable of most tasks. Anyone who
peripherals attach to these ports. Most
new PCs come with the latest USB3 ports,
which provide faster data transfers when
regularly undertakes demanding tasks used with supported devices than the
such as video editing and encoding older USB2 standard.
should consider a quad-core or even a
hex-core processor.
06 Most new PCs now come with
Windows 10 pre-installed. Don’t
04 There are plenty of good reasons to
upgrade the PC’s memory or hard
disk. If you’ll use your PC for gaming, video
be too easily swayed by the inclusion of
other software, though, as it may be that
you’ll never use it.
editing or other demanding tasks, you’ll
need at least 8GB of RAM and a large hard
disk; 1TB should suffice. Many new PCs have 07 While most PCs come in cases
of a similar size, some have more
an SSD, which speeds up the time it takes for compact mini tower or mini PC cases.
your PC to boot and programs to load. These smaller PCs will fit under your TV
or on your desk more easily, but bear in
05 Having plenty of USB ports is
always useful, as most computer
mind that they’re significantly harder to
upgrade than full-size machines.
SCAN 3XS Gamer
★★★★★ NEW
ENTRY
£1,650 • www.scan.co.uk/3XS
For this much cash,
we’d usually expect an
overclockable processor,
but an exception can be made for the 3XS
Gamer. Its hexa-core Intel Core i7-8700
delivers enormous grunt in both single-
core and multithreaded tasks, and a
GeForce GTX 1080 graphics card ensures
good-quality 4K gaming.
PROCESSOR Hexa-core 3.2GHz Intel Core i7-8700 • RAM 16GB • FRONT USB PORTS 2x USB3 •
REAR USB PORTS 2x USB2, 4x USB3 • TOTAL STORAGE 250GB SSD, 2TB hard disk • GRAPHICS
CARD 8GB EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 SC Gaming • DISPLAY None • OPERATING SYSTEM Windows
10 Home • WARRANTY Three years RTB including one year onsite • DETAILS www.scan.co.uk/3XS
• PART CODE LN84933 • FULL REVIEW Jan 2018
PALICOMP
i5 Titanium
★★★★★
£500 • www.palicomp.co.uk
While there’s no
dedicated GPU, the i5
Titanium is a brilliantly
balanced home office PC, with a
capable quad-core processor, compact
case and speedy SSD/hard disk
combo. It’s not particularly upgradable
but, for the price, it offers very good
performance right out of the box.
PROCESSOR Quad-core 3GHz Intel Core i5-7400 • RAM 8GB • FRONT USB PORTS 2x USB3 •
REAR USB PORTS 2x USB2, 2x USB3x 1x USB Type-C • TOTAL STORAGE 250GB SSD, 1TB hard disk
• GRAPHICS CARD None • OPERATING SYSTEM Windows 10 Home • WARRANTY Three years
RTB • DETAILS palicomp.co.uk • PART CODE KAB3 • FULL REVIEW Aug 2017
FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360
Choosing a... Laptop
01 A basic laptop costing around £300
will run everyday office, multimedia
and education software, but it won’t be
suitable for 3D gaming or processor-intensive
tasks such as video editing. Many laptops at
this price have a 15.4in screen and weigh
around 2.4kg, so they’re best used around
the house and for occasional journeys.
that weighs less than 2kg. For the best
portability, buy one that has an 11in or 13in
screen. In general, the smaller and lighter the
will do the job, but if you want better
performance, you should look for an
Intel Core i5 or Core i7 model instead. We
laptop, the more expensive it is, especially if recommend a minimum of 4GB of RAM,
it has plenty of processing power. although 8GB is better for multitasking.
04 Battery life is extremely important
for a laptop, particularly if you’ll be
carrying it around. We’d expect all but the
06 Most budget and mid-range laptops
use a mechanical hard disk for
storage. You’ll want at least 500GB, but

02 If you want to play modern

games, you’ll need a laptop with a
dedicated graphics chip such as the Nvidia
GeForce GTX 1060M. Good gaming laptops
tend to have large 17in screens and weigh
around 3kg, so they’re best suited to use
at home.
biggest and heaviest to last for at least five
hours on a single charge, but for an ultra-
portable that you carry everywhere, eight
1TB or more is better. Solid-state drives
(SSDs) have faster performance, making
your computer quicker to boot and more
hours and above is more desirable. responsive. They have lower capacities,
though. You’ll need at least 128GB.
05 Laptops use mobile versions of
processors to conserve power,
and these lag behind desktop chips when 07 Netbooks are a type of small,
low-cost ultra-portable laptop.

03 If you want a laptop that you can

take everywhere, look for a model
it comes to performance. For a budget
Windows laptop, an Intel Core i3 processor
They’re fine for light use, but avoid them if
you want to do complicated tasks.

LAPTOPS
HP Spectre x360 ASUS ZenBook UX310UA
★★★★★ ★★★★★
£1,550 • www.amzn.to/2uYX1Qq
2uYX1Qq £660 • www.saveonlaptops.co.uk
Following in the Sadly we can no
footsteps of the longer find the
Spectre UX310UA for the
13, HP’s Spectre x360 is a same bargain price at which we
convertible hybrid laptop reviewed it, but this is still a lovely
with premium ultrabook ultraportable that can last a full working day
sensibilities. That means high
igh away from the mains. Best of all, this price gets you
performance from its Core i7 processor, a lush 4K display and even a more powerful Intel Kaby Lake processor and a
discrete Nvidia GeForce 940MX graphics. larger SSD.

PROCESSOR Dual-core 2.7GHz Intel Core i7-7500U • RAM 8GB • DIMENSIONS 356x251x17.9mm •
WEIGHT 2kg • SCREEN SIZE 15.6in • SCREEN RESOLUTION 3,840x2,160 • GRAPHICS ADAPTOR
Nvidia GeForce GTX 940MX • TOTAL STORAGE 512GB SSD • OPERATING SYSTEM Windows 10
Home • WARRANTY One year RTB • DETAILS www.hp.com • PART CODE 15-bl000na •
FULL REVIEW Sep 2017
PROCESSOR Dual-core 2.4GHz Intel Core i3-7100U • RAM 4GB • DIMENSIONS 323x223x18.4mm
• WEIGHT 1.4kg • SCREEN SIZE 13.3in • SCREEN RESOLUTION 1,920x1,080 • TOTAL STORAGE
256GB SSD • OPERATING SYSTEM Windows 10 Home • PARTS AND LABOUR WARRANTY One
year RTB • DETAILS www.asus.com/uk • PART CODE UX310UA • FULL REVIEW Jul 2017

GIGABYTE DELL XPS 13 (2017)

Aero 15 ★★★★★
★★★★★ £1,379 • www.amzn.to/2uirlnL
£1,900 • www.scan.co.uk Powered by an
updated Intel Core
The Aero 15 i7-7500U,
7500U, the refreshed
is another Dell XPS 13 goes from
rom a tantalising
slimline purchase to an essential
ential one.
gaming laptop, this time withth The 3,200x1,800 display
splay still
the heft of a GeForce GTX 1060060 inside. looks excellent, too,
oo, both in itself
The result is excellent frame rates even in and surrounded
highly demanding games, with unusually by the razor-thin
long battery life to sweeten the deal. InfinityEdge bezels.

PROCESSOR Quad-core 2.8GHz Intel Core i7-7700HQ • RAM 16GB • DIMENSIONS 356x250x19.9mm
• WEIGHT 2.1kg • SCREEN SIZE 15.6in • SCREEN RESOLUTION 1,980x1,080 • GRAPHICS ADAPTOR
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 • TOTAL STORAGE 512GB SSD • OPERATING SYSTEM Windows 10 Home •
WARRANTY Two years RTB • DETAILS www.gigabyte.com • PART CODE Aero 15W-CF2 •
FULL REVIEW Aug 2017
PROCESSOR Quad-core 2.7GHz Intel Core i7-7500U • RAM 8GB • DIMENSIONS 304x200x15mm
• WEIGHT 1.29kg • SCREEN SIZE 13.3in • SCREEN RESOLUTION 3,200x1,800 •
GRAPHICS ADAPTOR Intel HD Graphics 620 • TOTAL STORAGE 256GB SSD •
OPERATING SYSTEM Windows 10 Home • WARRANTY Three years RTB •
DETAILS www.dell.com/uk • PART CODE XPS 13 9360 • FULL REVIEW May 2017

ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018 57

 Choosing a... Smartphone
01 A smartphone’s operating system
(OS) dictates its basic features
and which third-party software you can
pages. Don’t worry too much about built-in
media players or Office document editors;
you can always install apps to replace these
variety of custom onscreen keyboards so
you can find one that suits you.

install. There are three main contenders:

Apple’s iOS, which is found on the iPhone,
Google’s Android, which is used by various
handset manufacturers, and Windows
Phone, which has few options. Apple iOS
and Google Android have the most apps
available but Windows Phone is slowly
catching up.
with better versions later.
The image quality of smartphone cameras
has improved tremendously in recent years,
and resolutions have increased to as high as
20 megapixels.
03 Very few modern smartphones have a
physical keyboard for entering text;
they almost exclusively use touchscreens
04 Be careful when choosing a contract.
Look for one that includes a large
data allowance if you want to use the
internet regularly or you’ve set your phone
to synchronise your contacts, calendar and
email through online services.
Built-in Wi-Fi can help you avoid high data
charges by connecting to the internet
through wireless hotspots when you’re out,

02 All smartphones have colour screens,

but their resolutions vary. Basic
models have 800x480 pixels, but text can be
indistinct. Look for a display that has at least
1,280x720 pixels so it’s easy to browse web
now. Physical keyboards can aid heavy
emailing, but today’s touchscreen keyboards
work just as well.
Android smartphones and iPhones
running iOS 9 or 10 allow you to install a
or your router when you’re at home. Android
and iPhone handsets can operate as wireless
hotspots, letting you connect your laptop to
the web over your mobile data connection.
There may be an extra charge for this.

SMARTPHONES
MOTOROLA Moto Z2 Play SAMSUNG Galaxy S8
★★★★★ ★★★★★
£379 • SIM-free www.motorola.co.uk £512 SIM-free; £10 on £42-per-month contract •
www.amzn.to/2qNy2fT (SIM-free);
The second-generation version of our www.carphonewarehouse.com (contract)
favourite modular smartphone takes
some small steps back on battery life The most powerful Android phone
and display quality, but is still a lot of smartphone for ever. The camera is superb, the
£379, with good performance and a sharpshooting display is dazzling, and even the base
camera. It’s compatible with older Moto Mods, too. model comes in a beautiful, almost completely bezel-free, design.

PROCESSOR Octa-core 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 626 • SCREEN SIZE 5.5in • SCREEN PROCESSOR Quad-core 2.3GHz Samsung Exynos 8895 • SCREEN SIZE 5.8in • SCREEN RESOLUTION
RESOLUTION 1,920x1,080 • REAR CAMERA 12 megapixels • STORAGE 64GB • WIRELESS DATA 4G 2,560x1,440 • REAR CAMERA 12 megapixels • STORAGE 64GB • WIRELESS DATA 4G • DIMENSIONS
• DIMENSIONS 156x76x6mm • WEIGHT 145g • OPERATING SYSTEM Android 7.1 • WARRANTY 149x68x8mm • WEIGHT 155g • OPERATING SYSTEM Android 7.0 • WARRANTY One-year RTB •
One year RTB • DETAILS www.motorola.co.uk • PART CODE XT1710 • FULL REVIEW Nov 2017 DETAILS wwww.samsung.com/uk • PART CODE SM-G950FZKABTU • FULL REVIEW Jul 2017

NOKIA 3310 GOOGLE Pixel 2 NEW

ENTRY
★★★★★ ★★★★★
£39 PAYG • www.vodafone.co.uk £629 SIM-free; £10 on £48-per-month contract •
www.carphonewarehouse.com
Possibly the most beloved feature
phone of all time is back with a 2017 The larger Pixel 2 XL has a higher-res
redesign. It’s not as flexible, app-wise, display and better battery life, but this
as a cheap Android handset, but it’s light, compact, is the better buy: it’s just as fast and
and can last for days on a single charge, so it makes has the same pure Android OS, but doesn’t suffer from
for a perfect backup device. the same vibrancy problems as the XL’s screen.
PROCESSOR Not stated • SCREEN SIZE 2.4in • SCREEN RESOLUTION 320x240 • REAR CAMERA PROCESSOR Quad-core 2.45GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 • SCREEN SIZE 5in • SCREEN
2 megapixels • STORAGE 16MB • WIRELESS DATA 2G • DIMENSIONS 116x51x12.8mm • WEIGHT RESOLUTION 1,920x1,080 • REAR CAMERA 12.2 megapixels • STORAGE 64/128GB • WIRELESS
80g • OPERATING SYSTEM Nokia Series 30+ • WARRANTY One year RTB • DETAILS www.nokia. DATA 4G • DIMENSIONS 146x70x7.8mm • WEIGHT 143g • OPERATING SYSTEM Android 8.0 •
com • PART CODE 3310 • FULL REVIEW Sep 2017 WARRANTY One year RTB • DETAILS store.google.com • PART CODE Pixel 2 • FULL REVIEW Jan 2018

SAMSUNG Galaxy J5 (2017) HONOR 8 Pro

★★★★★
£240 SIM-free; free on £16-per-month contract • £470
www.carphonewarehouse.com
Even with a huge price hike over last year’s
model, the new Galaxy J5 proves its worth.
It performs well, takes great photos, has
an incredibly vibrant screen and looks stylish, but it’s the
battery life – over 18h in our tests – that really impresses.
PROCESSOR Octa-core 1.6GHz Exynos 7870 • SCREEN SIZE 5in • SCREEN RESOLUTION 1,280x720
• REAR CAMERA 13 megapixels • STORAGE 16GB • WIRELESS DATA 4G • DIMENSIONS
146x71x8mm • WEIGHT 160g • OPERATING SYSTEM Android 7.0 • WARRANTY One-year RTB •
DETAILS www.samsung.com/uk • PART CODE SM-J350FZKABTU • FULL REVIEW Dec 2017
★★★★★
• www.debenhamsplus.com
If you can live with the EMUI skin, the
Honor 8 Pro is a fantastic phablet. It
competes with more expensive
flagships on performance, and has a vibrant 5.7in
display, plus a sharp rear camera with 4K video capture.
PROCESSOR Octa-core 2.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 960 • SCREEN SIZE
5.7in • SCREEN RESOLUTION 2,560x1,440 • REAR CAMERA 12 megapixels •
STORAGE 64GB • WIRELESS DATA 4G • DIMENSIONS 157x78x7mm •
WEIGHT 184g • OPERATING SYSTEM Android 7.0 • DETAILS www.hihonor.
com/uk • PART CODE DUK-L09 • FULL REVIEW Aug 2017

58 FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360

Choosing a... Tablet
01 All tablets rely on an operating system
(OS) to run apps. You have three main
choices: Apple’s iOS, which runs on the iPad,
Android, which Google licenses to various
manufacturers, and Windows 10, which is
slowly becoming more common in hybrid
tablets and convertibles. If you own an Apple
or Google smartphone, you can download
your apps, music and so on to a tablet that
runs the same OS, so it makes sense to stick
with a compatible device.
starting to see tablets that have even higher
screen resolutions. Some are as high as
2,560x1,600 or even 4K. Entry-level tablets
04 Tablets rarely include a SIM card slot.
This means you’ll have to rely on
Wi-Fi to get online, although some tablets
typically use TN panels, which don’t have let you access the internet through your
particularly good viewing angles. The viewing smartphone. If you want mobile access to
angles of IPS panels are much better. the internet, look for 3G- and 4G-ready
devices. These almost always cost more
03 If you want to listen to music, watch
films and play games, make sure your
tablet has plenty of storage. Many tablets
than Wi-Fi-only models but they’re great
if you use your tablet while commuting
or travelling.
come with 8GB or 16GB of internal storage,

02 It’s important to pick a tablet that has

a good-quality high-resolution screen.
Many budget tablets have 1,280x800-
resolution displays, but better tablets have
Full HD 1,920x1,080 panels, and we’re
although some budget models have less.
You’ll typically pay more for a higher storage
capacity. Many tablets also have microSD
05 Your choice of tablet determines the
apps you can use on it. You may find
that some of the apps you want are available
slots that let you add extra storage, although on iOS but not Android and vice versa.
you won’t find one on an iPad. This is a cheap Windows 10, meanwhile, runs traditional
way of boosting storage capacity. desktop applications.

TABLETS
SAMSUNG Galaxy Book 10.6in HUAWEI MediaPad M3
3
★★★★★ ★★★★★
★★
£649 • www.johnlewis.com £289
£28 • www.ebuyer.com
Good budget 2-in-1s are rare, but Android slates may have fallen
len out
Samsung hits the mark with its of fashion in favour of 2-in-1s,
s, but
10.6in Galaxy Book. The Full HD the MediaPad M3 shows they ey can
touchscreen display looks great and, unlike still
sti be worth your cash. The Kirin 950 chip delivers
with the iPad Pro or Surface Pro ranges, the excellent keyboard and massive processing power, and the sleek design
sign
stylus peripherals come included in the box. and vibrant screen deserve your attention as well.

PROCESSOR Dual-core Intel Core m3-7Y30 • SCREEN SIZE 10.6in • SCREEN RESOLUTION PROCESSOR Octa-core 2.3GHz Hisilicon Kiring 950 • SCREEN SIZE 8.4in • SCREEN RESOLUTION
1,920x1,280 • REAR CAMERA None • STORAGE 64GB • WIRELESS DATA No • DIMENSIONS 2,560x1,440 • REAR CAMERA 8 megapixels • STORAGE 32GB • WIRELESS DATA 4G •
261x179x8.9mm • WEIGHT 650g • OPERATING SYSTEM Windows 10 Home • WARRANTY Two years DIMENSIONS 124x215x7.3mm • WEIGHT 320g • OPERATING SYSTEM Android 6.0 • WARRANTY
RTB • DETAILS www.samsung.com/uk • PART CODE SM-W620NZKAXAR • FULL REVIEW Nov 2017 One year RTB • DETAILS www.huawei.com/uk • PART CODE BTV-DL09 • FULL REVIEW Feb 2017

APPLE iPad Pro 10.5in MICROSOFT Surface Pro (2017)

( )
★★★★★ ★★★★★
£619 • www.apple.com/uk £2,079 • www.microsoft.com
While it’s still stuck with a This pricey 2-in-1 earns every
ery penny,
mobile OS, rather than the with its colourful, pin-sharp
rp
productivity-friendly macOS, display, best-in-class app
there’s no arguing with the latest iPad Pro’s raw performance, lengthy battery life and quality
ity
power. An A10X Fusion chip makes it much faster than the 9.7in keyboard cover. It’s been given welcome design
model in both multitasking and single-threaded applications. tweaks too, like a more durable hinge and smoothed-off edges.

PROCESSOR Hexa-core 2.36GHz Apple A10X Fusion • SCREEN SIZE 10.5in • SCREEN RESOLUTION PROCESSOR Dual-core 2.4GHz Intel Core i7-7660U • SCREEN SIZE 12.3in • SCREEN RESOLUTION
2,224x1,668 • REAR CAMERA 12 megapixels • STORAGE 64/256/512GB • WIRELESS DATA 4G (cellular 2,736x1,824 • REAR CAMERA 8 megapixels • STORAGE 512GB • WIRELESS DATA No • DIMENSIONS
version) • DIMENSIONS 251x174x6.1mm • WEIGHT 469g • OPERATING SYSTEM iOS 11 • WARRANTY 292x201x8.5mm • WEIGHT 784g • OPERATING SYSTEM Windows 10 Pro • WARRANTY One year
One year RTB • DETAILS www.apple.com/uk • PART CODE 9.7in iPad Pro • FULL REVIEW Oct 2017 RTB • DETAILS www.microsoft.com • PART CODE FKH-00002 • FULL REVIEW Sep 2017

SAMSUNG Galaxy Tab S3 AMAZON Kindle Oasis

★★★★★ ★★★★★
£600 • www.currys.co.uk £230 • www.amzn.to/2iz8Cge
Yes, it’s incredibly expensive for an The Kindle Oasis is
Android slate, but the Galaxy Tab S3 expensive by eReader
is pure luxury: the AMOLED display standards, but you
looks exquisite, the stereo speakers sound great, and absolutely get what you pay for: a well-built,
Samsung’s S Pen stylus is included as standard. long-lasting device with a sharp screen and
brilliant clip-on cover accessory.
PROCESSOR Quad-core 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 • SCREEN SIZE 9.7n •
SCREEN RESOLUTION 2,048x1,536 • REAR CAMERA 13 megapixels • STORAGE 32GB • PROCESSOR Not stated • SCREEN SIZE 6in • SCREEN RESOLUTION 1,440x1,080 • REAR CAMERA
WIRELESS DATA None (4G optional) • DIMENSIONS 2937x169x6mm • WEIGHT 429g • None • STORAGE 4GB • WIRELESS DATA None • DIMENSIONS 143x122x8.5mm • WEIGHT 131g •
OPERATING SYSTEM Android 7.0 • WARRANTY One year RTB • DETAILS www.samsung.com/uk OPERATING SYSTEM Kindle OS • WARRANTY One year RTB • DETAILS www.amazon.co.uk •
• PART CODE SM-T820 • FULL REVIEW Aug 2017 PART CODE Kindle Oasis • FULL REVIEW Aug 2016

ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018 59

 Choosing a... Digital camera
01 A basic digital camera will suit
someone who wants to take pictures
to view on their computer and create 7x5in
check our reviews to find out how a
particular model performs.
921,000-dot resolutions for a sharper picture.
A touchscreen is useful for moving the
autofocus point.
prints. It should cost around £80, but there
may be hidden downsides such as slow
performance and very basic user controls.
03 A 3x zoom lens provides you with
reasonable scope for framing your
shots, but a larger range can do wonders 05 Leave some room in your budget for a
memory card, as the bundled memory
for your photography. Most compact provided with a camera is never enough. A

02 Spend a little more and you’ll get a

higher resolution. A 16-megapixel
sensor has the potential to produce sharp
cameras can manage a 5x zoom, while
pocket-size ultra-zoom cameras can
provide 24x zoom ranges.
16GB card costs less than £10. You may also
need to buy batteries.

prints up to A3 size, but only if it and the lens

are of a suitably high quality. Very high
resolutions in compact cameras tend to
boost noise more than detail levels, so many
of the best models strike a sensible balance
by using a 12-megapixel sensor.
Back-illuminated CMOS sensors tend
to produce less noise than CCDs, but
Numbers such as 28-105mm tell you the
wide-angle and telephoto limits of the zoom
range. Big zooms require optical image
stabilisation to avoid blur due to camera
shake when zoomed right in.
04 Most cameras now have a 3in screen.
Look out for 460,000-dot or
06 Don’t forget that a camera’s
specification tells you very little
about its image quality. You’ll need to read
our reviews for that. With a compact
camera, we believe the user shouldn’t have
to grapple with complicated controls in
order to take great pictures in a range of
lighting conditions.

PHOTOGRAPHY
SONY RX100 V FUJIFILM X-T2
★★★★★ ★★★★★
£949 • www.amzn.to/2rtLjLf £1,399 • www.amzn.to/2qHCw7h
It may be small, but the RX100 The X-T2 is a mirrorless
V is seriously fast, and because CSC capable of shooting
it also captures a surprising high-quality images at incredibly high burst speeds,
amount of light, image and video quality are both top-notch. making it ideal for wildlife and sports photography.

SENSOR RESOLUTION 20 megapixels • SENSOR SIZE 13.2x8.8mm (1in) • FOCAL LENGTH
MULTIPLIER 2.7x • VIEWFINDER Electronic (2,400,000 dots) • LCD SCREEN 3in (1,228,800 dots) •
OPTICAL ZOOM (35mm-EQUIVALENT FOCAL LENGTHS) 2.9x (24-70mm) • 35mm-EQUIVALENT
APERTURE f/4.9-7.6 • WEIGHT 298g • DIMENSIONS 60x104x41mm • WARRANTY One year RTB
• DETAILS www.sony.co.uk • FULL REVIEW Apr 2017
SENSOR RESOLUTION 24 megapixels • SENSOR SIZE 23.6x15.6mm (APS-C) •
FOCAL LENGTH MULTIPLIER 1.5x • VIEWFINDER Electronic (2.36 million dots) • LCD SCREEN 3in
(1.04 million dots) • VIEWFINDER MAGNIFICATION (35mm-EQUIVALENT, COVERAGE) 0.77x,
100% • LENS MOUNT Fujifilm X Mount • WEIGHT 507g • DIMENSIONS 92x143x51mm •
WARRANTY One year RTB • DETAILS www.fujifilm.eu/uk • FULL REVIEW May 2017

NIKON D3400 CANON G7 X Mark II

★★★★★ ★★★★★
£439 • www.camera-box.com £539 • www.wexphotographic.com
A collection of minor The successor to our
improvements to battery life, favourite camera of 2015, the
shooting speed and stills quality
ity G7 X Mark II is another fantastic CSC. A capable 1in
add up to make the D3400 the best entry-level DSLR available. sensor, a tilting touchscreen, a comfortable grip and a big 4.2x optical
zoom; this has all you need to take great photos even in low light.
SENSOR RESOLUTION 24 megapixels • SENSOR SIZE 23.5x15.6mm (APS-C) • VIEWFINDER
Optical TTL • LCD SCREEN 3in (921,000 dots) • OPTICAL ZOOM (35mm-EQUIVALENT FOCAL SENSOR RESOLUTION 20 megapixels • SENSOR SIZE 1in • LCD SCREEN 3in (1,040,000 dots) •
LENGTHS) 3x (27-82.5mm) • 35mm-EQUIVALENT APERTURE f/5.25-8.4 • LENS MOUNT Nikon F OPTICAL ZOOM (35mm-EQUIVALENT FOCAL LENGTHS) 4.2x (24-100mm) • 35mm-EQUIVALENT
Mount • WEIGHT 655g • DIMENSIONS 99x124x135mm • WARRANTY One year RTB • APERTURE f/5-7.7 • LENS MOUNT Canon EF-S • WEIGHT 319g • DIMENSIONS 64x108x42mm •
DETAILS www.europe-nikon.com • FULL REVIEW Jun 2017 WARRANTY One year RTB • DETAILS www.canon.co.uk • FULL REVIEW Oct 2016

PANASONIC Lumix GH5

H5 PANASONIC Lumix DMC-G80
MC-G80
★★★★★ ★★★★★
£1,699 • www.wexphotographic.com £799 • www.jessops.com
This update to the brilliant The G80 is ahead of the pack
GH4 can take great photos, when it comes to video quality,
ity,
but it’s video capture where the GH5 truly excels. Its and its stills look great as well.. It’s
4K, 60fps footage is crisp enough for serious indie filmmaking, and it more expensive than the preceding G7, but includes
ludes a
supports 10-bit recording and an optional flat colour profile as well. superior 12-60mm kit lens, among other improvements.

SENSOR RESOLUTION 20 megapixels • SENSOR SIZE 17.3x13mm • FOCAL LENGTH SENSOR RESOLUTION 16 megapixels • SENSOR SIZE 17.3x13mm • FOCAL LENGTH MULTIPLIER
MULTIPLIER 2x • VIEWFINDER Electronic (3,680,000 dots) • LCD SCREEN 3.2in (1,620,000 dots) • 2x • VIEWFINDER Electronic (2,360,000 dots) • LCD SCREEN 3in (1,040,000 dots) •
LENS MOUNT Micro Four Thirds • WEIGHT 725g (with kit lens) • DIMENSIONS 98x146x88mm • LENS MOUNT Micro Four Thirds • WEIGHT 715g with kit lens • DIMENSIONS 79x137x130mm •
WARRANTY One year RTB • DETAILS www.panasonic.com/uk • FULL REVIEW Sep 2017 WARRANTY One year RTB • DETAILS www.panasonic.com/uk • FULL REVIEW Jul 2017

60 FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360

Choosing a... Display
01 A basic 24in LCD monitor costs
around £100. It will be fine for typical
Windows work but is likely to have poor
Many DVI and all HDMI connections
support HDCP, which lets you watch
protected video content, such as Blu-ray
cable or either HDMI or DisplayPort to use a
monitor at these resolutions.

viewing angles, so you’ll need to sit straight

on for the best picture quality. Its colour
accuracy may not be very good, either.
movies. DisplayPort is becoming more
popular, but you’ll need a graphics card with
a DisplayPort output (mini or full-size) to
04 If you want better picture quality,
look for a monitor with a high
contrast ratio. The higher the ratio, the
use this input on your monitor. whiter the whites and the blacker the blacks.

02 A VGA input lets you use the monitor

with any PC, but the quality may not
be as good as it is over DVI or HDMI. Both
are digital connections and require a
compatible graphics card but they avoid the
need for digital-to-analogue or analogue-to-
digital conversions, which can reduce image
quality. A digital connection achieves the
best picture automatically, so you won’t have
to adjust clock or phase settings as you do
with analogue connections.
03 A larger monitor will be easier on the
eye and may have a higher resolution.
Most monitors have a resolution of at least
1,920x1,080 (1080p), which provides lots of
room for working with multiple windows at
the same time. For even higher resolutions,
you’ll need a larger display. Some 27in and
30in screens have 2,560x1,600 or even 4K
resolutions. You’ll need a graphics card with
a dual-link DVI output and a dual-link DVI
You’ll also be able to see more fine detail in
images with high contrast levels. Viewing
angles are important, as wider angles mean
you don’t have to sit directly in front of the
monitor to get the best picture. Wider
viewing angles also allow more people to
view the screen at the same time.
Fast response times reduce ghosting,
but don’t be dazzled by the numbers. A
response time of 25ms or quicker is fine
for all applications.

DISPLAYS
ASUS VC239H BENQ SW2700PT
★★★★★ ★★★★★
£127 • www.box.co.uk £614 • www.amzn.to/2fj53dh
It’s rare to see IPS After calibration, this
panels on monitors professional-grade
this cheap, and in monitor has near-perfectect
Standard mode, the VC239H nd
colour accuracy, so it’s ideal for photo and
delivers much better image quality video editing. The Quad HD resolution also ensures there’s plenty of
than we’ve come to expect from budget displays. room for Windows multitasking.
SCREEN SIZE 23in • RESOLUTION 1,920x1,080 • SCREEN TECHNOLOGY IPS • VIDEO INPUTS SCREEN SIZE 27in • RESOLUTION 2,560x1,440 • SCREEN TECHNOLOGY IPS (AHVA) •
VGA, DVI, HDMI • WARRANTY Three years RTB • DETAILS www.asus.com/uk • PART CODE VIDEO INPUTS DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort • WARRANTY Three years RTB •
VC239H • FULL REVIEW Mar 2017 DETAILS www.benq.com • PART CODE M352753 • FULL REVIEW Nov 2017

IIYAMA G-Master GB2888UHSU AOC Agon AG271QX

Gold Phoenix ★★★★★
★★★★★
£420 • www.overclockers.co.uk
£360 • www.overclockers.co.uk This is the ideal 27in
monitor for gaming:
It’s unusual to consider a £360 smoothing Adaptive Sync,
monitor a bargain, but that’s what a resolution that’s sharp but not too
this is: a 28in, Ultra HD display with a mere 1ms demanding, a high 144Hz refresh rate and
response time and support for AMD’s anti-tearing FreeSync tech. minimal input lag. Contrast and colours are generally good as well.
SCREEN SIZE 28in • RESOLUTION 3,840x2,160 • SCREEN TECHNOLOGY TN • SCREEN SIZE 27in • RESOLUTION 2,560x1,440 • SCREEN TECHNOLOGY TN • REFRESH RATE
VIDEO INPUTS VGA, 3x HDMI, DisplayPort • WARRANTY Two years collect and return • 144Hz • VIDEO INPUTS VGA, 2x HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI • WARRANTY Three years RTB •
DETAILS www.iiyama.com • PART CODE ProLite GB2888UHSU-B1 • FULL REVIEW Aug 2016 DETAILS aoc-europe.com • FULL REVIEW May 2017

PHILIPS Brilliance 258B6QUEB SAMSUNG CF791

★★★★★ ★★★★★
£365 • www.uk.insight.com £720 • www.johnlewis.com
A USB Type-C port doesn’t With its Quantum
sound like the most thrilling F791
Dot display, the CF791
feature on a monitor, but it can achieve pristine colour
gives the Brilliance 258B6QUEB a wonderful coverage and superp accuracy. Its Ultra HD resolution and 34in
flexibility, allowing you to hook up any laptop, 2-in-1 or Type-C curved screen make it ideal for multitasking, but a 100Hz refresh rate
peripheral. Picture quality is very good, too. and AMD FreeSync support ensure it’s even better for 4K gaming.
SCREEN SIZE 25in • RESOLUTION 2,560x1,440 • SCREEN TECHNOLOGY IPS • REFRESH RATE SCREEN SIZE 34in • RESOLUTION 3,840x1,440 • SCREEN TECHNOLOGY VA •
60Hz • VIDEO INPUTS VGA, HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI, USB Type-C • WARRANTY Three years RTB REFRESH RATE 100Hz • VIDEO INPUTS DisplayPort, HDMI • WARRANTY Two years RTB •
• DETAILS www.philips.co.uk • FULL REVIEW Mar 2017 DETAILS www.samsung.com/uk • FULL REVIEW Oct 2017

ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018 61

 Choosing a... TV
01 A 32in Full HD TV costs around
£200 and will suit smaller living
rooms. TVs look much smaller in the shop
than in your home, so measure the space
available before you buy.
Curved TVs are becoming increasingly
more common, but bear in mind that these
typically take up more floor space than a
traditional flat set.
03 Consider the number of inputs
you’ll need to connect the rest of
your equipment. Two HDMI ports should be
and the brightest shades that the screen
will be able to display. The higher the
number, the darker the blacks and the
the bare minimum, but many TV sets come brighter the whites. A screen with a high
with four HDMI connectors. You’ll need contrast ratio is more likely to show a
HDMI 2.0 if you want a future-proof 4K TV, wider range of detail.
as this is the only way to get 60fps video
playback from external sources at such
a high resolution.
If you want to plug a PC into your TV,
05 HD content is now becoming fairly
widespread, but if you want Ultra
HD content your options are more limited.

02 A 1,920x1,080-resolution TV can
display a 1080p image. You can still
buy TVs with a 720p (1,366x768) resolution,
but they’re no cheaper and the image won’t
be as sharp. 3,840x2,560 Ultra HD resolution,
or 4K, TVs are finally available at reasonable
prices, although you’ll still pay a premium for
one over a 1080p model.
you’ll need to use either HDMI or VGA
inputs. Be aware that some TVs only let you
use a PC on an analogue input, and others
won’t display the Windows desktop at the
TV’s highest resolution.
04 The contrast ratio tells you the
difference between the darkest
Most Ultra HD TVs have Netflix built into
their smart TV systems, but only BT is
currently providing live Ultra HD video,
with BT Sport Ultra HD.
Ultra HD Blu-ray players are due to arrive
in 2016, but in the meantime Amazon’s Fire
TV set-top box will stream its Instant Video
service at Ultra HD resolutions.

HOME CINEMA
PANASONIC Viera TX-50DX802B Q Acoustics M3
★★★★★ ★★★★★
£929 • www.johnlewis.com £299 • www.weybridge-audio.co.uk
The Viera While there’s
TX-50DX802B not no subwoofer
only looks great and or Wi-Fi here,
comes equipped with an expansive the M3 is an awesome soundbar that looks as good as it
suite of smart apps, but it also has its own soundbar, allowing for sounds. It also improves on the old Media 4 with HDMI
clearer, boomier movie nights. ARC support.
SCREEN SIZE 50in • NATIVE RESOLUTION 3,840x2,160 • VIDEO INPUTS 3x HDMI (1x ARC), SPEAKERS 4 • RMS POWER OUTPUT 80W • WEIGHT 4kg • NETWORKING Bluetooth •
component, composite • TUNER Freeview HD • DIMENSIONS 1,115x647x35mm • WARRANTY Five WARRANTY One year RTB • DETAILS www.qacoustics.co.uk • PART CODE QA7440 •
years RTB • DETAILS www.panasonic.com/uk • PART CODE TX-50DX802B • FULL REVIEW Apr 2017 FULL REVIEW Jun 2017

SAMSUNG UE49KS7000 PANASONIC DMP-UB900

★★★★★ ★★★★★
£1,099 • www.reliantdirect.co.uk £369 • www.argos.co.uk
A good-quality 4K TV Together with the
needn’t cost the earth, Samsung UBD-K8500,
as the UE49KS7000 this forms the vanguard of a new
proves. In fact, this Quantum Dot breed of Ultra HD Blu-ray players. Samsung’s model is cheaper,
display earned the UHD Alliance’s but the DMP-UB900 has superior features, particularly where
UHD Premium badge for its rich, detailed visuals. audio delivery is concerned.
SCREEN SIZE 49in • NATIVE RESOLUTION 3,840x2,160 • VIDEO INPUTS 4x HDMI • TUNER BLU-RAY PROFILE 6.0 • 3D CAPABLE Yes • DIMENSIONS 435x199x68mm •
Freeview HD, Freesat HD • DIMENSIONS 1,089x634x43mm • WARRANTY Five years RTB • NETWORKING Ethernet, 802.11ac Wi-Fi • WARRANTY One year RTB •
DETAILS www.samsung.com/uk • PART CODE UE49KS7000 • FULL REVIEW Apr 2017 DETAILS www.panasonic.co.uk • PART CODE DMP-UB900EB • FULL REVIEW Aug 2016

CAMBRIDGE AUDIO TV2 (v2) POLK Audio MagniFi Mini

★★★★★ ★★★★★
£200 • shop.cambridgeaudio.co.uk £334 • www.hifix.co.uk
The TV2 (v2) is a simple, A tiny soundbar with big sound, the
clean-looking soundbase. What it lacks in multiroom MagniFi Mini takes up hardly any
capability, due to its lack of Wi-Fi, it more than space under your TV but is capable of filling the living
makes up in exquisite sound quality, especially with an integrated room with crystal-clear music and dialogue. Best of all, it comes with
subwoofer producing strong but controlled bass. a standalone subwoofer, empowering bass booms with an extra kick.

SPEAKERS 3 • RMS POWER OUTPUT 150 • DIMENSIONS 100x500x333mm • WEIGHT Not SPEAKERS 7 • RMS POWER OUTPUT 150W • DIMENSIONS 813x340x101mm (soundbar),
stated • DOCK CONNECTOR None • NETWORKING Bluetooth (aptX) • WARRANTY Two years 366x118x366mm (subwoofer) • WEIGHT 1.76kg (soundbar), 3.68kg (subwoofer) • DOCK
repair and replace • DETAILS www.cambridgeaudio.co.uk • PART CODE TV2 (v2) • CONNECTOR None • NETWORKING 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth • WARRANTY One year repair and
FULL REVIEW Jul 2017 replace • DETAILS www.polkaudio.com • PART CODE MagniFi Mini • FULL REVIEW Sep 2017

62 FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360

Choosing a... Soundbar
01 If you don’t have space in your home
cinema setup for a set of surround-
sound speakers, a soundbar is the next best
thing. Whether you opt for a soundbar
(which typically sits in front of your TV
stand) or a soundplate (which sits
underneath your TV), you’ll be getting
significantly better audio than the weedy
speakers today’s flatscreen TVs provide.
boxes to your TV and run all audio through a
single cable. Also look for phono inputs for
connecting older devices and 3.5mm audio
Most soundbars now include Bluetooth as
standard but, if your device supports it, it’s
worth looking for a mobile soundbar that
jacks for tablets or smartphones. includes aptX. This less-lossy codec is
capable of higher-quality streaming than
03 As with any speaker, the number of
speaker drivers inside a soundbar
should give a good indication of its audio
the standard A2DP profile.
AirPlay streaming is less common, but
iPhone owners should keep an eye out for it.
capabilities. Although this won’t tell you

02 If you want to cut down on cable

clutter, look for a soundbar with
multiple HDMI inputs and outputs as well as
Audio Return Channel (ARC). Not all
soundbars use HDMI, with many making do
with digital optical audio connections
instead. This means you’ll have to connect
Blu-ray players, games consoles and set-top
everything about sound quality, you should
still look out for separate mid-range drivers
and tweeters, as these should be able to
deliver a wider frequency range than
full-range drivers alone.
04 Bluetooth support is a must if you
want to listen to music from a
smartphone or tablet without wires.
05 For a little extra bass, be sure to
look for a soundbar with a separate
subwoofer. Many soundbars include a
wired sub, but for extra convenience you
should look for a model with a wireless
subwoofer instead. These can be placed
anywhere in a room near a power socket,
without having to run a cable back to the
soundbar itself.

AUDIO
BOWERS & WILKINS P7 Wireless
Wir SONY MDR-1000X
★★★★★ ★★★★★
★★
£320 • www.johnlewis.com £295
£29 • www.amzn.to/2ygQBLk
Bowers & Wilkins’ second-ever Sony’s ANC tech isn’t quite
pair of Bluetooth headphones as effective as Bose’s, but it’s
are a triumph – they’re also not what makes the
exceedingly comfortable and sound superb, MDR-1000X such an outstanding pair of
even without any active noise cancelling. Bluetooth headphones – that would be the e
fantastic sound quality.
HEADPHONES SUBTYPE Over-ear headset • PLUG TYPE 3.5mm
jack plug (optional) • WEIGHT 323g • CABLE LENGTH 1.2m • HEADPHONES SUBTYPE Over-ear headset • PLUG TYPE 3.5mm
5mm jack plug (optional) •
WARRANTY One year RTB • DETAILS www.bowers-wilkins.co.uk • WEIGHT 275g • CABLE LENGTH 1.5m • WARRANTY One year
ar RTB •
PART CODE FP38954 • FULL REVIEW Feb 2017 DETAILS www.sony.co.uk • PART CODE MDR1000XB • FULL
LL REVIEW Dec 2017

PANASONIC SC-All7CD LG SH5

★★★★★ ★★★★★
£319 • www.johnlewis.com £15
£159 • www.cramptonandmoore.co.uk
uk

A focus on ounding
Proof that great-sounding
good old- soundbar and subwoofer ofer
fashioned CDs, combos don’t need to cost the he earth,
th,
in addition to the usual digital the LG SH5 is a sleek, stylish 2.1 set with plenty of modes
streaming services, makes the SC-All7CD one of the most versatile
versati
atile
le and features.
bu
multiroom speaker systems you can buy.
SPEAKERS 2.1 • RMS POWER OUTPUT 320W • DOCK CONNECTOR None • NETWORKING
SPEAKERS 2.1 • RMS POWER OUTPUT 40W • WEIGHT 3.4kg • NETWORKING Bluetooth • Bluetooth 4.0 • DIMENSIONS 945x53x85mm (soundbar), 171x320x252mm (subwoofer) • WEIGHT
WARRANTY One year RTB • DETAILS www.panasonic.com • PART CODE SC-All7CD • 2.26kg • WARRANTY One year RTB • DETAILS www.lg.com/uk • PART CODE SH5 • FULL
FULL REVIEW Dec 2016 REVIEW Jan 2017

UE Wonderboom LIBRATONE One Click

★★★★★ ★★★★★
£85 • www.amzn.to/2s4lpgH £139 • www.johnlewis.com
The Wonderboom may The One Click has one of the
look small, and it is, but cleverer wireless speaker designs
this portable, waterproof we’ve seen; it’s surrounded by a
speaker is capable of blasting out sound rubber frame with both protective bumpers and a
that’s both incredibly loud and carry handle/hook. Hang it up or just let it stand, and
d
satisfyingly rich. you’ll get rich, loud sound in 360 degrees.
SPEAKERS 2 • RMS POWER OUTPUT Not stated • DOCK CONNECTOR None • SPEAKERS 2 • RMS POWER OUTPUT Not disclosed • DOCK CONNECTOR None • WIRELESS
NETWORKING Bluetooth • DIMENSIONS 40x46x65mm • WEIGHT 425g • WARRANTY Two years Bluetooth (SBC) • DIMENSIONS 120x41x205mm • WEIGHT 0.9kg • WARRANTY One year RTB •
RTB • DETAILS www.ultimateears.com • PART CODE 82343342 • FULL REVIEW Aug 2017 DETAILS www.libratone.com • PART CODE One Click • FULL REVIEW Oct 2016

ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018 63

 Choosing a... Media streamer
01 Media streamers have come a long
way from the hard disk-based set-top
boxes of a few years ago. They now come in
two main forms: flash drive-sized dongles
that plug directly into the HDMI port in the
back of your TV, and larger microconsoles
that sit under it. Whichever model you
choose, it will stream content from the
internet rather than storing media files
locally.
doesn’t have a smartphone, buy a
standalone streamer such as a Roku or
Amazon Fire TV device.
locally from a networked PC or NAS device.
Not all streamers are capable of playing all
media file formats, however. If you have a lot
of MKV or MOV files, check that your
03 A media streamer is only as good as
the services it supports, although a
device that offers more services won’t
chosen streamer supports them before you
buy. These are typically the file formats
devices struggle with the most.
necessarily offer more high-quality content
than a media streamer with fewer channels.
Instead, look out for major channels such
as Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, BBC
05 Media streamers aren’t just for video,
either. Many support online music
services including Spotify, Rdio and TuneIn

02 Most streamers use their own

operating system, which you can
navigate with a bundled remote control, but
iPlayer, Sky Go and YouTube. If any of
these are missing, the remaining channels
aren’t likely to be much cop.
Radio. Others essentially use the same
hardware as a smartphone and are capable of
running apps or playing games. Some of the
Google’s Chromecast dongle requires a most powerful are compatible with dedicated
paired smartphone, tablet or laptop to
stream content on the big screen. If you’re
looking to set up Netflix for someone who
04 Although nearly all streamers now
pull content from the web, they’re
still capable of playing content stored
game controllers, but these are typically sold
as optional accessories rather than bundled
with the streamer.

VIDEO
AMAZON Fire TV AMAZON Fire TV Stick
with 4K Ultra HD ★★★★★
£40 • www.amzn.to/2s4qrKp
★★★★★
£80 • www.pcworldbusiness.co.uk Don’t have a 4K
TV? No worries – the
This Fire TV box has plenty of services your smart TV
standard Fire TV Stick is a wonderful little streamer
might not, and you can play games on it too. The latest
in its own right. The 2017 model has added Alexa, Amazon’s digital
model also has Alexa voice controls (see page 33).
assistant, so searching through the vast library is easier than ever.
VIDEO OUTPUTS HDMI 2.0 • NETWORKING 802.11ac Wi-Fi, 10/100 Ethernet • DIMENSIONS
115x115x17mm • STREAMING FORMATS UPnP, AirPlay, DLNA, Plex • INTERNET STREAMING VIDEO OUTPUTS HDMI 2.0 • NETWORKING 802.11ac Wi-Fi • DIMENSIONS 86x30x13mm •
SERVICES iPlayer, Netflix, Sky News, Spotify, TuneIn Radio, Amazon Prime Instant Video, TVPlayer STREAMING FORMATS UPnP (via apps) • INTERNET STREAMING SERVICES iPlayer, ITV Hub,
• WARRANTY One year RTB • DETAILS www.amazon.co.uk • PART CODE Fire TV with 4K UHD • All4, My 5, Amazon Prime Instant Video, Netflix • WARRANTY One year RTB •
FULL REVIEW Apr 2017 DETAILS www.amazon.co.uk • PART CODE B01ETRIFOW • FULL REVIEW Aug 2017

NVIDIA Shield TV (2017) GOPRO Hero 5 Black

★★★★★ ★★★★★
£190 • www.johnlewis.com £345 • www.johnlewis.com
A good media streamer/ At last, GoPro’s flagship
Android games console hybrid made even better by a action camera finally has
more comfortable controller, a wider range of built-in waterproofing.
streaming sources and smart home integration. That’s the biggest in a sizable list of
improvements over the Hero 4 Black, making
ing this the superior
VIDEO OUTPUTS HDMI 1.4 • NETWORKING 802.11ac Wi-Fi, 10/100/1,000 Ethernet, Bluetooth 4.1 purchase in spite of its higher price.
• DIMENSIONS 159x98x26mm • STREAMING FORMATS Plex, Kodi • INTERNET STREAMING
SERVICES Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, Google Play Movies and TV, Google Play Music, YouTube, SENSOR 1/2.3in CMOS • SENSOR PIXELS 12,000,000 • MAX RECORDING RESOLUTION 4K (30fps)
BBC iPlayer • WARRANTY Two years repair and replace • DETAILS www.nvidia.co.uk • PART • AV CONNECTIONS Micro HDMI • DIMENSIONS 45x62x32mm • WEIGHT 117g • WARRANTY One
CODE 945-12897-2505-000 • FULL REVIEW May 2017 year RTB • DETAILS www.gopro.com • PART CODE Hero 5 Black • FULL REVIEW Mar 2017

PANASONIC HC-VX980 SAMSUNG Gear 360 (2017)

★★★★★ ★★★★★
£529 • www.amzn.to/2lXyE1K £209 • www.amzn.to/2wesOMX
This 4K-capable camcorder Samsung’s updated 360º camera
lets you capture 8-megapixel improves on the original in every way: it’s
stills from 4K video. It has more portable, supports live video stream,
am,
fantastic image stabilisation and its HDR video mode can help and is no longer limited to Samsung Galaxy phones. Bestt
with exposing difficult scenes. The newest model has been updated of all, it’s cheaper than the previous model was at launch.h.
with more useful 4K cropping modes and slow-motion features, too.
SENSOR RESOLUTION Dual 8.4 megapixels • SENSOR SIZE Not disclosed • VIEWFINDER None •
OPTICAL ZOOM 20x • SENSOR 1/2.3in BSI MOS • LCD SCREEN 3in, 460,800 dots • LCD SCREEN 0.5in 72x32 PMOLED • DIMENSIONS 100x46x45mm • WEIGHT 130g •
DIMENSIONS 73x65x139mm • WEIGHT 351g • WARRANTY One year RTB • WARRANTY One year RTB • DETAILS www.samsung.com/uk • PART CODE SM-R210NZWABTU •
DETAILS www.panasonic.com • PART CODE HC-VX980 • FULL REVIEW Apr 2016 FULL REVIEW Oct 2017

64 FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360

Choosing a... Wearable
01 Wearable tech can include anything
from chest-strap heart-rate
monitors to augmented reality glasses,
03 Fitness trackers are much more
dedicated to healthy pursuits.
Step counters, heart-rate monitors and
single charge, so you can wear it to bed and
benefit from sleep tracking.

but the two most common types are

smartwatches and fitness trackers. Both
are designed to sit unassumingly on your
wrist, and are almost always meant to be
used in tandem with a paired smartphone.
even sleep tracking are all common, and
the data collected is fed back to you so
you can see how your workout routine
05 Look out for waterproofing as well.
Wearables that don’t mind a few
lengths of the pool can be used for
or calorie intake is going. swimming or just timekeeping, and at the
Many smartwatches also contain very least we expect a fitness tracker to be
health-tracking features, but fitness- able to deal with rain or sweat.

02 Smartwatches are typically more

complex and expensive, though
more closely resemble a traditional
wristwatch. You can use them to receive
and reply to text messages and emails,
quickly check maps and even play
games – like a smartphone, most
smartwatches allow you to install your
own choice of apps.
specific wearables tend to be cheaper,
smaller and lighter.
06
04 When it comes to battery life, it’s
important for any wearable to
last a full day, but if it’s a smartwatch
then you can get away with having to
charge it overnight. With fitness trackers,
it’s better if it lasts for several days off a
Different smartwatches use different
operating systems, which determine
which apps you can install on your device
as well as compatibility with smartphones.
Android Wear and Tizen smartwatches will
work with both Android and iOS phones,
but Apple’s watchOS will only pair with an
iOS handset.

WEARABLES
SAMSUNG Gear S3 APPLE Watch Series 2
★★★★★ ★★★★★
£350 • www.amzn.to/2ssXHv4 £269 • www.johnlewis.com
The Gear S3 isn’t the cheapest It only plays nicely with
smartwatch, but it is one of iPhones, but the Watch Series
the best. It’s ripe with both 2 is a lovely bit of design, with
everyday and serious fitness features, and its a well-stocked app store, GPS tracking capabilitylity
rotating bezel is hands-down our favourite and added waterproofing making it a true
method for navigating menus on a wearable. do-anything smartwatch.
PEDOMETER Yes • HEART-RATE MONITOR Yes • DISPLAY SIZE 1.3in • RESOLUTION 360x360 • PEDOMETER Yes • HEART-RATE MONITOR Yes • DISPLAY SIZE 38/42mm • RESOLUTION
OS SUPPORT Android, iOS • BATTERY LIFE Five days • WARRANTY Two years RTB • 340x272 (38mm)/390x312 (42mm) • OS SUPPORT iOS • BATTERY LIFE 18 hours • WARRANTY
DETAILS www.samsung.com/uk • PART CODE M-R760NDAABTU • FULL REVIEW Apr 2017 One year RTB • DETAILS www.apple.com/uk • PART CODE Watch Series 2 • FULL REVIEW Jan 2017

MISFIT Phase HUAWEI Watch 2 Sport

★★★★★ ★★★★★
£95 • www.amzn.to/2swjMty £329 • www.amzn.to/2rAiVDo
An interesting combination It’s worth shelling out
of classic timepiece, fitness for the premium version of
tracker and connected this sporty Android Wear
smartwatch, the Phase doesn’t have a smartwatch: it includes built-in 4G connectivity,
touchscreen or apps but can still control music
ic which when combined with GPS tracking means you can
playback and smart home hardware. safely leave your smartphone at home.
PEDOMETER Yes • HEART-RATE MONITOR Yes • DISPLAY SIZE 1.6in • RESOLUTION N/A • PEDOMETER Yes • HEART-RATE MONITOR Yes • DISPLAY SIZE 1.2in • RESOLUTION 690x690 •
OS SUPPORT Android, iOS • BATTERY LIFE Six months • WARRANTY Two years RTB • OS SUPPORT Android, iOS • BATTERY LIFE Two days • WARRANTY Two years RTB •
DETAILS www.misfit.com • PART CODE MIS5000 • FULL REVIEW Jun 2017 DETAILS consumer.huawei.com • PART CODE Huawei Watch 2 Sport • FULL REVIEW Jul 2017

FITBIT Charge 2 SAMSUNG Gear Fit2

★★★★★ ★★★★★
£110 • www.amzn.to/2rkhfid £179 • www.samsung.com/uk
Though it lacks high-end There’s much to like about
tools like GPS and full this Tizen-powered fitness
waterproofing, the Charge 2 tracker. GPS is a very
strikes a fanastic balance between value and welcome inclusion, and you can add
versatility, offering heart-rate tracking and a widgets to the touchscreen, just like
helpfully large screen. on a smartwatch.
PEDOMETER Yes • HEART-RATE MONITOR Yes • DISPLAY SIZE 1.3in • RESOLUTION Not stated PEDOMETER Yes • HEART-RATE MONITOR Yes • DISPLAY SIZE 1.3in • RESOLUTION 216x432 •
• OS SUPPORT Android, iOS • BATTERY LIFE Five days • WARRANTY One year RTB • OS SUPPORT Android, iOS • BATTERY LIFE Four days • WARRANTY Two days •
DETAILS www.fitbit.com • PART CODE FB407SBKL-EU • FULL REVIEW Apr 2017 DETAILS www.samsung.com/uk • PART CODE SM-R3600DAADBT • FULL REVIEW Sep 2017

ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018 65

 Choosing a... Smart thermostat
01 A smart thermostat can save you a lot
of money by intelligently controlling
your heating.
02 Want smart hot water control?
If you want to remotely set
schedules and disable hot water while
is more expensive to install but will provide
you with greater savings.

Most smart heating devices are designed

to be used with hot water central heating
systems, with the boiler directly controlled
by the system. These typically require a relay
to be wired into your boiler, with a wireless
thermostat giving you direct control.
Smartphone apps then tie into the system to
give you remote control. While it’s possible
to fit controls yourself, you may want to pay
an experienced plumber to do the job: expect
to pay around £150 for a typical installation.
If you have electric heating, there are
very few choices, and the big names (Nest,
Honeywell and so on) do not directly
support these systems.
you’re away, choose your smart system
carefully, as many don’t have this option.
Hot water control usually requires a second
04 Do you use a smart personal
assistant? Make sure that your smart
thermostat supports the one that you use.
relay to be wired into the boiler. Amazon Alexa, powered by the Echo and
Echo Dot, is the best-supported system;
03 What kind of heating system do
you want? There are two main
choices: a central system and one with
Apple’s HomeKit, powered by Siri, isn’t so
well supported; Google Assistant, built into
Google Home, is just gaining traction and
individual radiator controls. The former supports Nest only.
replaces your existing thermostat, and
lets you set one temperature for your
entire house. The latter requires each
radiator valve to be replaced with a smart
05 If you want your smart heating
system to do more, look for IFTTT
support. With this handy system, you can set
valve so that each room and radiator can automatic rules, such as turning the heating
have its own individual control. This option off if the outside temperature rises.

SMART HOME
AMAZON Echo Dot NEST Cam Outdoor
★★★★★ ★★★★★
£50 • www.amzn.to/2ru505F £179 • www.johnlewis.com
This shrunk-down version The easiest external security
of the Amazon Echo loses camera that we’ve ever
the 360º speaker, but installed also happens to be
retains all the same smart home functions one of the best. Excellent picture quality and a
and excellent Alexa digital assisstant – all for great app make this an ideal device for
a much lower price. monitoring outside of your home.
DRIVERS 1 • RMS POWER OUTPUT Not stated • WEIGHT 163kg • NETWORKING Bluetooth, VIDEO RESOLUTION 720p/1080p • CLOUD STORAGE Yes (subscription required) •
802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi • WARRANTY One year RTB • DETAILS www.amazon.co.uk • NETWORKING 802.11n (2.4GHz) • WARRANTY One year RTB • PART CODE Nest Cam Outdoor •
PART CODE Echo Dot 2016 • FULL REVIEW Mar 2017 FULL REVIEW Apr 2017

TADO Smart Thermostat HONEYWELL

★★★★★
£199 • www.tado.com NEW Evohome Security
ENTRY ★★★★★
A flexible and stylish-looking
ing £300 • www.theevohomeshop.co.uk
smart heating system, the Tado
Smart Thermostat distinguishes This smart alarm system
em will notify you of a break-in,
itself with a clever geolocation feature that turns on your and its motion sensors can even take a picture of an
heating when you enter a room and switches it off, saving intruder so that you can quickly rule out false alarms.
money, when you leave. A great range of sensors and full app control make this a top choice.
REMOTE THERMOSTAT Yes • HOT WATER SUPPORT Yes • INDIVIDUAL RADIATOR CONTROL AVAILABLE SENSORS Motion sensor, door/window sensor, motion sensor with camera •
Yes • VOICE ASSISTANT SUPPORT Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri • APPS iOS, Android and web • DISARMING OPTIONS Remote keyfob, app, Tags • SIRENS AND CONTROLS External siren,
FULL REVIEW Jan 2018 contactless tag reader/internal siren • WARRANTY Two years RTB • FULL REVIEW Aug 2017

GOOGLE Home NETATMO Presence

★★★★★ ★★★★★
£129 • madeby.google.com £190 • www.amzn.to/2tjVm6l
Amazon Echo may be compatible le This clever outdoor security
with the most smart home camera can recognise the
products, but Google Home has difference between people,
the smartest assistant. Able to understand contextxt animals and cars, and you can choose which ones es
and reply to questions in a more conversational to get alerts from. In other words, it’s the ideal
way, Google Home is a brilliant personal assistant.
nt. camera to monitor the busy front of your home.
DRIVERS 1x 2in driver, 2x 2in passive radiators • RMS POWER OUTPUT Not stated • DOCK VIDEO RESOLUTION 720p/1080p • CLOUD STORAGE Yes (can upload footage to Dropbox) •
CONNECTOR None • WIRELESS 802.11ac Wi-Fi • DIMENSIONS 143x96x96mm • WEIGHT 477g • NETWORKING 802.11n (2.4GHz) • WARRANTY One year RTB • PART CODE Presence •
WARRANTY One year RTB • PART CODE Home • FULL REVIEW Jul 2017 FULL REVIEW Feb 2017

66 FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360

Choosing a... Laser printer
01 Laser printers used to be much
more expensive than inkjets and
were typically restricted to offices. They
are now much more affordable, however,
and offer several benefits over inkjets,
including lower per-page printing costs
and faster print speeds.
peripherals (MFPs) are now far more
common. These models can scan and
photocopy documents as well as print them,
subtle tones well. You can’t determine this
by looking at the specifications; only
hands-on testing will do, so remember to
and some of them also have fax capabilities. check our reviews before you buy.
Laser MFPs start from around £200. Borderless printing (up to the edge of the
paper) should also be possible.
04 Heavy-duty office lasers designed for
printing thousands of pages per
06 If you want to print from multiple

02 A decent laser printer will typically

cost around £80, and will happily print
hundreds of black-and-white pages per hour.
If documents are your priority, you’ll want a
high minimum speed and low print costs.
However, you’ll probably be limited to
black-and-white printing at this price.
month can cost thousands of pounds. They
use large individual toner drums, which can
cut running costs. Automatic duplex
devices, make sure you look for
extended connectivity. Decent laser printers
can be shared on your local network and
(double-sided) printing is also common here. have USB ports for direct printing, memory
card slots for printing images from a digital
05 Although laser printers are more
suited to printing text than graphics,
many are still able to produce high-quality
camera, and iOS, Android or Google Cloud
Print support for printing from mobile
devices such as smartphones or tablets.

03 Although you can still buy single-

function laser printers, multifunction
photographs. Speed isn’t a priority here
– instead choose a printer that reproduces
An LCD preview screen offers greater
control for this method of printing.

PRINTERS & SCANNERS

KYOCERA Ecosys P5026cdw XYZPRINTING da Vinci Minimaker
★★★★★ ★★★★★
£262 • www.ballicom.co.uk £160 • www.ebuyer.com
Built with long-lasting It’s not as fully featured as the da
ceramic drums, the Ecosys Vinci Jr 1.0w, but the Minimaker
P5026cdw is particularly prints at identical speed and
well-suited to small offices – it rolls out quality, and costs much, much less. In fact, it’s the
he
good-quality prints both quickly and quietly.. most affordable 3D printer we’ve ever used.

TECHNOLOGY Colour laser • MAXIMUM PRINT RESOLUTION

ON 1,200x1,200dpi • TECHNOLOGY Fused Filament Fabrication • MAXIMUM PRINT RESOLUTION 100 microns •
DIMENSIONS 329x410x410mm • WEIGHT 21kg • MAXIMUM PAPER SIZE A4/legal • MAXIMUM BUILD SIZE 150x150x150mm • DIMENSIONS 390x360x335mm • WEIGHT 11.5kg •
WARRANTY Two years RTB • DETAILS www.kyoceradocumentsolutions.co.uk • FILAMENT 1.75mm PLA • WARRANTY One year RTB • DETAILS eu.xyzprinting.com •
PART CODE 1102RB3NL0 • FULL REVIEW Aug 2017 PART CODE 3FM1XXEU00D • FULL REVIEW Apr 2017

HP OfficeJet Pro 7720 CANON Pixma TS5050

★★★★★ ★★★★★
£107 • www.ebuyer.com £70 • www.amzn.to/2umKiXy
The OfficeJet Pro 7720 This smart-looking MFP is
strikes a fine balance not only dropping rapidly in
between price, performance and features, making it price, but offers good
ideal for home offices and small businesses – especially those that performance, smart looks and a clever five-ink system, which uses a
could use A3 printing. pigment-based black for dark text and a dye-based black for photos.

TECHNOLOGY Thermal inkjet • MAXIMUM PRINT RESOLUTION 4,800x1,200dpi • TECHNOLOGY Thermal inkjet • MAXIMUM PRINT RESOLUTION 4,800x1,200dpi •
SCANNER RESOLUTION 1,200x1,200dpi • DIMENSIONS (HXWXD) 307x445x585mm • SCANNER RESOLUTION 1,200x2,400dpi • DIMENSIONS 126x373x315mm • WEIGHT 5.5kg •
WEIGHT 15.5kg • MAXIMUM PAPER SIZE A3 (print only) • WARRANTY Three years RTB • MAXIMUM PAPER SIZE A4/legal • WARRANTY One year RTB • DETAILS www.canon.co.uk •
DETAILS www.hp.co.uk • PART CODE Y0S18A • FULL REVIEW Dec 2017 PART CODE 1367C008 • FULL REVIEW Aug 2017

HP Officejet 250 RICOH SP 150SUw

★★★★★ ★★★★★
£202 • www.ebuyer.com £130 • www.very.co.uk
A pleasantly portable Buying a mono laser
MFP, the OfficeJet Pro printer for your home may
250 not only has more hardware features than sound strange, but the SP
you might expect – including a handy adjustable screen – but it 150SUw’s printing speed, quality and quietness
runs cheaply and at respectable speeds, too. make a lot of sense at this price.

TECHNOLOGY Thermal inkjet • MAXIMUM PRINT RESOLUTION 4,800x1,200dpi • TECHNOLOGY Mono laser • MAXIMUM PRINT RESOLUTION 1,200x600 • SCANNER
SCANNER RESOLUTION 600x600dpi • DIMENSIONS 91x380x198mm • WEIGHT 2.96kg • RESOLUTION 1,200x1,200dpi • DIMENSIONS 137x350x275mm • WEIGHT 7.5kg •
MAXIMUM PAPER SIZE A4/legal • WARRANTY One year RTB • DETAILS www.hp.co.uk • MAXIMUM PAPER SIZE A4/legal • WARRANTY One year RTB • DETAILS www.ricoh.co.uk •
PART CODE CZ992A#B1H • FULL REVIEW Dec 2016 PART CODE 408005 • FULL REVIEW Jun 2017

ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018 67

 Choosing a... NAS device
01 A network-attached storage (NAS)
device lets you store documents,
media, and other files on its hard disks so
can still access the NAS device, but only
at the much slower speed of 100Mbit/s.
Synology’s barebones NAS kits have spare
disk trays for cheaper and faster upgrades.

you can share them with other devices on

your network. Some have disks already
installed, while others are empty enclosures
into which you install your own disks. Buying
an empty NAS can often be the more
cost-effective option, as they’re usually less
expensive and give you the freedom to
expand the number of disks at a later date.
You should buy one with a Gigabit
Ethernet interface, as these provide the
highest transfer speeds. To use a NAS device
at these speeds, you’ll need computers with
Gigabit Ethernet network adaptors and
a Gigabit Ethernet switch or router.
Computers with Fast Ethernet adaptors
02 The amount of network storage you
need depends on the types of files
you use. If you want to store Word and Excel
04 If you want extra protection for your
data, look for a device that supports
RAID. RAID 1 and RAID 5 arrays reduce the
documents, for example, a 1TB device will be available capacity by duplicating data, but
fine. In fact, a 1TB device should be sufficient you won’t lose it if a disk fails.
for a family’s entire media collection,
regardless of how many music and video files
everyone owns. Small businesses should
consider higher storage capacities,
05 If you need access to your files while
you’re away, look for a NAS device
with an FTP server. Some can also share a
depending on the nature of the business. USB printer across your network.
A NAS device with a Universal Plug and
03 If you can see no end to your storage
needs, you should buy an upgradable
NAS device. Many have a USB port for
Play (UPnP) or DLNA media server can
stream your music, photos and videos to a
network media player, so you can enjoy your
adding an external disk. Devices such as media collection in another room.

NETWORKS
TP-LINK Archer C3200 NETGEAR Orbi
★★★★★ ★★★★★
£150 • www.currys.co.uk £330 • www.maplin.co.uk
Besides being quite
uite The Orbi system employs
well priced for a both a base router and a
tri-band router, the
he separate satellite router to
Archer C32000 is impressively fastst and effectively boost Wi-Fi speed and stability
has a good-looking, folding six-antenna
ntenna throughout your house – a great fit for
design. larger homes.
WI-FI STANDARD 802.11ac • STATED SPEED 1,300Mbit/s
300Mbit/s • USB PORTS 1x USB3 • MODEM Gigabit Ethernet • WI-FI STANDARD 802.11ac • STATED SPEED 866Mbit/s (5GHz),
WALL MOUNTABLE Yes • WARRANTY Three years RTB • DETAILS www.tp-link.com • 400MBit/s (2.4GHz) • USB PORTS 1x USB2 • WALL MOUNTABLE No • WARRANTY Two years
PART CODE Archer C3200 • FULL REVIEW Jan 2017 RTB • PART CODE RBK50-100UKS • FULL REVIEW Feb 2017

YUBICO YubiKey 4 TP-LINK Deco M5

★★★★★ ★★★★★
£39 • www.amzn.to/2vfQhtC £199 • www.currys.co.uk
This isn’t your standard Provided you’re willing
networking device: it’s a to tinker with a few
USB key that stores the cryptographic data settings, the Deco M5 is the most
required to log into your devices and services via two-factor feature-rich mesh Wi-Fi system around, even if it’s
authentication. This adds a secure and convenient second layer of not strictly the fastest. Get the triple pack
ack for the
protection, wherever you are. best coverage throughout the house.
USB TYPE Type-A • SUPPORTED SERVICES Google, Facebook, Dropbox, Windows, MODEM Gigabit Ethernet • WI-FI STANDARD 802.11ac • STATED SPEED 867Mbit/s (5GHz),
macOS Sierra, LastPass, Dashlane • WARRANTY One year RTB • DETAILS www.yubico.com • 400Mbit/s (2.4GHz) • USB PORTS 0 • WALL MOUNTABLE No • WARRANTY Three years RTB •
PART CODE YubiKey 4 • FULL REVIEW Aug 2017 DETAILS www.tp-link.com • PART CODE 210380 • FULL REVIEW Dec 2017

D-LINK DIR-895L GOOGLE Wifi

★★★★★ ★★★★★
£310 • www.ebuyer.com £229 (twin pack) •
store.google.com
If you can stomach
the price, D-Link’s Arguably the most
DIR-895L will make user-friendly mesh
it worth your while with staggeringly fast speeds and exceptionally yst
networking system yet, G l
Google
long range. It also lets you connect to your home network remotely, Wifi trades long-range speed for supreme ease of
via an L2TP VPN. use and excellent configuration tools.
MODEM Gigabit Ethernet • WI-FI STANDARD 802.11ac • STATED SPEED 2x 2,166Mbit/s (5GHz), MODEM N/A • WI-FI STANDARD 802.11ac • STATED SPEED 1,200Mbit/s • USB PORTS 0 •
1,000Mbit/s (2.4GHz) • USB PORTS 1x USB2, 1x USB3 • WALL MOUNTABLE Yes • WALL MOUNTABLE No • WARRANTY One year RTB • DETAILS madeby.google.com •
WARRANTY Two years RTB • PART CODE DIR-895L • FULL REVIEW Dec 2017 PART CODE Google Wifi • FULL REVIEW Jul 2017

68 FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360

Choosing an... Internal hard disk
01 A basic 1TB internal hard disk should
cost around £40. This will be fast
enough for general use and will provide
enough storage for most users.
Make sure the hard disk you choose has
the appropriate interface type for your PC.
in USB flash drives, and although they tend
to provide less capacity than mechanical hard
disks, they’re significantly faster.
duplicate your data for better protection.
RAID arrays require hard disks of the same
size. In theory, they can be from different
manufacturers, but it’s better to buy identical
03 Buy a hard disk that provides more
capacity than you think you need, as
disks if you can.

Some mechanical hard disks still come with

SATA2 interfaces, but newer models and
most solid-state drives (SSDs) have faster
SATA3 interfaces. You’ll need a motherboard
with a SATA3 port if you want to benefit
from SATA3’s faster speeds; SATA3 disks will
work with SATA2 ports but can only transfer
files at SATA2 speeds.
your storage requirements are likely to grow.
A 3TB disk strikes the best balance between
capacity and low cost per gigabyte, but in
general you should aim to buy the largest
disk you can afford.
04 If you want more disk space or you
want to protect your data against
disk failure, think about buying several hard
05 A hard disk’s spindle speed
determines how quickly it can
transfer data. A spindle speed of 7,200rpm
is common in desktop drives and is fast
enough for most purposes. Desktop hard
disks with 5,400rpm spindle speeds are
quite slow but use less power and generate
less heat and noise.
To strike the best balance between

02 SSDs can make the most of SATA3’s

extra bandwidth for fast file transfers.
They use flash memory similar to that found
disks to create a RAID array. These use
multiple hard disks to create one large
logical disk with better performance, or to
speed and storage capacity, use an SSD as
your system disk and store your files on a
larger mechanical disk.

STORAGE
SYNOLOGY DiskStation DS418j INTEL Optane Memory 32GB
★★★★★ ★★★★★
NEW
£287 • www.broadbandbuyer.com ENTRY £72 • www.ebuyer.com
When a tiny two-bay NAS An interesting twist
won’t cut it, the fast, on M.2 SSDs,
high-capacity DiskStation DS418j Optane Memory isn’t
sn’t
is an excellent upgrade, especially as it can automatically convert old so much a dedicated storage drive as a
hard disks to be compatible with this NAS’s hardware and features. large cache for your existing hard disk,
isk
accelerating its read speeds to NVMe levels at a much lower price.
3.5in HARD DISK BAYS (FREE) 4 (4) • NETWORKING 1x 10/100/1,000 Ethernet • DLNA MEDIA
SERVER Yes • PRINT SERVER Yes • DIMENSIONS 184x168x230mm • WEIGHT 2.21kg •
WARRANTY Two years RTB • DETAILS www.synology.com • PART CODE DS418j • CAPACITY 32GB • PRICE PER GIGABYTE £2.25 • INTERFACE M.2/NVMe • WARRANTY Five years
FULL REVIEW Jan 2018 RTB • DETAILS www.intel.com • PART CODE MEMPEK1W032GAXT • FULL REVIEW Sep 2017

SYNOLOGY DiskStation DS216jj WD Red 6TB

★★★★★ ★★★★★
£155 • www.ebuyer.com £204 • www.ebuyer.com
This entry-level NAS device is loaded This is pricier than most 6TB
with features. We particularly like hard disks, even those created
Synology’s Package Center, which specifically for NAS drives, but the
makes it easy to automate large downloads, turn the WD Red’s performance makes it a worthwhile investment. Despite its
DS216J into a media server or set up a Surveillance 5,400rpm spin speed it manages to outperform 7,200rpm drives such
Station for security camera footage. as the Toshiba N300 in read/write tests.
FREE 3.5in HARD DISK BAYS 2 • NETWORKING 1x 10/100/1,000 Ethernet • DLNA MEDIA SERVER CAPACITY 6TB • COST PER GIGABYTE £0.03 • INTERFACE SATA3 • CLAIMED READ 175MB/s •
Yes • PRINT SERVER Yes • DIMENSIONS 165x100x226mm • WEIGHT 880g • WARRANTY Two CLAIMED WRITE 175MB/s • WARRANTY Three years RTB • DETAILS www.wdc.com •
years RTB • DETAILS www.synology.com • PART CODE DS216J • FULL REVIEW Sep 2017 PART CODE WD60EFRX • FULL REVIEW Nov 2017

SAMSUNG TS 500GB SAMSUNG 960 Evo

vo 250GB
★★★★★ ★★★★★
£190 • www.overclockers.co.uk £117 • www.ebuyer.com
Samsung’s easily While it’s not quite as
pocketable SSD can ro,
quick as the 960 Pro,
reach breakneck transfer the 960 Evo is still the
speeds; in fact, it’s the fastest portable second-fastest NVMe SSD we’ve ever
SSD we’ve tested. This makes it worth your attention even tested, and since it’s much more affordable,
ordabl
able,
abl e,
with its high cost per gigabyte. it’s the one most people should go for.
CAPACITY 250GB • COST PER GIGABYTE £0.47 • INTERFACE M.2/NVMe • CLAIMED READ
CAPACITY 500GB • COST PER GIGABYTE £0.38 • INTERFACE USB3.1 • WARRANTY Three years 3,200MB/s • CLAIMED WRITE 1,500MB/s • WARRANTY Five years RTB •
RTB • DETAILS www.samsung.com/uk • PART CODE MU-PA500B • FULL REVIEW Dec 2017 DETAILS www.samsung.com • PART CODE MZ-V6E250BW • FULL REVIEW Mar 2017

ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018 69

 Choosing an... Intel motherboard
01 It’s essential that you buy the right
type of motherboard for your
processor. Intel’s older Haswell processors
graphics card in the motherboard’s PCI
Express x16 slot, although this may block
one of your other slots.
x1 and x4 cards also work in PCI Express x16
slots. If you need a lot of storage, a
motherboard with plenty of SATA2 and
require a motherboard with an LGA1150 SATA3 ports is essential. SATA2 is fine for
socket, but newer, fourth-generation Skylake
chips need an LGA1151 socket. A board for a
Haswell processor must also have an H97 or
03 Normal tower cases can
accommodate ATX motherboards,
which provide the most expansion slots. A
optical drives and hard disks, but to make
the most of an SSD you need SATA3.

a Z97 chipset, while Skylake processors use

the new Z170 chipset. Skylake CPUs also use
newer, faster DDR4 memory.
microATX motherboard will let you build
your PC in a smaller case, but if you opt for a
microATX board, make sure it has all the
05 All motherboards have built-in audio
chipsets, but some support only 5.1
surround sound rather than 7.1. If you’re
features you need built in as there won’t be connecting to older surround-sound

02 All current Intel processors have

built-in graphics chipsets, so if you
want to use your chip’s built-in graphics,
make sure the motherboard has the video
outputs you need, such as VGA, DVI, HDMI
and DisplayPort. If you want to play the
latest games, you’ll need to fit a dedicated
much room for expansion cards.
04 If you want to install lots of expansion
cards, look for a motherboard that
offers plenty of PCI and PCI-E x1 slots. Some
motherboards also have PCI Express x4 slots
and extra PCI Express x16 slots. PCI Express
amplifiers that don’t have HDMI, look for
an optical or coaxial S/PDIF output. All
motherboards have Ethernet ports and most
have the faster Gigabit version. You may also
find it useful to buy a board with built-in
Wi-Fi so you don’t have to use up a USB port
or PCI slot with an adaptor.

COMPONENTS
GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1050 D5 2G NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060
★★★★★ ★★★★★
£112 • www.ebuyer.com £279 • www.geforce.co.uk
Nvidia’s GTX 1050 is Based on the same Pascal
the best-performing architecture as the fearsome
entry-level GPU, and GTX 1080 and GTX 1070, the
Gigabyte has made some nice tweakss mid-range GTX 1060 is unmatched when it
to its own version, including a near-silent
-silent fan comes to marrying price with 4K and VR-readiness.
cooler. It also sips power, with a tiny TDP rating of 75W. It’s surprisingly power-efficient, too.
GPU Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 • MEMORY 2GB GDDR5 • GRAPHICS CARD LENGTH 172mm • GPU Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 • MEMORY 6GB GDDR5 • GRAPHICS CARD LENGTH 250mm •
WARRANTY Three years repair and replace • DETAILS www.gigabyte.com • WARRANTY Three years repair and replace • DETAILS www.geforce.co.uk • PART CODE GTX 1060
PART CODE GV-N1050D5-2GD • FULL REVIEW Mar 2017 Founder’s Edition • FULL REVIEW Nov 2016

AMD Ryzen 7 1700 NZXT Manta

★★★★★ ★★★★★
£265 • www.amzn.to/2rtN8bl £110 • www.scan.co.uk
The cheapest of AMD’s octa-core A brilliant basis for any Mini-ITX PC
Ryzen 7 processors is also the build, the Manta is a versatile case
best mix of price and performance. with plenty of room for fans and
It’s highly overclockable, but even at stock speeds can storage drives, plus a distinctive curvy shape. Its
come close to the £500 Ryzen 7 1800X in multithreaded tasks. convex side panels leave more room to hide cables, too.
It’s also incredibly efficient, with a TDP of just 65W.
CASE TYPE Mini tower • MOTHERBOARD TYPE Mini-ITX • SUPPLIED FANS 3x 120mm •
SOCKET AM4 • CORES 8 • FREQUENCY 3.0GHz • INTEGRATED GRAPHICS None • MAXIMUM DRIVE BAYS 2x 3.5in, 3x 2.5in • DIMENSIONS 426x245x450mm •
WARRANTY Three years RTB • DETAILS www.amd.com • PART CODE YD1700BBAEBOX • WEIGHT 7.2kg • WARRANTY Two years parts and labour • DETAILS www.nzxt.com •
FULL REVIEW Jul 2017 PART CODE CA-MANTW-M1 • FULL REVIEW Aug g 2016

ASUS Prime Z270-A MSI B350M Mortarr

★★★★★ ★★★★★
£144 • www.ebuyer.com £80 • www.novatech.co.uk
New Intel chips mean new Intel A near-perfect motherboard for
chipsets, and the Prime Z270-A is a AMD Ryzen-based,, microATX
brilliant mid-range companion to any compatible systems. It’s remarkably
rkably well equipped for
Kaby Lake processor. Great hardware (including two M.2 slots), a connectivity and upgradability, and comes close to much more
user-friendly BIOS, RGB LED decoration – it’s a superb package. expensive mobos in performance benchmarks.

PROCESSOR SOCKET LGA 1151 • DIMENSIONS 244x305mm • CHIPSET Z270 • MEMORY SLOTS PROCESSOR SOCKET AM4 • DIMENSIONS 244x244mm • CHIPSET AMD B350M • MEMORY
4 • PCI-E x16 SLOTS 3 • PCI-E x1 SLOTS 4 • PCI SLOTS 0 • USB PORTS 4x USB3, 1x USB3.1, 1x SLOTS 4 • PCI-E x16 SLOTS 2 • PCI-E x1 SLOTS 2 • PCI SLOTS 0 • USB PORTS 2x USB2, 3x USB3.1,
USB Type-C • VIDEO OUTPUTS 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort, 1x DVI-D • WARRANTY Three years RTB 1x USB Type-C • VIDEO OUTPUTS 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort, 1x DVI-D • WARRANTY One year RTB •
• DETAILS www.asus.com/uk • PART CODE Prime Z270-A • FULL REVIEW Apr 2017 DETAILS www.msi.com • PART CODE B350M Mortar • FULL REVIEW Aug 2017

70 FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360

 SOFTWARE

De soft
DIGITALVOLCANO SOFTWARE KASPERSKY Security Cloud NEW

Sec ftwa
du wa
pli re

so
uri re
ENTRY

cat
Duplicate Cleaner 4.0 Pro ★★★★★

ing
★★★★★
£24 • www.digitalvolcano.co.uk
The free version of Duplicate Cleaner program is
good, and upgrading to the Pro version makes it
exceptional for ridding your PC of duplicate files.
OS SUPPORT Windows Vista/7/8/10 • HARD DISK SPACE 20MB •
DETAILS www.digitalvolcano.co.uk • FULL REVIEW Sep 2016
ty
£50 • www.kaspersky.co.uk
It’s just as effective as Kaspersky Total Security, but
Security Cloud goes a step further by learning your
bad security habits and warning you about them.
OS SUPPORT Windows 7/8/10, OS 10.11/macOS 10.12, Android 4.1 and later, iOS 10/11 •
MINIMUM CPU 1GHz • MINIMUM GPU None • MINIMUM RAM 1GB (32-bit), 2GB (64-bit) •
HARD DISK SPACE 1,020MB (Windows), 1,110MB (Mac) • DETAILS www.kaspsersky.co.uk •
PRODUCT CODE Security Cloud • FULL REVIEW Jan 2018

MICROSOFT Windows 10

pri
EXPRESSVPN

Vir e net
vat

OS ate
tua wo

up
Anniversary Update

d
★★★★★

l rk
£13 per month • www.expressvpn.com ★★★★★
ExpressVPN allows you to easily dodge region
Free • www.microsoft.com
restrictions on online content while encrypting This update adds UI improvments, new features and
your connection, and is fast enough to handle apps for stylus users, and a host of bug fixes, making
4K Netflix streaming. Its great software support and huge number of Microsoft’s OS even more worthwhile.
endpoints makes it the most flexible service, too.
OS SUPPORT Windows 10 • MINIMUM CPU 1GHz • MINIMUM GPU DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0
OS SUPPORT Windows, macOS, iOS, Android • DETAILS www.expressvpn.com • driver • MINIMUM RAM 1GB (32-bit), 2GB (64-bit) • HARD DISK SPACE 16GB (32-bit), 2GB (64-bit) •
PRODUCT CODE ExpressVPN • FULL REVIEW Jan 2017 DETAILS www.microsoft.com • PRODUCT CODE Windows 10 version 1607 • FULL REVIEW Nov 2016

ABBYY FineReader 14 MAILBIRD Mailbird Pro 2.0

Em lient
OC ware
sof

ail
c
R
t

★★★★★
£249 • www.abbyy.com
The more feature-rich Corporate edition is expensive,
but FineReader 14 is perfect for turning paper notes
and documents into digital, editable files using
optical character recognition (OCR).
OS SUPPORT Windows 7/8/8.1/10 • MINIMUM CPU 1GHz • MINIMUM GPU DirectX 10 •
MINIMUM RAM 1.5GB plus 512MB per additional CPU core • HARD DISK SPACE 2.4GB •
DETAILS www.abbyy.com • PRODUCT CODE FineReader 14 • FULL REVIEW May 2017
★★★★★
£25 per year or £49 lifetime • www.getmailbird.com
While the free version of this email client is good,
upgrading to Pro is even better – you get a unified
view of all your mailboxes, loads of themes and
extensive integration with other apps and productivity software.
OS SUPPORT Windows XP/7/8/8.1/10 • MINIMUM CPU N/A • MINIMUM GPU N/A •
MINIMUM RAM N/A • HARD DISK SPACE 50MB • DETAILS www.getmailbird.com •
FULL REVIEW Nov 2016

GAMING
XBOX One S NINTENDO The Legend of Zelda:
4K conso

Act entu
ga le

ad
Breath of the Wild ion re
me

v
★★★★★
s

£200 • www.amzn.to/2wPLYXe ★★★★★

£48 • www.tesco.com
HDR support is great,
but it’s the 4K Blu-ray player Breath of the Wild’s vision of Hyrule is a beautifully
that makes this sleeker, intricate open world – one you have total freedom
smaller Xbox One really stand out against to explore right from the off. Charming and
the competing PS4 Slim. challenging, this is both a brilliant game and the single best reason
PROCESSOR Octa-core 1.75GHz Jaguar • RAM 8GB DDR3 • FRONT USB PORTS 1x USB2 •
to buy a Nintendo Switch.
REAR USB PORTS 2x USB2 • STORAGE 500GB/1TB/2TB • WARRANTY One year RTB • AVAILABLE FORMATS Ninetendo Switch • DISK SPACE 13.4GB (Switch), 13GB (Wii U) •
DETAILS www.xbox.com • PART CODE Xbox One S • FULL REVIEW Dec 2016 DETAILS www.zelda.com • FULL REVIEW Jun 2017
Fir sho

BETHESDA Doom SONY PS4 Slim

st- ote

Ga nsol
pe r

me e
co
rso

★★★★★ ★★★★★
n

£8 • www.cdkeys.com £230 • www.tesco.com

A bloody and breathless FPS, Doom is a worthy Sony has made the PlayStation
entry into one of gaming’s most hallowed series. 4 even better with a slimmer,
Open-ended levels, agile enemies and gory but neater chassis and superior
satisfying takedown moves make every demon battle rewarding. power efficiency. It’s as cheap as the PS4 has
ever been as well.
AVAILABLE FORMATS PC, Xbox One, PS4 • OS SUPPORT Windows 7/8/8.1/10 • MINIMUM CPU
Intel Core i3-550, AMD Phenom II X4 955 • MINIMUM GPU Nvidia GeForce GTX 670 2GB, AMD PROCESSOR Octa-core 1.6GHz AMD Jaguar • RAM 8GB GDDR5 • FRONT USB PORTS 2x USB2 •
Radeon HD 7870 2GB • MINIMUM RAM 4GB • HARD DISK SPACE 55GB • DETAILS doom.com • REAR USB PORTS None • STORAGE 500GB/1TB/2TB • WARRANTY One year RTB •
FULL REVIEW Sep 2016 DETAILS www.playstation.com • PART CODE B01GVQVQH2 • FULL REVIEW Jan 2017

ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018 71

 REVIEWS

How we test
Find out how well products perform with the help of
Computer Shopper’s comprehensive tests
COMPUTER SHOPPER’S REVIEWS use some The actual scores in each test are shown
of the most exhaustive testing procedures inside each bar
you’ll find in any PC magazine. Every product
is subjected to qualitative and quantitative
tests that show how it performs in practical Bigger is better for all
Normal speed 11ppm
use. Graphs for performance, battery-life bars except the red
scores and costs are used in the Reviews ones, which show
Mono costs 2.2p running costs
section, as shown on the right. Look in the
‘Summary of tests’ table (below) for details Colour costs 6.7p A product hitting the
of each test we run. +100 per cent mark
0% -50 Reference +50 +100
For PCs and laptops, we evaluate performed twice as well
performance using our own custom as our reference
benchmarking suite. See below for a brief
This line represents the performance of a reference product in each
description of our benchmarking software test. All graphs for components and systems are relative to our
and game tests. reference PC (see below for specifications)

SUMMARY OF TESTS
PC SYSTEMS & GAMING LAPTOPS
Windows overall Average speed across numerous demanding tasks BENCHMARKS RATINGS & AWARDS
Multitasking Speed when running simultaneous applications
Computer Shopper rates
Dirt Showdown Frames per second at 1,920x1,080, 4xAA, SHOPPER BENCHMARKS products out of five:
(1080p) Ultra detail
Metro: Last Light Frames per second at 1,920x1,080, SSAA,
Our benchmark suite uses
Redux Very High detail open-source software that Avoid ★★★★★
LAPTOPS
runs on Windows, Mac OS X
Windows overall Average speed across numerous demanding tasks
Below average ★★★★★
Multitasking Processor-intensive multitasking test and Linux systems. This lets
Dirt Showdown Frames per second at 1,280x720, 4xAA, us use objective results to Good ★★★★★
(720p) High detail
compare PCs and laptops,
Battery life Run time in minutes for continuous video playback
no matter which operating
Very good ★★★★★
SMARTPHONES/TABLETS
Battery life Run time in minutes for continuous video playback system they run. It’s designed Excellent ★★★★★
PRINTERS AND MFPs
Mono text speed Pages per minute for correspondence-quality text
to test each computer to its limit, using a combination of
Mixed colour speed Pages per minute for presentable text and graphics intensive image-editing, video-encoding and multitasking tests.
The best products can win the
Mono page cost Running costs expressed as pence per page We ran the tests on our reference PC, which has an Intel
Colour page cost Running costs expressed as pence per page following awards:
DIGITAL CAMERAS
Core i5-4670K processor, 8GB of DDR3 RAM and an AMD
Battery life Number of shots from full charge Radeon R7 260X graphics card. We normalised our results
CAMCORDERS so this PC had a score of 100. This makes it easy to draw
BEST BUY
Battery life Run time in minutes for recording Products with outstanding
comparisons between test systems. quality and performance for the
ROUTERS
Laptop 2.4GHz 5m Mbit/s at 5m with 802.11ac laptop on 2.4GHz band The resulting overall score is shown at the bottom of money win our Best Buy award.
Laptop 2.4GHz 1 floor Mbit/s 1 floor up with 802.11ac laptop on 2.4GHz band every PC and laptop review. As we use the same tests in our
Laptop 2.4GHz Mbit/s 2 floors up with 802.11ac laptop on
2 floors 2.4GHz band standalone and group test reviews, you can compare the
Laptop 5GHz 5m Mbit/s at 5m with 802.11ac laptop on 5GHz band performance of any computer, whether it’s a hybrid,
Laptop 5GHz 1 floor Mbit/s 1 floor up with 802.11ac laptop on 5GHz band
laptop or desktop, from both sections of the magazine.
Laptop 5GHz Mbit/s 2 floors up with 802.11ac laptop on
2 floors 5GHz band
NETWORK-ATTACHED STORAGE
Large files Average MB/s for read/write of 100MB large files
3D BENCHMARKS RECOMMENDED
Small files Average MB/s for read/write of 100MB small files Products that don’t quite qualify
HARD DISKS DIRT SHOWDOWN for a Best Buy award but are still
Extra large files Average MB/s for read/write of a single 2.5GB file Dirt Showdown is a cracking racing game highly rated by our reviewers.
Large files Average MB/s for read/write of 2.5GB of large files
that makes good use of DirectX 11’s
Small files Average MB/s for read/write of 2.5GB of small files
PROCESSORS
fancy graphical effects. You’ll want at
Windows overall Average speed across numerous demanding tasks least 30fps for smooth racing.
Multitasking Speed when running simultaneous applications
Dirt Showdown Frames per second at 1,280x720, 4xAA, TOMB RAIDER
(720p) High detail
MOTHERBOARDS With the ultra-demanding Super-
Windows overall Average speed across numerous demanding tasks Sampling Anti-Aliasing (SSAA) enabled,
Multitasking Speed when running simultaneous applications 2013’s Tomb Raider reboot is a great
BUSINESS BUY
Dirt Showdown Frames per second at 1,920x1,080, 4xAA, The very best products
indicator of mid-range performance.
(1080p) Ultra detail for work win our
Dirt Showdown Frames per second at 1,280x720, 4xAA, Business Buy award.
(720p) High detail METRO: LAST LIGHT REDUX
GRAPHICS CARDS
Our most demanding graphics test
Dirt Showdown Frames per second at 1,920x1,080, 4x MSAA,
(1080p) Ultra detail uses tessellation, SSAA and massive
Tomb Raider Frames per second at 1,920x1,080, SSAA, Ultra detail textures to give even high-end cards a
Metro: Last Light Frames per second at 1,920x1,080, SSAA, thorough workout.
Redux Very High detail

72 FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360

 PRODUCT INDEX

Product Reviews
Our guide to all the products reviewed
in this month’s Computer Shopper

Hot Product
Intel Core i5-8600K

PCs
24
Microsoft Windows 10
Mixed Reality

Printers
35 1 3 1
reviews
Palicomp AMD Galaxy 26 Canon imageFormula
PC Specialist Engima K6 27 DR-C230 36

Laptops Networks Smart Home

Google Pixelbook 28 Swann Heat-Sensing
Asus Lyra 37
Linx 12X64 30 Camera CCTV Kit 50
Storage Zyxel Aurora 51
Displays
Netgear ReadyNAS 212 38
Airtame Wireless HDMI
Components
Streamer 31
Audio MSI Z370 PC Pro 52
Acer Predator X34A 32
Google Home Mini 40
Video Wearables
Amazon Fire TV with Handhelds Fitbit Ionic 54
4K Ultra HD 33 Motorola Moto G5S 46
Google Daydream Motorola Moto Z2 Force 48 Mini PCs
View 2017 34 Razer Phone 49 Asus Tinker Board 82
Raspberry Pi 3 83
SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE Raspberry Pi Zero W
Asus VivoMini
84
85
HP Elite Slice 86
Intel Compute Stick 87
MSI Cubi 3 Silent 88
Zotac Magnus ER51060 89

4K Blu-ray Players
Microsoft Xbox One S 94
Oppo UDP-203 95
Panasonic DMP-UB900 96
Samsung UBD-K8500 97
Samsung UBD-M9500 98
CALL 0330 333 9493
9 OR SEE PAGE 120
Sony UBD-X800 99

ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018 73

 Free software guide
It’s easy to access your free software. Just go to www.shopperdownload.co.uk/360 and
register with the code from the card insert. Please be aware that you need to have
bought the ‘Free Software Edition’ and not the ‘£4.50 Edition’ to access the downloads
GETTING STARTED
The download instructions on the card
insert (opposite) show you how to
connect to the download site. Make
sure you type in the web address exactly
as shown. You’ll need your coupon code
the first time you log on to the site.
ANY PROBLEMS
If you need help with any of the
software this month, please send an
email to support@creativemark.co.uk.
We check this inbox regularly. Please
include the issue number of the
magazine and your coupon code.
WHY DOWNLOADS
In order to provide us with free
software, publishers now require us to
offer the applications as a download
and require online registration. You
need to use the unique code printed in
the box on the card insert to register
and download the software in this
issue. The unique code means we
stop the deals leaking online, so only
Shopper readers get the software.
NO CODE?
If you don’t have the card insert with the
unique code, you must buy the £4.99
‘Free Software’ print version of the
magazine. If you have this edition and
still don’t have a card, please contact
letters@computershopper.co.uk.
REGISTER YOUR SOFTWARE
BY 18th JANUARY 2018
REQUIREMENTS Windows Vista, 7, 8, 10
32/64-bit, 100MB hard disk space
WEBSITE www.steganos.com
NOTES See www.steganos.com/specials/
computershopper1217/safe18
74
Paragon Migrate OS
to SSD 4
IF YOU HAVE an old system you want to upgrade,
one of the best improvements is to swap your old
hard disk for a super-fast SSD.
With no moving parts, a modern SSD is much
faster than your old drive, meaning your PC boots
more quickly, applications open more swiftly, and
moving files around takes seconds and not minutes.
It’s a huge upgrade for any PC.
But how do you migrate your system to the new
SSD? One way is to install everything from scratch,
but this can take ages, and no-one wants to try to
find all their old installation discs.
The better solution is a tool such as Migrate OS
to SSD 4. Simply put, this tool enables you to take
your system drive and transfer the entire contents to
your new SSD. You can then simply swap the old
drive for the SSD, reboot, and you have the same
computer on a faster drive.
REQUIREMENTS Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 or 10 32/64-bit,
100MB hard disk space
WEBSITE www.paragon-software.com
NOTES See ostossd4.disc.computershopper.co.uk
Steganos Safe 18
STEGANOS SAFE IS a versatile tool that protects
your most important files in an encrypted vault.
You could create this vault on a system drive, but
you can also use an external drive or USB key, so you
can keep your files safe as you carry them around.
The vault is protected by a password, and
Steganos Safe goes to a lot of trouble to ensure it’s
as secure as possible. Enter a password manually and
the program checks to make sure it doesn’t contain
any dictionary words. There’s a password generator
to create something really uncrackable automatically,
and you can even use pictures
as your password.
Once your vault is
generated it’s available in
Explorer like any other drive.
You can create folders, copy,
move or store data there, and
everything works just as with
your other drives. The
difference here is Steganos
Migrate OS to SSD enables you to perform
deeper migration, such as downsizing your drive. It
might be that your hard drive is 1TB but the new
SSD is only 256GB (most SSDs are small). You might
simply want to migrate the system partition.
You can go even deeper, too. If there are files you
don’t want to move to the new drive, you can select
entire folders to ignore, or files based on their type.
For example, you might not want your films moved to
the new SSD, so tell Migrate OS to SSD to ignore all
.mov and similar filetypes and they will be ignored.
The program also includes a WinPE bootable media
disc that enables you to migrate using a USB thumb
drive, rather than from within Windows, in case your
system can’t migrate a locked file, for example.
Safe encrypts your data as it’s saved, ensuring only
someone with the password can gain access.
You can even create a ‘hidden safe’, where a small
safe (less than 3GB) is hidden inside an audio or
video file. Snoopers might see an MPEG on your
USB drive, and be able to play it as usual, but you’ll
also be able to access the data it contains.
Cloud storage support enables using safes with
Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive or Google Drive
accounts. Set this up and your data is encrypted
in the cloud, so even if the provider gets hacked
there’s still no way anyone
can access your files.
Steganos Safe completes
its feature set with a
comprehensive Shredder,
securely deleting any
remnants of confidential
files on your hard disk to
ensure they can’t be
recovered later.
FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360

REQUIREMENTS Windows 7, 8, 10 32/64-bit,
50MB hard disk space
WEBSITE www.abelssoft.net
NOTES Get your registration code within the
application
StartupStar 2018
BOOTING YOUR PC may look simple, but there’s
an extra step that isn’t so obvious. As Windows
launches it also automatically runs a host of startup
programs, many of which are unnecessary and can
significantly extend your PC’s boot time.
Fortunately, you don’t have to put up with this
situation. Install StartupStar and you’ll have all the
tools you need to get your PC’s startup process
fully under your control.
The process starts by reviewing your current
setup. Clicking Startup Entries displays everything
that’s set up to launch when Windows starts.
Scroll through the list to take a look, and if you’re
sure there are some entries you don’t need,
StartupStar can help you to get rid of them. this isn’t something you want, you’ll have the option
If you spot an unnecessary startup program, for to prevent it from being added to the startup list, so
instance, just tick the box to its left and click Delete the program never gets to slow you down.
selected entries to remove it. Alternatively, if you’re You do need to be very careful with this, of
not sure whether it’s necessary or not, try the course. If you prevent something important from
Deactivate option. The program won’t launch when running then it could cause all kinds of problems
you next reboot, but it will still appear in the startup with your PC. Even if you do make a mistake, though,
list and can be restored later if you need it. StartupStar can help. Click Backup Centre and you’ll
StartupStar also includes a Startup Firewall, which be able to reverse your last tweaks, or all the changes
runs in the background and warns you when a the program has ever made – a quick and easy way
program is being configured to run at boot time. If to get your system working as it was before.

Ashampoo Photo Commander 14

ASHAMPOO PHOTO
Commander is a one-stop tool
for organising, browsing, editing
and sharing your digital images.
The program opens with a
powerful thumbnail browser.
This supports a good range of
formats, including PSD, many
RAW variants, MPO/JPS 3D
images, and WEBP, which is new
for this version. Every image is
displayed along with its key
details: resolution, colour depth,
aspect ratio, DPI, EXIF and DMP
tags. You can filter your photos
by type, age, name or tag, rate
them with a click, then organise
them into virtual albums for
easier reference later.
Photo Commander provides
several automatic optimisation
tools. It can fix contrast and
colours, remove noise, reduce
compression artefacts and
more, or you can apply the
whole lot in a couple of clicks.
The real power, however,
comes in the manual edit, where
you can crop or resize an image,
straighten horizons, remove red
eye, repair scratches and apply
various special effects, either
globally or with a pen for pixel
precision. A dual-view mode
means you can see the ‘before’
and ‘after’ images side by side.
An excellent vector editor also
helps you customise your images
with lines, arrows, callouts, text,
clipart-type shapes and more.
More features keep appearing
everywhere you look. There’s a
duplicate file finder, a screen
capture tool, a panorama creator
– even a set of batch-processing
tools to tweak, rotate, resize, add
watermarks, or otherwise adjust
an entire folder of pictures in a
single operation.
Elsewhere, there’s
enhanced file format
support (open
multipage PDF,
save as PSD),
totally redesigned
Wallpaper and
Slideshow wizards,
smarter use
of hardware
acceleration, full
support for
Windows 10, and
a completely REQUIREMENTS Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10
redesigned image 32/64-bit, 100MB hard disk space

browser with WEBSITE www.ashampoo.com

NOTES Get your registration code within the
support for
application
multiple monitors.

ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018 75

 iolo System Mechanic 17
SYSTEM MECHANIC 17 is an
amazingly comprehensive tool
that provides everything you’ll
need to clean and speed up your
PC, fix system problems and
protect your privacy.
If your PC isn’t performing, for
instance, then System Mechanic
will help you defragment your
hard disk, optimise your internet
connection for faster downloads,
defragment and compact the
REQUIREMENTS Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10
32/64-bit, 50MB disk space
WEBSITE www.iolo.com
NOTES Get your registration code at
sm17.disc.computershopper.co.uk.
Includes a six-month licence
Registry, optimise the boot
process by removing unnecessary
startup programs, and provide
a temporary performance boost
by closing down selected
background processes.
Each of these functions in
turn delivers far more than you
might expect. For one thing, you
don’t just get a defrag module:
System Mechanic also uses the
Program Accelerator, optimising
applications by grouping related
files together, while enhanced
AcceleWrite technology helps
to improve the efficiency of
your drives, and the SSD
Accelerator keeps solid-state
drives running at their optimum
performance levels.
It’s the same across the suite,
with powerful features and
functionality everywhere you
look. There are tools here to
defragment and
compact the Registry,
repair hard drive
problems, enhance
system security,
locate unnecessary
duplicate files, or
recover from disaster
if Windows won’t boot.
A Windows tweaking
tool provides easy
access to more than
100 key Windows
settings, and an
Advanced Uninstaller
completely removes
apps to free up hard
disk space – and you
could still create a very
capable maintenance
suite from the other
tools we haven’t got
space to mention.

Paragon Backup & Recovery

REQUIREMENTS Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10
32/64-bit,
300MB disk space
WEBSITE www.paragon-software.com
NOTES Get your registration code at
br15home.disc.computershopper.co.uk
15 Home
THIS COMPREHENSIVE BACKUP tool
comes equipped with a vast array of
backup and disk-management features.
The program can, for instance, back
up a hard disk’s master boot record, its
first track, individual partitions or
complete drives. It can also run file-based
backups on the files and folders you
specify, or you can run a quick backup of
your documents, music, videos or other
media files. There’s even an email backup
feature that will save your messages,
accounts and address book; Outlook, Outlook formats are supported), ready for use in your
Express and Windows Mail are all supported. virtualisation tool of choice.
You’re able to run full, differential or incremental Restoring data from your backups is easy.
backups, the latter including only new or modified You can selectively restore just the files and
files for improved performance. A scheduler allows folders you need from within Paragon Backup
backup jobs to be run when you’re not around. & Recovery 15, even if they’re held within a
Your backup files can be saved to local, external or complete hard disk image, and if you purchase
remote drives, FTP servers, or burned to disc. the full version then you’ll be able to create a
Virtualisation support allows you to copy your recovery disc to restore your system drive even
entire system to a virtual drive (all the main if Windows will no longer start.

76 FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360

 Resources
Chat and Communication
Evernote 6.7.5.5825 Store your notes,
ideas and plans in the cloud, and
synchronise them between computers.
UPDATED Mailbird 2.4.24.0
A free desktop email client for Windows.
Miranda IM 0.10.75
Chat with friends across multiple
messaging platforms, including AIM,
Facebook, IRC and MSN, all from one
simple interface.
Customisation
iolo System Mechanic Free 17.0.1
Speed up your system with Iolo’s PC
optimisation suite.
UPDATED Rainmeter 4.1
Customise the desktop with your choice
of tools and shortcuts.
Windows 8 Transformation Pack 9.1
Emulate the look of Windows 8 on an
earlier version of the operating system.
General
Genie Timeline Free 2017 Protect your
most valuable files with this easy-to-use
backup tool.
Paragon Partition Manager 14 Free
Create, format, split, merge and reorganise
all your hard disk’s partitions.
UPDATED PeaZip 6.5.0 A tremendously
powerful archive-management tool.
Internet and Network
CarotDAV 1.14.6
Manage all your online storage services
with one simple application.
UPDATED Cyberduck 6.2.11
A powerful but easy-to-use FTP client for
uploading and downloading your files.
Glasswire 1.2.118
Keep tabs on your network usage with this
simple monitor.
Tweaking and Performance
UPDATED CCleaner 5.36 Remove unwanted
information, temporary files, browsing
history, huge log files and even the settings
that uninstalled software leaves behind.
Defraggler 2.21 Ensure that your system
is defragmented properly and improve
its performance.
Finestra Virtual Desktops 2.5.4501 Set up
four or more virtual desktops on your PC.
ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018
NEW VERSION Skype for Windows 8.11.76.3
Make internet voice and video calls for
free, and buy credit to make calls to
mobiles and landlines.
Telegram 1.1.23 This free IM app synchronises
your conversations across multiple devices,
and can spruce up chats with stickers and GIFs.
UPDATED WhatsApp Desktop 0.2.6967 A free
PC and Mac version of the popular messaging
app, letting you chat from your desktop.
Windows 8 UX Pack 9.1
Get a glimpse of the Windows 10 UI without
committing to a full OS upgrade.
Windows 10 Transformation Pack 7.0
Bring some of Windows 10’s new features
to your current operating system.
Winstep Xtreme 17.1
Freshen up your system with this suite of
desktop and UI replacement applications.
Screenshot Captor 4.21.1 Create and manage
screenshots the easy way.
UPDATED SUMo 5.3.9 Quickly scan your PC’s
installed applications and find any updates
that are available for them.
ZipGenius 6.3.2.3116 A flexible file-
compression tool with support for a huge
number of compressed file formats.
UPDATED FileZilla 3.29 A fast and reliable FTP
client with lots of useful features.
UPDATED NetBalancer 9.11.1
Make the most of your internet connection
by assigning download and upload priorities
to web applications.
UPDATED TeamViewer 12.0.88438
Remote-control your computer from
anywhere in the world.
UPDATED IObit Advanced SystemCare Free
11.0.3.186 A complete computer security,
maintenance and optimisation suite.
UPDATED Revo Uninstaller Free 2.0.4 Remove
installed applications completely, including all
their folders, system files and Registry entries.
Simple Performance Boost 1.0.5 Tweak the
Windows Registry to give your PC a
performance boost.
77
Power and
performance
Take gaming to the next level
with an award-winning PC
from 3XS systems

• Award-winning systems
• Extensively tested
including 24hr burn test
• 7 day evening and
weekend support
• Premium 3 year warranty
• Best in-class components

Choose your perfect PC today

. 01204 47 47 47
 Next day gaming PCs
Why wait when we can deliver a stunning new gaming PC to your home tomorrow. Choose from a wide range of specifications,
with every system pre-built and soak-tested for 24 hours to ensure maximum reliability and gaming pleasure.

3XS Gamer 3XS Gamer

Next day
delivery • Intel® Core™ i7 7700 processor • Intel® Core™ i7 8700 processor
• 16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR4 2133MHz • 16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR4 2400MHz
• 6GB EVGA GTX 1060 SC • 8GB EVGA GTX 1070 SC Black
• 250GB Samsung SSD plus 1TB HDD • 250GB Samsung SSD plus 1TB HDD
• Microsoft Windows 10 64bit • Microsoft Windows 10 64bit

£1,299.99 INC
VAT £1,499.99 INC
VAT

3XS Gamer 3XS Vengeance Ti

• Intel® Core™ i7 8700 “Coffee Lake” processor
• 16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR4 3000MHz
• 8GB EVGA GTX 1080 Ti
• 250GB Samsung SSD plus 1TB HDD
• Microsoft Windows 10 64bit
• Intel® Core™ i7 8700 “Coffee Lake” processor
• 16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR4 3000MHz
• 11GB EVGA GTX 1080 Ti SC2
• 500GB Samsung SSD plus 2TB HDD
• Microsoft Windows 10 64bit

£1,599.99 INC
VAT £1,999.99 INC
VAT

Next day gaming laptops

These high-end gaming laptops feature a variety of the very best discrete NVIDIA GeForce GTX graphics cards and powerful
quad-core Intel CPUs and are pre-built so ready for delivery to you tomorrow.

3XS LG15 Performance GTX 3XS LG15 Vengeance

Next day • Intel® Core™ i7 7700HQ processor • Intel® Core™ i7 7700HQ processor
delivery • 15.6" Full HD IPS screen • 15.6" FullHD IPS screen
• 4GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 or 1070
• 8GB Corsair DDR4 2133MHz • 16GB Corsair DDR4 2133MHz
• 250GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD • 256GB Samsung SM961 M.2 SSD
• Microsoft Windows 10 64bit • Microsoft Windows 10 64bit

£999.00 INC
VAT £1,299.99 INC
VAT

Intel Inside®. Extraordinary Performance Outside.

Intel, the Intel Logo, Intel Inside, Intel Core, and Core Inside are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or other countries.
 SMALL TALK
Mini PCs
CONTENT REVIEWS From £10 maker boards to pocket-sized sticks and
Page 82 Windows desktops you could fit in your hand, mini
ASUS Tinker Board PCs are among the most flexible and affordable
Page 83
RASPBERRY Pi 3 computers you can buy. We’ve tested eight of them
Page 84
AS GREAT AS beefy desktop PCs are, there’s
RASPBERRY Pi Zero W one problem that applies to almost all of
Page 85 them: their size. It can be easy to forget when
ASUS VivoMini they’re hidden under a desk, but compared to
Page 86 other computing devices such as smartphones
and laptops, most PCs take up an awful lot of
HP Elite Slice room. Even many Mini ITX and microATX
Page 87 builds can struggle to fit beneath a monitor or
INTEL Compute Stick TV, and portability often isn’t even considered.
Luckily, there is an alternative, and it
Page 88
doesn’t involve spending a premium on a
MSI Cubi 3 Silent laptop. Mini PCs have been around for a few
Page 89 years now, replicating the full-size desktop
ZOTAC Magnus ER51060 experience but with truly tiny form factors.
Many may actually use laptop components,
such as low-power processors, but because
you’re not also paying for an attached display
or keyboard, the mini PC as a whole is likely
to be considerably cheaper.
MAKE BELIEVE
Admittedly, ‘mini PCs’ is something of an
umbrella term, and it can cover some very
distinctive products – though in this group
test, we’ve tried to cover everything. One such
sub-species is the board-only PC, or micro
computer, or maker board: whatever you want
to call it, it’s essentially a petite motherboard
with attached system-on-a-chip (SoC). With
various connectors and ports, and potentially
a spot of soldering, these can be transformed
into almost anything you want, from a home

80 FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360


media computer running Android to the
brains of a remote-controlled robot.
Their versatility and incredibly low cost
(the Raspberry Pi Zero W, for instance, will
only set you back a tenner) makes these
boards understandably popular with the
maker community. But what if you just want a
straight desktop replacement for browsing,
content producing or even gaming?
BARE IN MIND
Well, fret not, because there’s a large selection
of mini PCs designed to run Windows. These
are much closer to the desktops and laptops
we’re familiar with: proper SSDs and hard
disks, removable, upgradable RAM, faster
processors and a wide range of external ports.
That is, so long as it’s a fully built system.
The mini PC concept is also a popular starting
point for so-called barebones systems: PCs
that come with the main processor installed,
but missing other crucial components such as
the RAM, storage drive(s) and operating
system. The idea is that you buy and install
these yourself; a little extra inconvenience
in exchange for a smaller initial outlay on
the PC, as well as greater choice and control
over the rest of its innards.
True, installing Windows on a fresh drive
can be fiddly, but you almost certainly will be
saving money in total, and slotting in some
RAM or an SSD are about the easiest things
you can do to the inside of a PC. It’s therefore
worth considering barebones systems unless
you’re particularly disinclined to any kind of
tinkering, or just want the convenience of a
ready-made mini PC.
MARCH OF PROCESS
Whichever flavour of mini PC you go for,
you’ll need enough processing power to do
what needs doing. This is dependent on price
more than anything; the £334 Intel Compute
Stick packs a modest dual-core Intel Core
m3-6Y30, while the £699 barebones Zotac
Magnus ER51060 can leverage a quad-core,
eight-thread AMD Ryzen 5 1400.
It makes sense that most mini PCs feature
laptop processors – these are built to run in
tightly packed chassis with minimal airflow,
so mini PCs that only have room for a small
fan (or have no fan at all) are also a good
match. Board-only computers have even less
space and cooling to work with, hence the
reason they stick to microprocessors such as
the Raspberry Pi 3’s ARM Cortex-A7.
Essentially, mini PCs aren’t really suited to
the same kind of strenuous work that a
full-size, properly cooled tower PC might be,
though that also doesn’t mean they’re always
going to be weak. With any Windows-
compatible systems, we’ll first attempt to
measure performance with our 4K application
benchmarks, falling back to the 1080p version
of the software if it seems to be struggling.
VISUAL BASIC
Because most mini PCs only have room for
the integrated graphics on their existing
ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018
MINI PCs
Whichever flavour of mini PC you go for, you’ll need enough
processing power to do what needs doing
processor, rather than a discrete GPU, it’s DRIVE MIND
also rare to find one with serious gaming Solid state storage is a natural fit for mini PCs;
capability. Zotac’s Magnus ER51060 is a slimline NVMe drive doesn’t take up as much
one very clear exception, although by room as a 3.5in mechanical disk, the latter
squeezing in a full Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 being nowhere to be seen in this test. With
graphics card, the Zotac is a lot longer, the cheapest models, you might get a small
wider and taller than any of the other eMMC Flash drive rather than a premium SSD,
systems we’ve tested here. but spend more and you can potentially have
Not that graphics performance should a fast ‘master’ drive for Windows and a
be completely ignored by anyone with isn’t larger-capacity SSD or mini hard disk to hold
a games enthusiast. Certain productivity many more files and programs.
tasks, such as image and video editing, rely Aim for as much storage as your budget
on graphical power, although since these allows, even if most PCs can be opened up to
tasks are already covered in our standard add more manually in the future (indeed, this
application benchmarks, we’ve also tested is fundamental to how barebones systems
using Dirt Showdown running at 1,280x720. work). At a pinch, though, it will be useful if
As an AAA 3D title that can nonetheless run the PC has an SD card slot for easily addable
on certain integrated graphics, it’s a good (and removable) storage – and with maker
benchmark for these largely graphics boards, it’s absolutely essential, as there won’t
card-deprived mini PCs. be any onboard storage to begin with.
THE BEST MINI PCs
BOARD-ONLY
RASPBERRY Pi 3
Although newer alternatives have arrived with their own
strengths – such as the budget-friendly Pi Zero W or the
markedly more powerful Asus Tinker Board – the flagship
Raspberry Pi 3 remains the overall best choice for occasional
hobbyists and serious makers alike.
Its dinky ARM Cortex-A7 CPU shouldn’t be underestimated, having the
horsepower to run office software and even some retro games, and its built-in Wi-Fi and
Bluetooth support greatly expands what you can do o with it. Besides being cheaper than
the Tinker Board, it also benefits from a far more active community of users, who can help
newcomers with their projects.
FULL WINDOWS PC
ASUS VivoMini
No other mini PC balances value, performance and design as
well as the VivoMini. A reliable home office contender der with
added graphics power from its Nvidia GeForce 930M, M, it’s
also one of the few we tested to contain both a main n SSD and
a backup hard disk – with all the others, you’re likelyy going to have
en possible.
to add in the latter as a future upgrade, if that’s even
here are sleeker, more stylish
Sure, it has a larger footprint than most, and there
alternatives, but its design allows the VivoMini an effective active cooling system with
room for plenty of ports and outputs.
BAREBONES SYSTEM
ZOTAC Magnus ER51060
Size-wise, this is even bigger than the VivoMini, but there’s
a good reason for that. This doesn’t simply make do with
laptop-grade or ‘power-optimised’ (ie, slower) parts: you get
a proper AMD Ryzen 5 1400 processor and a 3GB GeForce
GTX 1060 graphics card already installed.
Add your own storage, OS and RAM (which, thanks to the spacious
interior, is particularly painless) and you’ve got a bona fide gaming PC that could not only
fit in a rucksack, but perform rather decently as a media-editing rig if you’d rather use that
GPU to accelerate professional software.
81
 MINI PCs
ASUS Tinker Board
★★★★★
£52 • From www.currys.co.uk
VERDICT
A brilliant computer for projects, with almost
double the Raspberry Pi 3’s performance
NOT MANY MAJOR tech firms have made a
serious challenge to the Raspberry Pi series’
hold on the single-board computer market,
with even Intel’s Arduino 101 being
discontinued recently. Perhaps Asus will have
more luck with the Tinker Board, a more
powerful – and expensive – rival to the Pi 3.
For compatibility reasons, Asus has used
the same layout as the Raspberry Pi 3. From
the 40-pin header (with 28 GPIO pins) to the
CSI connector and USB, HDMI and 3.5mm
audio ports, everything is where you’d find it
on the Pi 3, and even the physical dimensions
are identical. This allows the Tinker Board to
fit into most Raspberry Pi cases, making it
viable as a swapped-in replacement.
While ports and connectors may be in the
same place as the Pi, Asus has upgraded many
of the components, making the Tinker Board
an altogether more premium product. For
starters, while the Pi 3 has only 10/100Mbit/s
Ethernet, the Tinker Board has both Gigabit
Ethernet and its own Ethernet controller; the
Pi uses a USB-to-Ethernet bridge.
GOOD LISTENER
While both boards have 802.11n Wi-Fi, the
Tinker Board has an upgradable i-PEX antenna
header, should you want to boost wireless
performance. The Tinker Board also has a
superior sound chip, supporting 24-bit, 192kHz
audio. This could make Asus’s product the
better choice for audio apps, as could the
unpopulated PWM and S/PDIF holes.
Asus has gone all out to boost
performance, too. The Tinker Board’s 2GB
of RAM is double that of the Pi 3, and a
more powerful Rockchip Quad-Core
RK3288 processor is fitted as well. As this
CPU can generate a bit more heat than the
Pi 3’s Broadcom BCM2837 processor, the
Tinker Board ships with a stick-on heatsink,
which you should fit to stop the processor
from getting too toasty.
82
As with the Pi 3, you’ll
need to provide your own
microSD card and install an operating
system on it. Via Asus’s website, you can
download Android 6.0 Marshmallow or the
Debian-based TinkerOS.
Android is an interesting choice. Asus has
tweaked Marshmallow to make it play better
with a keyboard and mouse, but there’s no
Google Play Store option. To install apps, you
have to download the APK and sideload using
the provided installer. Technically, it should be
possible to sideload the Google Play Store, but
we found it exceptionally hard to do.
Otherwise, though, sideloading apps is not
hard, and we soon had Geekbench and Netflix
installed. It may look basic, but the operating
system works well with a keyboard and mouse.
With a smart GUI and command line, the
Linux-based TinkerOS is a better choice for
makers. Asus supplies a different range of apps
to the Pi, but you can use the sudo apt-get
command to install what you want. Given the
processor and RAM, TinkerOS turns the
Tinker Board into a usable desktop computer.
TINK AHEAD
We had no trouble browsing the web using
the Chromium web browser, playing HD
YouTube videos or editing simple documents.
Certainly, the Tinker Board feels much
snappier than the Pi 3 and, especially, the Pi
Zero W, and this was reflected in the
Sysbench prime number verification test:
running on a single thread, the Tinker Board
completed the test in just 94.25 seconds,
beating the Pi 3’s 182.49s, and switching to
four cores cut this down to 45.86s.
Graphics performance is also better, thanks
to the Tinker Board’s Mali-T764 GPU. While
you can’t play games on it, this GPU has
integrated H.265 decoding so it can play 4K
video. Testing in Kodi by streaming the
open-source 4K film Tears of Steel, the Tinker
Board effortlessly played the file; the Pi 3,
conversely, struggled and dropped frames.
Although 4K films can be decoded, the
Tinker Board is not actually a true Ultra HD
device. With its HDMI 1.4 output and no HDCP
support, it’s capable of a maximum resolution
of 4K at a fairly jerky 30Hz. Running at this
resolution, the Tinker Board upscales 1080p
content to fill the screen, bar 4K video played
through the bundled video player.
While the Tinker Board can be used as a
desktop computer, it’s ultimately designed for
projects. Fortunately, most Pi code can be
translated to run on the Tinker Board with
only minor modifications. This is great news,
as there are thousands of example Pi projects
online for you to choose from, many of which
would benefit from the Tinker Board’s faster
processor and networking. Alternatively, if one
of your existing Pi projects needs a bit more
oomph, you can swap out its existing
computer for the Tinker Board.
TOUGH CROWD
Be prepared to do a bit of work, as not all Pi
scripts will work out of the box and may need
a slight modification to suit the Tinker Board’s
environment. For the savvy Linux user, this
shouldn’t be a problem, but it does raise a
potential issue with the Tinker Board, and one
pot
that’s not easily fixed: the community.
tha
The Tinker Board’s user base just isn’t as
large or active as that of the Pi series, which
lar
means that if you get stuck and need help,
mea
there won’t be nearly as much of a community
the
to call on for support. That’s not to say that
things won’t improve in the future, but it’s
thi
going to take a while (if ever) for the Tinker
goi
Board to match the Pi in this regard.
Boa
That’s not to say that the Tinker Board
should be ignored; as a Pi-compatible
sho
computer that can run more demanding tasks,
com
it fills a helpful role. For less savvy users
looking to get into project-based computers,
loo
however, the Pi 3 is cheaper and has a better
how
community for helping first-time users.
com
FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360

RASPBERRY Pi 3
★★★★★
£30 • From uk.rs-online.com
VERDICT
The latest version of the budget maker board
builds on the success of its predecessors
IT MAY HAVE sold more than eight million of
its Pi mini-computers, but the Raspberry Pi
Foundation wasn’t resting on its laurels when
it came up with its latest flagship model. The
Pi 3 (or, to use its full name, the Raspberry Pi 3
Model B) can claim an impressive list of
features of features and upgrades from the Pi
2, including a speed boost (the Foundation
claims a 50% increase) as well as built-in Wi-Fi
and Bluetooth capability. The inclusion of
Wi-Fi is particularly handy, as it means you’ll
no longer need to take up one of your
precious USB ports with a Wi-Fi adaptor.
There have also been some changes to
the physical layout of the Pi 3’s motherboard,
although it remains physically the same size
as the Pi 2. The power and activity lights have
migrated from the top left to the bottom left
of the board, which may be a problem
depending on your case’s design. The RUN
(reset) header is also now on the other side
of the GPIO pins.
HOLD ON TIGHT
One change we approve of is that the
microSD card slot has switched from a
spring-loaded model to a simpler friction
slot. This is one less thing to go wrong:
we’ve had a spring-loaded slot break on
a Pi 2 and had to hold the microSD card
in with electrical tape.
The more straightforward friction slot
means that the tape stays in the drawer.
Otherwise, it’s business as usual, with four
USB ports and Ethernet on the rear, plus
HDMI and a 3.5mm audio and composite
video port. The all-important 40 general-
purpose input/output pins are present for
hobbyist use, as are the interfaces for the
optional camera and LCD display modules.
The easiest way to install an operating
system on the Raspberry Pi is to download
the NOOBS installer from www.raspberrypi.org
and copy it to a microSD card, which should
be 8GB minimum, and ideally rated at Class 10,
the fastest you can get. When you boot up
the Pi, you’ll get a choice of operating systems
to install, from the easy-to-use Linux distro
Raspbian to the OpenELEC media centre to
the twilight zone of RISC OS. While Raspbian
will be the default OS of choice for many,
ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018
having the option of so many operating
systems through NOOBS is brilliant.
ROUGH WAVES
In the office, we initially had some trouble with
the Raspberry Pi 3’s Wi-Fi; it was fussy about
connecting to a number of routers, and when
it finally managed to connect, we only
achieved a throughput of around 1Mbit/s.
However, we had no such trouble testing with
Despite being a largely incremental improvement, the Pi 3
cements its position as the ultimate hobbyist computer
identical networking equipment at home.
We therefore suspect that the office
environment was just too noisy for the Pi 3
to cope, owing to the dozens of routers and
Wi-Fi-enabled computers in the vicinity. When
testing the Pi 3’s Wi-Fi throughput at home,
we were pleasantly surprised by its range,
especially considering the Pi 3 has such a tiny
Wi-Fi antenna. At 10m distance from the
router and through a couple of walls, the Pi 3
managed to transfer data at 12Mbit/s,
compared to 26Mbit/s for an 802.11n laptop.
Transfer rates weren’t much quicker when we
were right next to the router, however; here
we saw a maximum of 19Mbit/s, compared to
over 80Mbit/s from our laptop.
This means the Pi 3’s Wi-Fi isn’t quick
enough to max out the average fibre
broadband connection, but it’s certainly fine
for web browsing, downloading software
packages and audio and video streaming.
The Pi 2 was equipped with a quad-core
ARM Cortex-A7 chip, but the Pi 3’s chip has
been upgraded to a Cortex-A53. This made no
difference to boot times, which were 35s for
both systems, but the image-heavy homepage
of our sister website Expert Reviews rendered
MINI PCs
in 12s on the Pi 3 compared to 19s on the Pi 2,
using the Pi’s default Epiphany browser.
LibreOffice ran smoother, especially when
manipulating vector images in Draw and
zooming in and out. YouTube videos were
jerky, but we managed to play 1080p video
smoothly using the command-line omxplayer.
It’s also a lot faster than the (even smaller)
Raspberry Pi Zero W: running the Sysbench
test to verify prime numbers up to 10,000, the
Pi 3 completed it in 182.49s, while the Pi Zero
W took 530.27s. As the Pi 3 has a quad-core
CPU, it can also improve its completion time
to 45.86s by running four threads.
SIP FEED
The video core has had a bump from 250MHz
to 400MHz, so we thought we’d get Quake 3
running on the Pi 3 using the guide at www.
raspbian.org/RaspbianQuake3. Using the
game’s built-in benchmark saw 64.3fps on the
Pi 3 at 1,024x768 resolution. This is the same
frame rate as the Raspberry Pi 2, so the
50MHz increase in the graphics clock speed
doesn’t seem to make a difference in this title.
The Pi 3’s processor throttled back to
600MHz when the system was at idle, while
according to the CPU clock speed command
we ran, the Pi 2’s processor always ran at
900MHz. This made a considerable difference
to power consumption: the Pi 2 drew 3.2W at
idle and 3.8W under load, while the Pi 3 drew
2.5W and 3.8W. This is a 22% power saving at
idle, which is not to be sniffed at. Despite the
lower power drain, the Pi 3 was also able to
power up and access a 3TB external laptop
hard disk, something the Pi 2 couldn’t manage.
Despite being a largely incremental
improvement, the Pi 3 cements its
position as the ultimate hobbyist
computer. The cheaper, more compact
Pi Zero W is better suited for low-
intensity tasks and projects, but where
real computing power is required, the
Pi 3 is the best option available.
83
 MINI PCs
RASPBERRY Pi Zero W
★★★★★
£10 • From www.thepihut.com
VERDICT
A big improvement on the original Pi Zero,
this model’s integrated Wi-Fi makes it even
more flexible
THE ORIGINAL RASPBERRY Pi Zero was
quite the creation: essentially a smaller
Raspberry Pi, it only cost a mere £4, and was
even the first computer to be given away for
free with a magazine.
Getting the Zero down to its diminutive
size (5x65x30mm) meant that a fair few
things had to be cut out. Still, progress is an
unstoppable beast, and now we have the
Raspberry Pi Zero W, an improved model
with integrated wireless capability: both
Bluetooth and 2.4GHz 802.11n Wi-Fi.
This may not be the latest flavour of Wi-Fi,
but for the types of jobs that you’re likely to
use the computer for, it’s more than enough.
In fact, having integrated network access can’t
be applauded enough. With the old Pi Zero,
adding network access meant buying a Wi-Fi
dongle, which added bulk and made
everything a little clumsier. With wireless
integration, the Pi Zero W suddenly becomes
a lot more useful in many more situations.
SMALL WONDER
That’s not to say that there aren’t limitations,
and the small size of the Pi Zero W means
that there’s no room for full-sized ports, like
the ones you get on the Pi 3. Instead, you
get one Micro USB power input, one
Micro USB On-The-Go (OTG) port for
connecting devices, and a Mini HDMI
output. Realistically, these small ports mean
that you’ll need to buy adaptors to hook the
Pi Zero W up to a monitor.
With only a single USB port, you’ll also
need to buy a USB hub to hook up a
keyboard and mouse at the same time.
We recommend that you buy a powered hub,
as our review sample’s Micro USB port
couldn’t deliver enough power for a regular
hub, keyboard and mouse at the same time.
You can hook up external devices through
the HAT-compatible 40-pin general input/
output (GPIO) connector. As with the
original Pi, this connector is
unpopulated, which means
you’ll need a soldering iron to
connect the pins that you
want to use. On the one hand,
this approach is a little fiddly;
on the other, it can make for a
neater and smaller final build.
Although the original
Pi Zero didn’t have the
camera connector (CSI),
this was added for the
next production run.
We’re pleased to say that
84
the CSI remains for the Pi Zero, making it
easy to hook up the official camera and
make yourself a wireless camera. You’ll need
to buy the ribbon cable adaptor to fit the
camera, as the Pi Zero W has a smaller CSI
connector than the regular Pi 3.
There’s still no DSI connector for hooking
up the Pi display, however, and no way of
adding one. There’s also no analogue audio
connector, although you can add one using a
soldering iron and some online instructions.
Likewise, there’s no composite video
connector, but you can solder the connection
on if this is something you want.
HOT STUFF
In general, then, the Raspberry Pi Zero W’s
shortcomings can be largely overcome if
you’re happy to whip out a soldering iron.
The true benefit of this approach is that
With wireless integration, the Pi Zero W suddenly
becomes a lot more useful in many more situations
it’s much easier to build smaller projects,
as there’s nothing extraneous on the Pi
Zero W, just the essentials.
As with other Pi computers, you need to
install the operating system (most likely the
Linux-based Raspbian) on a microSD card
(8GB minimum), which then plugs into the
card reader at the end of the board. It’s easy
to configure using the instructions on the
Raspberry Pi website. Raspbian is a
lightweight and simple-to-use graphical
OS that gives you all the essential tools you
need to start building your projects.
The Raspberry Pi Zero W is powered by a
1GHz single-core Broadcom BCM2835
processor and 512MB of RAM. It’s the same
CPU that powered the original Pi, only in this
case the clock speed has been increased. If
you’re used to the quad-core Raspberry Pi 3,
then the Pi Zero W feels positively slow in
comparison. As we said in the Pi 3 review,
the Pi Zero W completed Sysbench’s prime
number verification task in 530.27 seconds,
compared to the Pi 3’s 182.49s. Boot times
are considerably slower, too, with the Pi
Zero W taking 53s to boot.
That said, the Pi Zero W is not designed
as a high-performance computer. It’s fast
enough to run Raspbian’s GUI, and it’s
quick enough to run the types of job that
you’d want it for.
For example, we’ve been running a
LightwaveRF server on a Pi, so that we
could integrate our lights with Samsung
SmartThings. Using a Raspberry Pi 3 was
overkill for this kind of job, but the Raspberry
Pi Zero W is a perfect fit, with its integrated
Wi-Fi once again proving to be a real benefit.
Ultimately, the Raspberry Pi Zero W is an ideal
choice for less demanding projects, and those
where space is at a premium. Whether or not
the Raspberry Pi Zero W is the computer for
you depends on what you want to achieve.
For general hobbyists that want to play with a
lot of different projects, the faster Raspberry
Pi 3, with its full-sized ports and populated
GPIO connector, is going to make the most
sense, giving you the most flexibility.
PROJECT AND SERVE
If you want a cheap computer for a specific
job, particularly a low-power server, the Pi
Zero W comes into its own. It’s a great choice
for custom projects, for people with a steady
hand and a soldering iron.
Ultimately, it’s hard to
be anything other than
impressed by a computer
that costs just £10. It may
cost more than twice as
much as the original, but the
integrated Wi-Fi more than
justifies this cost. Once again,
the Raspberry Pi Foundation
has managed to astound us;
the Pi Zero W is a beautifully
designed and well-thought-
out computer.
FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360

ASUS VivoMini
★★★★★
£637 • From www.ebuyer.com
VERDICT
With dedicated graphics, great storage and
extensive connectivity, this is an attractively
versatile mini PC
LOOK THROUGH THESE pages and you’ll
find that most mini PCs generally try to get by
with the essentials – CPU, RAM and a single
storage drive – while barebones systems start
off with even less. It’s therefore rare to see a
tiny Windows computer that is as internally
well equipped as the VivoMini.
Specifically, we’re using the VM65N-G072Z
model; the VivoMini family has about as many
different configurations as a Rubik’s Cube,
starting with the Intel Celeron-based UN45
and scaling all the way up to our VM65N
spec. This sits very close to the top of the
line, with a dual-core Intel Core i5-7200U,
8GB of RAM, both a 128GB SSD and a 1TB
hard disk, and even a dedicated graphics chip,
Nvidia’s GeForce 930M.
BALANCE OF POWER
This GPU is, like the CPU, a relatively
low-power laptop component, and a far cry
from the proper desktop-grade parts of the
Zotac Magnus ER51060. This, however, is an
awful lot cheaper, not to mention far more
compact, and still puts up a very competitive
performance in our 4K benchmarks. Its
multitasking score of 14 is unfortunate
(despite active cooling from a fan, we
wouldn’t be surprised if there was some
throttling going on), but its image score of 81
and video score of 56 point towards a system
that can at least handle some low-end media
editing, as well as the basic stuff such as
browsing and word processing. Overall, the
VivoMini scored 39, handily beating the MSI
Cubi 3 Silent and falling behind the more
expensive HP Elite Slice and Magnus ER51060.
Out of curiosity, we also ran the 1080p
version of our benchmarks, which the
VivoMini sailed through: 206 in the image
test, 182 in the video test and 186 in the
multitasking test. That’s twice the
performance of the Intel Compute Stick,
fittingly, at a little less than twice the
price. It’s also interesting to see thatt
the VivoMini’s multitasking weakness ess
disappears in this less demanding test,
its score becoming much more
proportional to the image and
video-encoding segments.
The GeForce 930M also makes
Asus’s mini PC an adequate tool
for light gaming. Running Dirt
Showdown at 720p, the VivoMini
produced 43fps with the High
quality preset and 51fps with the
Low quality preset. It should be
noted that the HP Elite Slice
ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018
achieved a single extra frame on Low
settings, despite using integrated graphics,
but at High settings – which is where we’d
rather be – the VivoMini wins out over
everything else in this group test save for
the GTX 1060-powered Magnus ER51060.
HARD TRUTHS
Of the non-barebones systems tested here,
the VivoMini also has the best storage. The
128GB SSD allows for speedy operation of
Windows, as well as a few choice applications,
and its lack of capacity is compensated for
with a hefty 1TB hard disk. Most mini PCs,
even more expensive ones such as the Elite
Slice, make do with a single SSD, but we
strongly recommend a larger backup like this
HDD if you want it as your main PC.
What’s more, you can swap it out for a
larger drive if you do ever run out of space.
Opening up the VivoMini is child’s play: simply
flip a release switch on the back, slide off the
top cover, and you’re in. Admittedly, the extent
to which you can upgrade and customise this
PC is slightly more limited than, say, the Cubi 3
Silent – you can only really reach the hard disk
and the SO-DIMM memory slots, both of
which are located in their own little self-
contained compartments. We get the
impression that tinkering with the VivoMini’s
innards is meant to be a last resort, rather
than something that’s encouraged as it would
be with a barebones system.
MINI PCs
Asus has squeezed in a fine selection of
ports. As well as four USB3 ports, there are
another two faster USB3.1 connectors, and
dual display support is possible thanks to
both HDMI and DisplayPort outputs. Gigabit
Ethernet provides a wired alternative to the
built-in 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and the full-size SD
card reader could be great for photographers
and amateur filmmakers (as long as their
editing needs aren’t too demanding,
considering the PC’s benchmark scores).
There’s even an optical S/PDIF out, below
the separate 3.5mm microphone and
headphone jacks. Support for high-end audio
hardware is exceedingly rare among PCs at
this price, even larger desktops, so the
presence of this port is a very nice surprise.
MOUNT PLEASANT
We wouldn’t consider it a fault, knowing
how much is inside, but the VivoMini does
have a large footprint for a mini PC: at
52x190x190mm, it’s both taller and wider than
the Elite Slice, and takes up a lot more desk
real estate than the Cubi 3 Silent. It’s not a
bad looker, though, especially with Asus’s
signature swirl pattern on top jazzing the
whole thing up a tad. It’s also light enough
– weighing 1.2kg, less than the Cubi 3 Silent –
that if you invest in a VESA mounting kit and
affix it to the holes on the bottom, you can
have it attached to the back of a monitor, on
underside of a desk or vertically on a wall.
the undersid
would have been easy to look at the
It wou
VivoMini’s 4K multitasking score and be
VivoMi
off, but otherwise this is beyond a
put off
doubt the most well-balanced mini PC
have here. It’s great value, has
we ha
enough processing power for home
eno
office use (and enough graphics power
offi
for occasional 720p gaming), has
fo
plenty of storage, doesn’t need any
ple
extra barebones-style installations
ext
and, despite being a touch chunkier
and
than most of the competition, is still
tha
dwarfed by the Zotac Magnus
ER51060. Unless you’re willing to
pay a few hundred pounds more
for that PC’s superior horsepower,
this is the best of the bunch.
thi
85
 MINI PCs
HP Elite Slice
★★★★★
£1,150 (including audio module) • From store.hp.com
VERDICT
This smart-looking modular PC performs well,
but not well enough to justify the price
2015 SAW THE release of the Acer Revo
Build, a modular PC that allowed you to add
various bits of hardware by stacking block-
shaped, clip-on modules on top of each other
like an expensive sandwich.
The idea never really took off (it certainly
hasn’t changed how we customise and
upgrade traditional PCs), but the concept was
sound. Perhaps the sleeker, flatter, more
powerful HP Elite Slice will have better luck.
This is, strictly speaking, a business PC,
which means you get Windows 10 Pro
instead of Windows 10 Home, and security
features, such as built-in drive encryption.
Performance has also been prioritised, as
there’s both a 256GB NVMe SSD for faster
booting and application loading, and a
quad-core 2.5GHz Intel Core i5-6500T CPU.
The latter is a full-fat desktop processor,
rather than a mobile chip as used by many
other mini PCs. Don’t expect the same kind
of horsepower as the standard Core i5-6500
processor, though; the ‘T’ suffix indicates
that some speed has been traded off for
lower power consumption.
SHORT STACK
As for its modular system, it echoes the Revo
Build in that each module shares the same
length and width, as well as the matt black
finish, as the PC proper – this ensures a
pleasantly consistent look, helped further by
the fact that each module is fairly thin, so
building an unsightly tower is impossible.
Modules are added to the bottom of the
preceding one, connecting via a physical port.
They feel pretty secure, only coming apart
when you flip an unlocking switch on the
underside of each module.
The catch is that there are only three
modules currently available, two of which
were included in our review kit (the missing
one was a VESA mount so that you can attach
the Elite Slice to the back of a monitor).
Specifically, we got the Bang and Olufsen
Audio Module, which adds three-way
speakers and a dual microphone
array, and a DVD-RW drive.
Although the former still isn’t much
better than your average laptop
speakers in terms of warmth and
depth, it’s great for voice calls
(fittingly, considering the Elite
Slice’s enterprise ambitions). The
march of digitisation means the
DVD-RW drive might be a little
more niche, though it could be
useful for creating Windows
recovery media in a pinch.
86
We also had the
Collaboration Cover
installed. It’s not another clip-on
module, but instead replaces the PC’s top
panel with one that includes capacitive
buttons for calling, muting the microphone,
raising and lowering volume and hanging up.
This sits neatly with the Audio Module, which
is perhaps why HP sells them in a bundle.
ON THE MONEY
The closest we could get to our test spec was
£1,150 for the Elite Slice, the Collaboration
Cover and the Audio Module, with the Disk
Drive Module adding another £66, for a total
of £1,216. Alternatively, you can get the vanilla
Elite Slice (with the same internal specs but no
Collaboration Cover) for £1,040, then add the
two clip-on modules for a grand total of £1,177.
In any case, this is one very expensive
mini-PC indeed – far more so than any of the
others in this group test, even accounting for
the extra components needed to get
barebones systems such as the MSI Cubi 3
Silent working. Performance is, at least, higher
than most of these alternatives; it completed
our 4K benchmarks without incident, scoring
91 in the image test, 84 in the video test, 36 in
the multitasking test and 61 overall. That’s 22
points clear of the Asus VivoMini, and 36
points higher than the Cubi 3 Silent.
True, the Zotac Magnus ER51060 is vastly
superior for multitasking, thanks to its full-fat
Ryzen 5 1400 processor, but the Elite Slice’s
image- and video-editing capability helps it
come out on top. It packs its power into a
much smaller form factor as well.
Despite its business credentials, the PC
also did well in our 720p Dirt Showdown
benchmark, averaging 31fps on the game’s
High settings. Dropping down to Low quality
pushed this all the way up to 52fps, the best
showing in this group test.
Again, though, this performance (which
still isn’t anywhere near what you’d get from a
full-size £1,000-ish desktop) comes at a high
cost, and other aspects of the Elite Slice are
relatively lacking. There are only two full-size
USB3.1 ports, for instance; connectivity isn’t
all bad, as you also get both HDMI and
DisplayPort outputs, and two USB Type-C
ports help make up the numbers, but it feels
all too easy to run out of room for accessories
and peripherals. It helps that there’s a wireless
mouse and keyboard set in the box, which can
share a single USB receiver, but neither are
particularly responsive or comfortable to use.
In addition, while the 256GB SSD is fast, it’s
awfully low capacity to serve as your main
drive. On the bright side, you can help rectify
this yourself by opening up the Elite Slice;
doing so grants access to an empty 2.5in drive
tray, which can hold either an SSD or compact
hard disk. Two M.2 slots are also accessible,
though these are already occupied by the
main SSD and an 802.11ac Wi-Fi card.
ON THIN SLICE
There are reasons to consider the HP Elite
Slice: it’s fast by mini PC standards, and the
modular system is the best we’ve seen on any
Windows device. Hopefully more modules
are still to be released, as the current
selection is a bit sparse.
However, although this can be a
good PC, it’s not a great one. The
only thing that makes its high price
more palatable is its performance,
but if that’s your chief concern, the
Magnus ER51060 beat the Elite
Slice’s multitasking benchmark
score by more than double. If, on
the other hand, you can get by with
more basic processing power, the
Asus VivoMini is a more well-
rounded mini PC at a better price.
FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360

INTEL Compute Stick
★★★★★
£334 • From www.ebuyer.com
VERDICT
It’s not particularly fast, but the pocket-sized
Compute Stick can still find a happy home
behind your monitor or TV
NOT COUNTING BOARD-ONLY computers
such as those in the Raspberry Pi family, mini
PCs don’t come much more miniature than
the Intel Compute Stick. Measuring
11x35x114mm, it’s about the size of a muesli
bar. Believe it or not, this is actually an
increase in size on the first-generation model
that launched back in 2015.
The idea behind the Compute Stick is
that it can plug straight into the HDMI port
of a monitor, or even a living room TV, and
instantly turn it into a Windows PC. This can
be handy in a business environment – for
instance, you could use the Compute Stick
to work on a presentation at your desk, then
unplug it, put it in your pocket, and walk
over to a meeting room, where you can
quickly get it up and running on a TV without
having to set up a laptop or fiddle with any
auxiliary cables. That said, there’s also
potential appeal to home users who want
basic computing power in as small and tidy a
form factor as physically possible.
PRECIOUS LITTLE
Indeed, basic power is all you’re going to get,
as the Compute’s Stick dinky proportions
limit how big and beefy a processor can be
fitted inside. There are various CPU options,
ranging from the Intel Atom x5-Z8300 (£134)
to the Core m5-6Y57 (£465), and certain
specs come with or without an operating
system, in case you want to choose what’s
on yours (the most popular seem to be
Windows and Android). The specific model
we tested worked straight out of the box: it
has a dual-core 900MHz Core m3-6Y30 CPU,
Windows 10 Home and 4GB of RAM. In other
words, it’s a mid-range laptop circa 2016,
squeezed into something you could quite
easily lose down the back of the sofa.
First impressions weren’t great, as even
with the Core m3-6Y30’s ability to Turbo
Boost all the way to 2.2GHz, our Compute
Stick ran painfully slowly as we went about
installing our benchmark software. Even
bringing up the contents of a hard drive in
Windows Explorer took several seconds.
ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018
However, this sluggishness proved
temporary, and it wasn’t long before Intel’s
portable PC became about as responsive as
we’d expect from the hardware involved.
That’s not to say it’s terribly fast; in fact, our
usual 4K benchmark suite proved too much
for it, forcing us to switch to the less
demanding 1080p version instead. Here, at
least, it performed decently, scoring 87 in the
image test, 99 in the video test, 91 in the
multitasking test and 93 overall.
We were quite worried about the Compute
Stick’s ability to juggle multiple tasks at once,
partly due to the low RAM. Nonetheless, it
can manage having a fair few browser tabs
open, something that we couldn’t always say
of the original Atom-powered Compute Stick.
It has a lot more trouble with games, as
you’d expect. The puny Intel HD Graphics 515
couldn’t even reach 30fps in Dirt Showdown;
running at 1,280x720, choosing the High
quality preset produced 20fps, and dropping
all the way down to Low quality only raised
this to 28fps. You could argue that the
Compute Stick was never intended as a
gaming device, but considering how easy it is
to install it in a TV, it could have been a fun
way to enjoy PC games in the living room.
DOWN TO THE WIRE
On the other hand, there’s not much room
for big files on the integrated storage – or
much room for anything at all. Our review
sample had the maximum 64GB of Flash
storage, and because this also holds a full-fat
Windows installation, you’re only looking at
around 42GB of usable space.
MINI PCs
Fortunately, this low-and-slow approach is
aided by an integrated microSD card slot,
which – like on a Chromebook – will probably
become invaluable to anyone who uses the
Compute Stick with any regularity. Intel has
also come up with a clever solution to the
lack of full-size USB ports on the original
Compute Stick: here, there is once again a
single USB3 port on the unit itself, but a
further two have been added to the power
plug. Because this connects to the Compute
Stick via a USB Type-C cable, which can handle
data as well as power, you can therefore use
them for peripherals and removable media.
Three USB3 ports might not sound like much,
but if you prefer to use a wired mouse or
keyboard, or use a lot of flash drives, it’s
even better than the HP Elite Slice, which
has only two full-size ports.
Intel has also squeezed in a fan. Core M
chips typically go without these in laptops,
though even a 13in ultraportable has more
space to passively disperse heat than in this
tiny chassis, so the inclusion makes sense. Be
warned: this little fan can make a big noise,
whining even louder than the Elite Slice and
MSI Cubi when under (relatively) heavy load.
STICK AROUND
To be sure, the Compute Stick is a bit of
an oddity even by mini PC standards; it
doesn’t quite have the power that we’d
want from a bona fide desktop replacement,
but because it’s still reliant on a separate
display, mouse and keyboard, it’s not as
laptops with which it has
versatile as the lapt
more in common int internally.
Still, it’s dirt cheap for a
Windows 10 device, with laptops
Window
containing the same CPU costing
contai
around twice as much. With this
mind, as well as the Compute
in min
Stick’s modest performance
Stick’
and TVTV-friendliness, it perhaps
makes more sense as a home
media player than as a
shrunken-down desktop.
shrunk
87
 MINI PCs
MSI Cubi 3 Silent
★★★★★
£339 (not including RAM, storage or OS) •
From www.scan.co.uk
VERDICT
With performance a letdown, it’s up to
excellent design and easy customisation to
make the Cubi 3 Silent worthwhile
CUBI IS ONE of the most reliable sub-brands
in the mini PC market; we particularly liked the
original MSI Cubi (Shopper 331) for its low
price and tiny form factor. Fast forward two
years and we now have the Cubi 3 Silent, a
brand new model that’s both bigger and more
expensive but comes with a fanless case that
runs without so much as a whisper.
It is, like previous Cubi models and the
Zotac Magnus ER51060 on the opposite page,
a barebones system. In other words, it arrives
with the CPU already installed, but you’ll need
to provide your own storage, operating system
and RAM. This can make the initial setup a lot
more time-consuming (especially when it
comes to installing Windows) than simply
buying a complete system at retail, but it
shouldn’t be something to be afraid of.
MSI provided us with the parts we needed
for this review, which comprised 4GB of
SO-DIMM memory and a 128GB NVMe SSD
with Windows 10 Home installed on it. Already
housed within was a dual-core Intel Core
i5-7200U, typically found in mid-range laptops.
All in all, you’re looking at a total cost of
around £540: £339 for the Cubi 3 Silent, and
£201 for the extra components and OS.
BOTTOM OUT
Installing everything is easy: simply remove
the four screws on the underside, pop off the
plate, and slide the RAM and NVMe drive into
their respective slots. You’ll need a smaller
screwdriver to secure the latter in place, using
the provided screws, but making the Cubi 3
Silent whole is easy. There’s also a tray,
attached to the removable plate, which can
hold a 2.5in SSD or hard disk – a likely future
addition, as large-capacity NVMe
drives are still pretty expensive.
Once it’s up and running, you
will probably appreciate the
silent running, especially if
it’s given pride of place as a
home office PC. There are
drawbacks, however. For one,
the top of the Cubi Silent 3
gets extremely hot when the
system is under load; we’ve
only ever seen the Core
i5-7200U with a fan, so it’s
commendable that MSI can
keep it from overheating with
passive cooling, but it seems
to manage this only by
dispersing heat all the way
out to the chassis.
88
Such warmth doesn’t do
performance any favours, either.
Asus’s VivoMini has the same processor,
but easily beat the Cubi 3 Silent in our 4K
benchmarks, with the MSI PC scoring 65 in
the image test, 36 in the video test and four
– yes, four – in the multitasking test.
It didn’t fare well in Dirt Showdown either,
managing only 26fps on Low settings and
17fps on High. That’s lower, at both quality
settings, than the weedy Intel Compute Stick.
With our more merciful 1080p
benchmarks, the Cubi 3 Silent did a lot better,
especially in the image test where it scored
173. Its video and multitasking scores of 107
and 118 were more modest, but with 123
overall, it’s fair to say that the Cubi 3 Silent
can handle simple work. It’s just a shame that
it falls so far behind the fan-cooled VivoMini.
BOX OF DELIGHTS
In MSI’s defence, the Cubi 3 Silent never
claims to be a micro powerhouse, and the
price reflects that – £540 is firmly within
budget territory for both full-size PCs and
laptops. Besides, there’s a lot else here for
your money.
Connectivity is very good: at the front,
two USB3.1 ports are joined by a combined
mic and headphone jack, while at the rear,
another two full-size USB3.1 ports ensure
you won’t run out of options when you hook
up a wired mouse and keyboard. You get a
choice of HDMI or DisplayPort outputs (or
both, if you have two monitors) and if you
don’t want to rely on the integrated 802.11ac
Wi-Fi, there’s a Gigabit Ethernet slot as well.
All of this is contained within a chassis
that, bigger than previous Cubi PCs or not,
looks excellent. The brushed aluminium finish
provides a premium feel and a touch of
character, as do the visible radiator fins that
sit beneath the raised top panel.
It’s still very compact, too, measuring
70x160x110mm and weighing 1.3kg. That’s
small enough that, with the optional VESA
mount, it’s possible to attach the Cubi 3
Silent to the back of a monitor, or even on
a wall, keeping your desk as tidy as possible.
We like the look it so much, however, that
we’d prefer to keep it close.
LAID BARE
All this isn’t to diminish the Cubi 3 Silent’s
performance foibles; indeed, this alone costs
it both an award and a higher score, though
the VivoMini being able to run much better
with similar hardware doesn’t help matters.
Asus’s PC doesn’t look as nice, and costs a
bit more, but it benefits from dedicated
graphics and the fact that it already has a
good storage setup installed out of the box.
Nonetheless, as a basic home
office computer (or a media PC
that will never interrupt a film
with irritating fan noise), the
Cubi 3 Silent remains endearing.
We do have some advice
for anyone considering it,
though: first, be prepared to
upgrade the storage. A 128GB
NVMe SSD will work to begin
with, but with Windows 10
Home installed, you’ll only
have about 72GB of usable
space. A 256GB SSD and 2.5in
hard disk with at least 1TB
capacity should be your
starting point, even if this
bumps the total price up to
around £600.
FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360

ZOTAC Magnus
ER51060
★★★★★
£699 (not including RAM,
storage or OS) • From www.zotac.com
VERDICT
This bulky barebones box focuses on gaming,
but is a capable all-rounder too
WHILE THERE ARE no hard and fast rules on
how big a mini PC can be, the Magnus R51060
is pushing it. At 128mm tall and 225mm wide,
it’s large enough that you could (figuratively
speaking) fit the VivoMini, Elite Slice and Intel
Compute Stick inside it all at once.
Nevertheless, it’s not quite a complete PC
when you get it out of the box. This is another
barebones system, so you’ll need to buy a
separate M.2 SSD, operating system and
some SO-DIMM RAM to get it working.
The good news is that, otherwise, the
Magnus ER51060 has the specs of a decent
mid-range gaming desktop. There’s an AMD
Ryzen 5 1400, a quad-core, eight-thread chip
running at 3.2GHz base speed and 3.4GHz
boost speed, and a namesake graphics card,
the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060. This is only the
3GB VRAM version, not the slightly more
powerful 6GB version, but that’s small
potatoes when these internals – on paper – so
thoroughly outclass the laptop-grade parts
we’ve seen in most other mini PCs.
THICK AND FAST
The Magnus ER51060’s size also makes more
sense when you consider these components.
Besides being physically larger, desktop-grade
CPUs and graphics cards need bigger, better
cooling solutions (including more airflow), so
Zotac’s system needs to be a bit bulkier in
order to run smoothly.
And run smoothly it does. In the interest
of fairness, we used the same 4GB of RAM as
we did for the Cubi 3 Silent, with which the
Magnus ER51060 completed our challenging
4K benchmarks notably faster than any other
PC we’ve tested here. It scored 72 in the image
test and 79 in the video test, which actually
put it slightly behind the Elite Slice, but
it’s multitasking prowess that sets
Zotac’s effort apart, with a high
score of 93. That gives the Magnus
ER51060 85 overall, beating the
Elite Slice by 24 points.
It’s gaming that the Magnus
ER51060 is most concerned with,
and with the strength of the GTX
1060 – our favourite mid-range
card – behind it, comparisons with
what came before feel practically
unfair. In our usual test – Dirt
Showdown with High settings at
720p – Zotac’s PC destroyed the
non-gaming competition with
133fps, 90fps more than the
ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018
second-best, Asus’s VivoMini. Clearly, it can
do a lot better than standard HD, so we upped
to 1080p and somehow got an extra frame,
with 134fps this time. Upgrading further to the
Ultra quality preset only caused a drop to
95fps, which still looks excellent.
We then decided to try Metro: Last Light
Redux, which none of our other mini PCs
could feasibly handle but would make a fine
stress test for the Magnus ER51060. Using a
1080p resolution, with Very High settings and
SSAA enabled, we got 44fps. That’s on a par
with what we’ve seen from the 3GB GTX 1060
in much larger, airier desktops, so the result is
clear: if you want a mini PC that can play AAA
games at their best, this certainly fits the bill.
The only real problem is high fan noise,
which – unsurprisingly – is particularly
noticeable during games. It’s not the worst
we’ve heard come out of a PC by any means,
but it would probably be wise to invest in
some headphones or good speakers if you
don’t want to be disturbed.
BONE DEEP
Speaking of which, the mic and headphone
jacks are conveniently placed on the front,
along with an SD card reader and single
USB3.1 and USB Type-C ports apiece. It’s a
good start for connectivity, and it gets better
at the back: four USB3 ports can deal with all
your wired peripherals, while dual Ethernet
ports mean you can connect to a router and,
say, a NAS drive at the same time.
MINI PCs
There are also mounting points for the two
included Wi-Fi antennas (supporting up to
802.11ac), and the graphics card serves up a
wealth of display outputs, with one HDMI,
three DisplayPorts and a DVI-D socket. Only
the VivoMini can match the Magnus ER51060
in terms of connectivity, and that lacks a USB
Type-C port in favour of a second USB3.1.
Of course, before you can get to plugging
anything in, you’ll have to install your
purchased storage and memory. This is easy
enough: first, it’s a matter of flipping over the
Magnus ER51060 and removing the four
rubber feet, which are in fact disguised
thumbscrews. Then just take the bottom
panel off, and you can slide the components
into the SO-DIMM and M.2 slots.
Upgrade potential is standard for a mini PC:
besides the single M.2 slot and two memory
slots, the only area of note is an empty 2.5in
drive bay, which we’d recommend you fill with
a larger hard disk or SSD. The main benefit of
the Magnus ER51060’s size when it comes to
in-chassis tweaking is the open space, which
gave our hands a lot more room to work with
than the cramped Cubi 3 Silent.
ADDING UP
Lastly, a word on pricing: as with MSI’s
barebones system, buying the components
and Windows 10 OS we used to test will cost
you about £201, pushing the total price up to
£800. That’s quite a lot, especially since you
can get a VivoMini with dedicated graphics for
£637, but our benchmarking shows that
this is far more powerful – more than
proportionally, to be sure. It’s also
cheaper than the Elite Slice, even if
you plump for more RAM and an
extra 2.5in storage drive, making
this an even better choice for the
performance-minded.
We still consider the Asus
VivoMini slightly better for
general home office use – for
less than £700, it’s fine not to be
such a powerhouse, and it’s a lot
more compact. However, when it
comes to gaming and serious
multitasking, the Magnus
ER51060 is a huge success.
89
 MINI PCs

BOARD-ONLY FULL PCs BAREBONES PCs

Award RECOMMENDED BEST BUY BEST BUY BEST BUY RECOMMENDED

Manufacturer ASUS RASPBERRY RASPBERRY ASUS HP INTEL MSI ZOTAC

Model name Tinker Board Pi 3 Pi Zero W VivoMini Elite Slice Compute Cubi 3 Silent Magnus
Stick ER51060
Rating ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★
CORE SPECS

Processor Quad-core 1.8GHz Quad-core 1.2GHz Single-core 1GHz Dual-core 2.5GHz Quad-core 2.5GHz Dual-core 0.9GHz Dual-core 2.5GHz Quad-core 3.2GHz
Rockchip RK3288 ARM Cortex-A53 ARM1176JZF-S Intel Core i5-7200U Intel Core i5-6500T Intel Core m3-6Y30 Intel Core i5-7200U AMD Ryzen 5 1400

RAM 2GB 1GB 512MB 8GB 8GB 4GB None included None included

Memory type LPDDR2 LPDDR2 LPDDR2 DDR4 DDR4 DDR3 DDR4 DDR4

Maximum memory 2GB 1GB 512MB 32GB 32GB 4GB 32GB 32GB

Motherboard Custom Custom Custom Custom Custom Custom Custom Custom

PORTS AND EXPANSION

Front USB ports None None None None None 1x USB3 2x USB3.1 1x USB3.1, 1x USB
Type-C

Rear USB ports 4x USB2 4x USB2 1x Micro USB 4x USB3, 2x USB3.1 2x USB3.1, 2x USB 2x USB3 (on power 2x USB3.1 4x USB3
(power), 1x Micro Type-C plug)
USB OTG

Other ports 40-pin GPIO 40-pin GPIO 40-pin GPIO None USB modular None None None
expansion port

Networking 802.11n Wi-Fi, Gigabit 802.11n Wi-Fi, 802.11n Wi-Fi 802.11ac Wi-Fi, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, 802.11ac Wi-Fi 802.11ac Wi-Fi, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, 2x
Ethernet 10/100Mbit/s Gigabit Ethernet Gigabit Ethernet Gigabit Ethernet Gigabit Ethernet
Ethernet

Case type None None None Mini PC Mini PC Stick PC Mini PC Mini PC

Dimensions 19x85x53mm 19x86x57mm 5x65x30mm 52x190x190mm 35x165x165mm 11x35x114mm 70x160x110mm 128x225x203mm

Memory slots (free) 0 0 0 2 (0) 2 (0) 0 2 (2) 2 (2)

Drive bays 2.5in 0 0 0 2 (1) 1 (1) 0 1 (1) 1 (1)

(free)

Drive bays 3.5in 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

(free)

Drive bays 5.25in 0 0 0 0 0 (1 with optional 0 0 0

(free) module)

STORAGE
Total storage None None None 128GB SSD, 1TB 256GB SSD 64GB SSD None None
hard disk

Memory card 1x microSD 1x microSD 1x microSD 1x SD None 1x microSD None 1x SD

reader

Optical drive type None None None None DVD-RW (optional None None None
module)

GRAPHICS
Graphics adaptor ARM Mali-T764 Broadcom BCM2387 Broadcom BCM2835 Intel HD Graphics Intel HD Graphics Intel HD Graphics Intel HD Graphics 3GB Nvidia GeForce
620 530 515 620 GTX 1060

Graphics/video 1x HDMI 1x HDMI 1x Mini HDMI 1x HDMI, 1x 1x HDMI, 1x 1x HDMI 1x HDMI, 1x 1x HDMI, 3x
ports DisplayPort DisplayPort DisplayPort DisplayPort

SOUND
Sound card Onboard Onboard Onboard Onboard Onboard Onboard Onboard Onboard

Sound card outputs 1x 3.5mm audio jack 1x 3.5mm audio jack None 2x 3.5mm audio 1x 3.5mm audio jack, None 2x 3.5mm audio jack 2x 3.5mm audio jack
jacks, 1x S/PDIF optional speaker
module

Speakers None None None Yes Yes (additional None None None
3x with optional
module)

OTHER HARDWARE
Keyboard No No No Yes Yes No No No

Mouse No No No Yes Yes No No No

Other extras None None None None Integrated Skype call None None 2x Wi-Fi antennas
controls

SOFTWARE
Operating system TinkerOS/Android Raspbian Raspbian Windows 10 Home Windows 10 Pro Windows 10 Home None included None included
6.0 (recommended) (recommended)

Operating system Dependent on OS NOOBS restore NOOBS restore Windows 10 restore Windows 10 restore Windows 10 restore N/A N/A
restore option
Prices correct at time of going to press

BUYING INFORMATION
Warranty Three years RTB One year RTB One year RTB Three years RTB Three years next One year RTB One year RTB Two years RTB
business day onsite

Price £52 £30 £10 £637 £1,150 (including £334 £339 £699
Audio Module)

Supplier www.currys.co.uk uk.rs-online.com www.thepihut.com www.ebuyer.com store.hp.com www.ebuyer.com www.scan.co.uk www.zotac.com

Details www.asus.com/uk www.raspberrypi.org www.raspberrypi.org www.asus.com/uk store.hp.com www.intel.co.uk www.msi.com www.zotac.com

Part code Tinker Board Pi 3 Model B Pi Zero W VM65N-G072Z Z4C29EA#ABU STK2M3W64CC Cubi 3 Silent ZBOX-ER51060

90 FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360

 Ultra Wide-Color
with 4K in an immersive design
Colours like you’ve never seen before. This brilliant 4K UHD
resolution display with Ultra Wide-Color offers the richest
and most vivid colours wrapped in an immersive curved
design for a your best creations yet.

UltraWideColor

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4K UltraClear 4K Ultra HD

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(BDM4037U)
 ALL HANDS ON DECK
4K Blu-ray players
If you have a 4K TV, don’t waste its potential with standard DVDs or Blu-rays.
Read our guide to the best 4K Blu-ray players and invest in something that
can deliver cinema-level resolution and picture quality in your living room
THERE WAS A time, not too long ago, when
CONTENT REVIEWS
watching 4K Ultra HD (3,840x2,160) films and
Page 94 TV in the comfort of your own home was not
MICROSOFT Xbox One S just a luxury, but a pipe dream for anyone
without thousands of pounds to spare.
Page 95
These days, the barriers to entry have all
OPPO UDP-203 but collapsed. While there’s still a healthy
Page 96 high-end market for those who want the best
PANASONIC DMP-UB900 of the best, decent-sized 4K TVs can now be
found for less than £500, which means far
Page 97
more people can enjoy 4K Blu-rays. And a
SAMSUNG UBD-K8500 good thing, too: besides the sharper, more
Page 98 refined picture quality that comes with
jumping from 1080p Blu-rays (and 720p
SAMSUNG UBD-M9500
DVDs) to UHD, 4K Blu-rays can store high
Page 99 dynamic range (HDR) data to produce
SONY UBD-X800 brighter, more vibrant colours on HDR-
compatible TVs. Colour gamut is increased
as well, so there’s a wider range, more intense
palette of colours to draw from.
Of course, to watch 4K Blu-rays, you’ll need
a 4K Blu-ray player. There aren’t actually a
great deal of these available, although the
market is in a better state than it was in 2016,
when you had a choice of just one or two.
Even so, what we’ve seen so far from this
relatively new product field demonstrates a
surprising degree of diversity in terms of
price, features and capabilities, so to help find
which player is best for you, we’ve gathered
six different models into this group test.
DESIGN OF THE TIMES
While it shouldn’t be the most important
factor when deciding on a 4K Blu-ray player,
a deck’s looks and dimensions are worth at

92 FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360


least a bit of consideration. You don’t want
an ugly box cluttering up your home cinema
setup, and aspects such as flashing displays
or reflective panels can distract from your
viewing experience.
Luckily, such problems are rare, and our
reviews mention if any such issues arise.
Unlike in the early days of DVD players, most
players are also quite slim and narrow, and
are perfectly able to slip into all but the
smallest of AV cabinets. The widest deck we
looked at, the Panasonic DMP-UB900,
measures only 435mm across.
MAKING A CONNECTION
For the basics, expect video outputs to use
HDMI 2.0, the latest standard, which allows for
such features as 60Hz refresh rates at 4K,
10-bit and 12-bit colour depths, up to 32
channel audio at 1,536kHz sample rates, and
dual-video streams for split-screen viewing.
While we’re on the subject, it’s important
that every component part of your viewing
setup – the player, the cable and your TV – all
support HDMI 2.0. The same goes for HDCP
2.2, a copy-protection technology designed to
prevent anyone from illegally copying 4K
content. To actually play a 4K Blu-ray disc at
its highest resolution, all your hardware will
need to be HDCP 2.2 compliant, so check your
TV to make sure it meets the standard.
If you have an older AV amplifier or
soundbar that doesn’t support HDMI 2.0,
most players have a secondary HDMI 1.4
output for audio only. That way, you can hook
up your Ultra HD Blu-ray player to your TV,
and run the audio separately.
As usual, more is better when it comes to
physical connectivity: extra audio outputs such
as optical and coaxial S/PDIF are particularly
useful for hooking up to older speaker setups.
SCALE DRAWING
Video hardware is useless if its output quality
isn’t up to snuff. We test picture quality by
using each player just as you would: popping
in a 4K Blu-ray, and watching. Detail, motion
blur, colour depth and vibrancy are all things
we look out for, though the differences
between each model can be quite minimal
even if their pricing is miles apart. None of
the players we’ve tested, you’ll be glad
to hear, demonstrated image quality that
was either poor or mediocre.
However, some can struggle with upscaling,
a form of backwards-compatibility with
standard Blu-rays that can almost make 1080p
content look as sharp as if it were in true 4K
UHD. The downside of such technical
wizardry? A risk of immersion-breaking visual
noise, such as edge-stressing and graininess.
NIT PICKING
An integral part of what makes 4K Blu-rays
look better is HDR, and while there are
several different standards for this technology,
with the current generation of players you
really only need to know about two: HDR10
and Dolby Vision.
ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018
4K BLU-RAY PLAYERS
It’s important that every component part of your viewing
setup – the player, the cable and your TV – all support
HDMI 2.0. The same goes for HDCP 2.2
HDR10 is the far more common standard, well. It’s therefore something that only serious
on both AV decks and TVs. Its content is cinephiles should concern themselves with; for
mastered for 10-bit colour, hence the name, everyone else, HDR10 serves just fine.
and can thus draw on up to 1,024 RGB values.
Dolby Vision, on the other hand, has its SOUNDS ABOUT RIGHT
content mastered for 12-bit colour, or 4,096 Audio standards are more straightforward.
RGB values. Dolby Vision content can also Even the cheapest 4K Blu-ray supports come
reach 10,000 nits of brightness, which is with support for a range of streams, including
much higher than HDR10’s 1,000-ish nits (it Dolby Atmos, with some being able to play
can vary according to the content). lossless formats such as FLAC as well.
On paper, then, it makes more sense to Naturally, this also depends on the rest
buy a player that can support Dolby Vision, of your connected hardware being able to
but it’s not that simple. Because it’s much handle a certain standard. Even if your 4K
easier for content producers to master for Blu-ray player and the disc itself support, say,
HDR10, there are very few 4K Blu-rays that Atmos audio, you’ll still need an Atmos-
support Dolby Vision, and the number of TVs compatible soundbar or surround-sound
that are Dolby Vision-capable is quite small as system to take advantage of it.
Building your 4K home cinema
Don’t have the hardware to simply slot in a 4K Blu-ray player?
Not to worry – here’s everything you need for perfect film nights
TV
SAMSUNG UE49KS7000
This mid-range model has been our favourite
4K TV for ages. With a native 3,840x2,160
resolution, HDMI 2.0 and HDR10 support, it has
all the basics covered, and largely thanks to
Samsung’s Quantum Dot tech, it looks
absolutely fantastic. In Movie mode, it can reach
a full 100% of the sRGB colour gamut, and peak
brightness reaches a lofty 850cd/m2.
All you need to worry about is choosing a
player that can do this panel justice, though the
UE49KS7000 has some neat tricks even when there’s nothing else plugged in. The Smart
Hub has one of the best selections of on-demand streaming services of any smart TV, and
built-in upscaling can give a big quality boost to Full HD content without too much noise.
It’s missing 3D support, which is present on many 4K Blu-ray players, but we don’t really
mind jettisoning this gimmick. It’s available for £1,099.
SOUNDBAR
CAMBRIDGE Audio TV2 (v2)
4K Blu-rays demand better audio quality than
you get from a TV’s integrated speakers.
Fortunately, there’s no shortage of great
soundbars to choose from; you could have the
straightforward but lush-sounding Q Acoustics
M3 (£299) or the LG SH5 (£179), which comes with a separate
subwoofer. For an optimal balance between quality and price, though, we’d go
with the Cambridge Audio TV2 (v2) soundbase for £200.
As it includes its own subwoofer, it’s a bit too tall to fit under the Samsung TV above;
you’ll need to find room for it in an AV cabinet or on a lower stand shelf. Still, this addition
is worth the added bulk: you get much deeper, more impactful bass than from a subwoofer-
less soundbar, but not to the extent that it overpowers the mids and trebles.
93
 4K BLU-RAY PLAYERS
MICROSOFT
T Xbox One S
★★★★
£200 • From www.amazon.co.uk
VERDICT
Even ignoring its main function as a games console, the Xbox One S is a surprisingly respectable 4K Blu-ray player
WHAT’S A GAMES console doing here? It
may seem strange to count Microsoft’s
slimmed-down Xbox One S among Samsung
and Panasonic’s dedicated decks, but make no
mistake: just as the PlayStation 3 became the
go-to Blu-ray machine for so many, this is a
serious proposition for watching 4K Blu-rays.
Let’s start with the connections. At the
back, there’s only one HDMI input and output
apiece, but you also get a pair of USB ports,
an optical S/PDIF output, an Ethernet port
and an infrared output (for an optional IR
blaster), which is par for an entry-level player.
There’s also a standard figure-of-eight power
connector, signifying that Microsoft has finally
moved the power supply inside the main
chassis, negating the need for the power brick
that accompanied older Xbox models.
NOISE CONTROL
The console kicks up a fair amount of noise
during quieter moments of operation – when
you’re browsing menus or searching
for apps, for instance – but once
you’ve got a film or game going, you’d
be hard-pushed to hear it.
The biggest sign of Microsoft
taking 4K playback seriously is support
for HDR10. With HDR-enabled content,
the colour gamut becomes much wider
than with the standard sRGB palette,
showing brilliant whites, blacker blacks
and a whole lot more colour content in
between. This translates into brighter,
more vibrant images and a more
detailed picture overall, as highlights
are less prone to clipping around very
bright objects such as sun flares, for
example, and darker scenes
contain more detail.
This is nothing special
by dedicated player
standards, but keep in
mind the price. At
£200 for a model with
500GB of storage, it’s
cheaper than any
other player here
94
save for the Samsung UBD-K8500, and even
then that player is only £40 cheaper. Since
you also get a proper games console, it’s an
incredibly good deal for anyone as interested
in gaming as they are in home cinema.
GAME ON
Not every Xbox One game will run in native
4K. Some more recent titles do, but most
(which were originally built to run at 1080p)
will by upscaled to 4K, much like standard
resolution TV content. On the bright side,
HDR support isn’t just limited to films and
streamed TV shows. The Xbox One S will also
play games in HDR if they support it: Gears of
War 4, Halo Wars 2, Forza Horizon 3 and
others are playable in HDR, with upcoming
releases set to add to the list, while existing
titles are due to have HDR support added via
a patch, such as Battlefield 1.
We tested the console’s HDR using our
Ultra HD Blu-ray disc of The Lego Movie. The
Xbox One S isn’t certified to receive
the same UHD Premium badge as
Samsung’s UBD-K8500 player; this
requires a Blu-ray player to be able
to read every last shred of data on
an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc.
Even without the UHD Premium
badge, the Xbox One S produced
staggeringly good results. Sun
beams, glowing Lego bricks and
spotlight torches really stood out
against darker objects. Likewise,
the sheer intensity of the colours
made them almost appear 3D.
The Xbox One S also has a
useful display calibration guide
available in its Display settings to
help you get the best picture, which
is more than can be said of other
Blu-ray players. They’re no different
to the calibration tools on the
regular Xbox One, but it’s still
nice to see them included, as
most Blu-ray players often give
you only very basic brightness
and contrast controls, if that.
This tool can’t replace proper calibration
equipment, but it still provides a useful guide
for those less certain about how to use their
TV’s picture settings. For instance, it will
recommend what mode you should set your
TV to and which settings to turn on or off
(such as dynamic contrast, edge enhancement
and motion lighting), and you’re also shown
how to adjust the aspect ratio and sharpness
levels, so you can view the entire picture
cleanly. There are brightness and contrast test
patterns to help get your TV looking just right,
and there’s also a basic RGB filter mode.
This doesn’t quite make for image quality
that is literally picture-perfect – we sometimes
spotted a tiny touch of visual noise, and
colours aren’t quite as vibrant as they are on
the dedicated 4K Blu-ray players we’ve tested.
That’s not to say that films look bad, but other
decks can make them even better.
STREAM TEAM
The Xbox One S beats the competition on 4K
streaming, as there are apps galore to
download from the Xbox One Store. These
include Netflix, Amazon Instant Video and
YouTube, all of which have 4K support, and
you can also install apps for BBC iPlayer, ITV
Hub, All 4, My5, Now TV, Twitch, Plex,
Crunchyroll and Wuaki, giving you more
streaming and catch-up options than even
most smart TVs. As such, the Xbox One S
provides a great way to turn an ageing TV into
a modern, up-to-date entertainment system,
although you’ll also need all the necessary
extra subscriptions to make the most of it.
When we originally reviewed the Xbox
One S (Shopper 346), we gave it a full five
stars. Specifically as a 4K Blu-ray player, it
lacks some of the features and connectivity of
more specialised devices, and the Samsung
UBD-K8500 has usurped it as the cheapest
player on the market, so it falls short of a
perfect score in this regard. Nonetheless, it
performs well, remains relatively affordable
and has the considerable bonus of being a
bona fide games console, allowing it to keep
hold of its Recommended award.
FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360

OPPO UDP-203
★★★★★
£649 • From www.sevenoakssoundandvision.co.uk
VERDICT
Despite its extensive features, the UDP-203 is simply too expensive to recommend over other players
THE OPPO UDP-203 is by far the most
expensive player we’ve seen. It looks the part,
with an all-metal, brushed aluminium chassis
and dimmable LED display. The selection of
ports is impressive too: you get an HDMI 2.0
output and an audio-only HDMI 1.4 port, and
another single HDMI 2.0 input with HDCP 2.2,
so you can connect another HDMI 2.0 device,
such as a 4K-capable Fire TV, if your TV has
only a single Ultra HD input. There are optical
and coaxial digital audio outputs, a pair of
USB3 ports, and eight phono output ports for
surround-sound connection to older receivers.
STAUNCH AGNOSTIC
The UDP-203 will play 4K and Full HD Blu-rays,
the latter in 2D and 3D, but its capabilities
don’t stop there. It will also play DVDs, CDs,
DVD-Audio, AVCHD files, Kodak Picture CD
and SACDs, which is a far wider selection of
formats than any other player here.
The UDP-203 has built-in Ethernet and
802.11ac Wi-Fi, which you can use to stream
video content from a NAS drive or other
shared storage and update the firmware. Its
infrared remote is as well thought out and
comprehensive as its array of connectivity.
We particularly like the backlit keys.
Colour spaces are another plus point, and
with both RGB (PC and video) and YCbCr
(4:4:4, 4:2:2 and 4:2:0) support at 8-, 10- and
12-bit, there’s lots to choose from. HDR is
essential for top-quality 4K playback, and the
UDP-203 comes with full HDR10 support. A
post-launch firmware update has also added
Dolby Vision HDR support, another unique
capability which can bring more life and colour
to movies by offering 12-bit playback and up
to 10,000 nits of brightness. HDR10, by
comparison, manages only 1,000 nits.
ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018
Audio enthusiasts will also be pleased
with the Oppo’s DAC, which is a 32-bit AKM
AK4458VN. This eight-channel DAC enables
192kHz/32-bit PCM and multichannel
DSD64/128 playback, and also supports
Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, making it ideal for
serious home theatre installations.
CORE VALUES
We were impressed by the Oppo UDP-203’s
settings menus, which provide a wide variety
of options. This includes manually forcing the
player to output HDR: a small but useful
feature, as not every TV recognises HDR
content automatically. Another useful feature
is its upscaling capability, which allows you to
play a Full HD Blu-ray or DVD in Ultra HD.
Through the settings you can change the
audio output (including forcing a Bitstream or
PCM output), manually set the aspect ratio,
resolution, frame rate, colour depth and
colour space. This makes it one of the most
fully featured players here. Most won’t need
to fiddle with these options, but it does lend
the player the flexibility to suit any setting.
Given the price, it’s a little disappointing
that the menus are a little laggy, and it’s
surprising to find no built-in streaming apps;
you’ll need to plug in a streaming stick or rely
on your smart TV to get on-demand content.
Powered by a MediaTek OP8591 quad-core
CPU, the Oppo UDP-203 is quick to start up,
and it loaded all our test movies far quicker
than the Xbox One S. The player is silent, too.
We were barely able to make out the disc
spinning, and with no audible fan noise there’s
nothing to interrupt your listening pleasure.
Video quality is superb. Action scenes are
perfectly showcased and accurately portrayed,
and the player’s HDR capabilities deftly bring
4K BLU-RAY PLAYERS
out details in demanding scenes, such as blue
skies appearing realistically through foliage.
Colours are vibrant yet natural-looking.
We found the gloomy colours in The Revenant
and the popping scenes from Star Trek Beyond
were portrayed superbly, and with a pool of
colour spaces and depths to choose from,
you can align the player’s capabilities with
the film you pop into the loader.
Compared to the Xbox One S, colours are
more refined and a touch more vibrant. This is
most apparent in the final scenes of The
Revenant, with the trail of blood on the snow
thick with texture and the wind-worn faces of
characters alive with craggy detail.
There were no sound issues either, such
as delayed lip-sync. Audio is correctly
reproduced with a full-bodied sound
throughout the frequency range.
TOUGH OPPO-SITION
The Oppo UDP-203 is undoubtedly the most
capable 4K Blu-ray player in this group test.
It’s stacked with features, supports every
imaginable standard and type of connection
and it looks and sounds fantastic.
The big question, however, is whether it’s
worth three times as much as the Samsung
UBD-K8500 or Xbox One S. The honest
answer is that, for most users, it isn’t.
Even if these are slower or support fewer
formats or have slightly lower image quality,
there’s no fault that justifies such a vast price
difference. Even the more expensive Panasonic
DMP-UB900 and Samsung UBD-M9500 look
better deals; they’re unlikely to ever get Dolby
Vision HDR support, and can’t claim the same
range of connectivity, but otherwise manage
to deliver the same level of customisation and
performance at much lower prices.
95
 4K BLU-RAY PLAYERS
PANASONIC DMP-UB900
★★★★★
£369 • From www.argos.co.uk
VERDICT
The DMP-UB900 was the best of the early 4K Blu-ray players, but its lingering high price does it no favours
ONCE UPON A time (well, 2016) there were
really only two 4K UHD Blu-ray players to
choose from. One was the lower-priced
Samsung UBD-K8500, and the other was this,
the high-end Panasonic DMP-UB900.
Panasonic’s player comes with all the bells
and whistles you’d expect. That includes two
HDMI outputs, one HDMI 2.0 for video and
audio, and one HDMI 1.4 for audio only.
By isolating sound from the video stream,
Panasonic claims it can reduce clock jitter
when it’s connected to a separate amp. This
allegedly reduces the number of errors and
unwanted noise, but we’ve never found this to
be a problem on ordinary Blu-ray players.
The DMP-UB900 has 7.1 analogue outputs
to carry surround sound. It’s this focus on
audio delivery that separates the DMP-UB900
from other players. Panasonic has also
included support for high-resolution audio
with its 192kHz/32-bit DAC, plus FLAC and
DSD playback across DLNA or USB storage. It
lacks SACD or DVD-A disc support, however.
LAN OF HOPE AND GLORY
You also get the LAN Common Mode Filter,
which is meant to shield the DMP-UB900
from electronic noise created by external
devices. As a result, the DMP-UB900 will likely
be right up your street if you have a high-
quality audio setup to match it; everyone else
may find these features overkill.
The DMP-UB900 also trumps Samsung’s
players on looks, even if it is quick to pick up
dust and fingerprints. Its glossy front looks
elegant, and its display is clear and easy to
read. However, this player is considerably
taller than Samsung’s UBD-M9500 and
UBD-K8500, but this is because of all the
extra connections on the rear.
The HDR BT.2020 wide colour gamut and
10-bit colour are both supported, so you’ll
need an equally capable TV to make the most
96
of this deck. With such a TV, the DMP-UB900
produces wonderful images; there’s a much
wider range of colours on display when HDR is
enabled, and there’s a lot more detail in the
highlights and shadows as well thanks to
HDR’s higher brightness and contrast levels.
When you’re shown a sun flare, for instance,
HDR won’t clip the bright centre of the
image, allowing you to see more detail and
fewer halo effects in the process.
In The Martian, scenes transitioned
beautifully from the bright, orange-hued shots
of Mars to the darker mission control scenes.
Switch off HDR, though, and scenes look far
flatter and more subdued, with colours losing
their depth and sense of vibrancy.
Truth be told, the difference between
Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray is less
pronounced than the jump from DVD to
Blu-ray was, but the increase in resolution will
largely be dependent on the size of your TV,
your viewing distance and the content itself.
Not all Ultra HD Blu-rays will have originally
been shot in 4K, so watch out for discs that
have been upscaled from lower-resolution
masters. That said, the DMP-UB900 performs
well with non-Ultra HD content, too, as its
4K Direct Chroma upscaling worked wonders
with our standard Blu-ray discs.
Many 4K TVs don’t have HDR turned on by
default. It’s enabled automatically through
Viera Link when you connect the DMP-UB900
to a Panasonic TV, but we had to turn it on
manually when we paired it with a Samsung TV.
SMART CHOICE
If you ever find yourself uninspired by the
current selection of 4K Blu-rays (which, while
constantly growing, isn’t anywhere near that of
conventional Blu-rays), you can take advantage
of the DMP-UB900’s smart services by
connecting it to your home network, either
via Wi-Fi or the rear Ethernet port.
Netflix, Amazon Instant Video and YouTube
are all present with their ever-growing Ultra
HD libraries. You also get a BBC iPlayer app,
but until we start getting more 4K broadcasts,
you’ll have to settle for lower resolutions here.
As for the player’s interface, this is the one
area where it loses out. The DMP-UB900’s
menus are incredibly plain and boring, but you
do at least get the option to change the
background. They’re also relatively easy to
navigate, but it’s a shame the app menu is
tucked behind the Network Service menu.
The DMP-UB900 can be a little slow to
start, taking about 38 seconds to start playing
a Blu-ray. A quick start option lowers this to
five seconds, but this means the player uses
more power when in standby.
PLAY-OFF FINAL
Strangely, we couldn’t find an option to
disable automatic playback of whatever disc
was in the tray, which might be irritating if you
just want to use one of the apps. The other
annoyance is that the onscreen interface
doesn’t tell you what disc is actually sitting in
the drive, as the UBD-K8500 does.
With Samsung’s two players both cheaper
than the DMP-UB900, and the Oppo UDP-203
offering an even more extensive features list,
Panasonic’s deck is in an awkward spot. It’s no
longer the most technically advanced option
on the market, but there are still plenty of
more affordable players for those willing to
compromise: not just the UBD-K8500 and
UBD-M9500, but the Xbox One S as well.
Nonetheless, the DMP-UB900’s audio
prowess keeps it relevant, even if it is just to
a niche audience of high-end hi-fi owners.
The UDP-203 is its only real challenger in this
arena, and it’s nearly £300 more expensive.
For everyone else, it would be wiser to go with
the cheaper (but almost as capable) Samsung
UBD-K8500, or maybe the Xbox One S.
FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360

SAMSUNG UBD-K8500
★★★★★
£160 • From www.appliancesdirect.co.uk
VERDICT
The UBD-K8500 is a highly capable Ultra HD Blu-ray player, and it’s excellent value, too
LIKE THE PANASONIC DMP-UB900, the
UBD-K8500 was one of the first Ultra HD
Blu-ray players to launch, and it remains a
seriously good option, especially now that its
price has dropped from over £400 to £160.
While Samsung’s player lacks some of the
more advanced features that come with the
DMP-UB900, and doesn’t double up as a fully
fledged games console like the similarly cheap
Xbox One S, in terms of design it has a slicker,
lower-profile look owing to its streamlined set
of connections round the back. It also has a
slightly curved design to match the style of
Samsung’s top-end TVs.
A small remote control is included, which is
pleasing in its simplicity, but the buttons can
be fiddly, especially the navigation keys. Often
we would press the select button rather than
a direction, but it’s a minor quibble overall.
A PLUG’S LIFE
Like the DMP-UB900, there are two HDMI
outputs on the UBD-K8500. One is designed
for carrying both video and audio, whereas the
second can be used purely for audio if you
want to connect to a separate receiver.
Otherwise, there’s just an optical S/PDIF
output and Ethernet connection on the rear,
and a USB port hidden away behind a
cheap-feeling flap on the front. Panasonic’s
DMP-UB900 player, on the other hand,
comes with full 7.1-channel audio support,
making it a much more tempting prospect
for those with existing surround-sound
systems that don’t have HDMI inputs.
If you don’t fall into this category, however,
you should know that the UBD-K8500 is just
as capable when it comes to picture quality.
Not only has it been certified to meet the
UHD Alliance’s Ultra HD Premium standard,
which sets strict performance standards for
high dynamic range (HDR) and wide colour
spectrum support, but it also has built-in
app support for Netflix and Amazon Instant
Video, allowing you to stream 4K content as
well as watch it on a disc.
ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018
Of course, it goes without saying that if
you’re considering an Ultra HD Blu-ray player,
chances are you already have an Ultra HD TV
or at least have plans to get one very soon.
Ideally, you’ll also need a TV that supports
HDR to truly reap the benefits of Ultra HD
Blu-ray, as this is one of the key reasons to
buy Ultra HD Blu-ray discs, apart from the
obvious increase in resolution.
With HDR enabled, images are brighter,
richer and more detailed, as the TV panel is
capable of producing a wider brightness range
between the whitest whites and blackest
blacks. HDR also uses the same DCI colour
space as digital cinema projectors, which
opens up a much wider colour palette than
traditional, non-HDR TVs, making images
appear more vibrant and realistic.
THE HIGH ROAD
This showed in our testing, as films were far
more detailed with HDR switched on.
Compared to when it was disabled, there
wasn’t nearly as much clipping evident in the
shadows and highlights, and we could see
much further into The Martian’s solar flares.
Without HDR, the light was crushed into a
kind of white halo effect and blocked out a lot
of the extra detail. The Martian landscape also
had a richer, warmer and more natural tone
with HDR turned on, as it became flat and
lifeless once we switched it off again.
Compared to the Panasonic DMP-UB900,
there wasn’t a lot of difference in picture
quality, either. Under very close scrutiny, the
DMP-UB900’s colours were marginally more
pleasing, especially in the green foliage of a
San Andreas scene we used for comparison,
but it’s pretty subtle and you’ll undoubtedly
be pleased with the results no matter which
player you eventually plump for.
Much like the Panasonic deck, you may
well have to dive into your TV’s settings menu
in order to enable HDR for individual HDMI
inputs. It works automatically with Samsung
TVs from the past
pa coupleple of years,
ye , but
b plug
4K BLU-RAY PLAYERS
the UBD-K8500 into, say, a Panasonic TV, and
you’ll have to turn HDR on manually.
The UBD-K8500’s interface will be familiar
to anyone who has a Samsung smart
television, and it’s much more visually
engaging than the drab UI used by Panasonic.
For a start, you get cover art to tell you what
disc is currently sitting in the disc drive, which
is annoyingly absent on the Panasonic player,
and the menu screen gives you quick access
to multimedia from USB drives as well as on
network storage.
FEAST FOR THE EYES
Samsung’s app catalogue is also very
respectable. You have Netflix, Amazon
Instant Video and YouTube, all of which
are good sources of streamable Ultra HD
content, but you also get apps for Plex, BBC
iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4 and Spotify. These all
load very quickly, and the player’s general
performance is pretty nippy, taking only 10
seconds from powering on to arrive at the
main menu, and then another six seconds to
begin playing a Blu-ray disc.
The Samsung UBD-K8500 is a highly
capable Ultra HD Blu-ray player and will be
more than enough for most people looking
to make the leap to Ultra HD. On a purely
technical level, the Panasonic DMP-UB900,
Oppo UDP-203 and Samsung’s own
UBD-M9500 are superior players, with
more features geared towards cinephiles,
but these all cost significantly more.
As a result, those interested in 4K UHD
should probably opt for the UBD-K8500. With
the exception of the Xbox One S, none of its
competitors come can compete with it on
value, and it’s no bargain-basement device
either: its image quality and physical design
are great. Getting a combined current-gen
games console and 4K Blu-ray player for just
£40 more is tempting, but the UBD-K8500’s
cleaner, more vibrant picture quality makes it
the better choice for anyone who really cares
about the qu quality
ty of their films.
97
 4K BLU-RAY PLAYERS
SAMSUNG
G UBD-M9500
★★★★★
£305 • From www.amazon.co.uk
VERDICT
While there are cheaper players, the UBD-M9500 has plenty of tricks up its sleeve that make it worth the extra cash
THE SAMSUNG UBD-M9500 comes with a
feature list that almost rivals that of the Oppo
UDP-203. Not only does this player have 4K
HDR playback, it can also be used to stream
your discs to other devices. Kids watching
Netflix on the main TV? No problem: you can
stream whatever you want to watch straight
to your tablet or phone.
The UBD-M9500 is a handsome-looking
device. Like the older UBD-K8500, the chassis
is shaped to match Samsung’s curved TVs,
and it’s been finished in attractive brushed
aluminium with a pleasingly minimalist layout.
A narrow OLED display adorns the front
bevelled edge, there are touch-sensitive
buttons for powering on the player and
ejecting discs (for all other commands you
must use the remote control) and a USB2 port
resides on the right-hand side for file playback.
At the back, it’s a similar story to the
UBD-K8500: you get one optical S/PDIF
output and two HDMI outputs. One of these
is HDMI 2 with HDCP 2.2, while the other is
HDMI 1.4 that outputs audio only. Both Oppo’s
and Panasonic’s players are better equipped
for audio, but have more niche appeal.
For networking, the UBD-M9500 has a
Gigabit Ethernet port and 802.11ac Wi-Fi
(2x2 MIMO), as well as Bluetooth, which
allows you to play music from your
smartphone via the player to your TV or
hi-fi, or even mirror its display.
DOUBLE VISION
The UBD-M9500’s killer feature, however, is
its ability to stream disc-based content to
other devices via Wi-Fi Direct, even if the
same content isn’t playing on your main TV.
In typical Samsung fashion, the feature is
currently only supported on the Samsung
Galaxy S8, S8 Plus, Tab S3, S7, Note 5, and
the S6 with Android 7.1, but it does work well.
We tested it with a Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus
and the results were seriously impressive.
Our 4K Blu-ray of The Revenant scaled to the
phone’s 2,960x1,440 resolution perfectly, and
looked very nice indeed.
98
The Samsung UBD-M9500 is also capable
of playing 360-degree video, although the
process is so impractical and awkward you’ll
probably never bother. You need to convert
the media using a PC (or, if it was filmed with
a Gear 360 camera, converted on a Galaxy
smartphone), then you have to move it to
USB storage, at which point you can plug it
in and play it back, using the remote control
to pan around.
That remote control is very neatly
designed. It’s not overly large or encumbered
with hundreds of buttons but fits in the hand
nicely and puts all the key controls
immediately under your thumb.
Elsewhere, the player supports 4K
playback, naturally, and HDR10. Unlike on the
Oppo UDP-203, there’s no support for Dolby
Vision HDR, but as content is still limited on
that front, it comes as no surprise that
Samsung has decided against its inclusion.
For audio-playback support, there’s
support for Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus,
Dolby TrueHD, DTS, DTS-HD High Resolution
Audio, DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Atmos
and DTS-X via bitstream output. If you’re one
of those people still watching 3D content,
though, you’re going to be disappointed; the
Samsung UBD-M9500 doesn’t support it.
SMART’S DESIRE
The UBD-M9500’s user interface is attractive,
responsive and easy to use. Samsung’s
library of built-in streaming apps is also
impressive, and includes Netflix, YouTube
and Amazon Prime Video.
You might wonder why Samsung bothers
with apps at all, since all 4K TVs come with
their own built-in streaming apps. However,
although most modern 4K TVs support the
full range of 4K services, some early 4K
tellies may not, and if you’re a 4K projector
owner, having apps built into your player is
essential since projectors rarely have built-in
streaming apps.
The overall performance of the Samsung
UBD-M9500 is fantastic. Much like the Oppo
UDP-203, we found the player responsive and
speedy to load discs; it’s better in this regard
than the Xbox One S. It’s also much quieter
than Microsoft’s console: even with the TV on
low volumes we couldn’t hear the disc
spinning, and there’s no fan noise at all.
Image quality is excellent, too. Scenes from
The Revenant were accurately reproduced,
with HDR adding more vibrant and realistic
colours and gleamingly bright specular
highlights. When we popped Star Trek Beyond
into the disc tray, colours burst to life. From
accurate skin tones, to the verdant green
forests and sandstone rock of alien planets, to
the bright colours of phaser fire against the
darkness of space, the movie looks fantastic.
Compared to the Xbox One S, colours
were slightly more vibrant and cleaner with
less video noise on the Samsung. However,
its Ultra HD upscaling capabilities aren’t the
best. When we played our Transformers: Age
of Extinction Blu-ray, it didn’t upscale as well
as the Oppo UDP-203. Video noise is
present and, on a big 65in curved TV, it’s
easy to see the loss of detail compared to
the Oppo player.
ALL PAID UP
All things considered, the UBD-M9500 is still
a fantastic 4K Blu-ray player, but despite its
fancy features and high image quality, we’re
not convinced they make it worth paying so
much more than you would for an Xbox One S
or the UBD-K8500 – at least for the majority
of potential buyers.
The exception might be if you’re especially
keen to make use of its streaming capability,
which could be genuinely useful for busy
households where disagreements over what
to watch are commonplace. The obvious
downside is that this is useless to anyone who
doesn’t own a recent Samsung handheld.
That said, the UBD-M9500 delivers on
quality, and even if there are better-value
players out there, it’s still a lot cheaper than
the Oppo UDP-203. If you want a premium
player, the UBD-M9500 won’t disappoint.
FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360

SONY UBD-X800
★★★★★
£289 • From www.johnlewis.com
VERDICT
It’s no bargain, but the UBD-X800 is quick and quiet with excellent video quality
FEW 4K BLU-RAY players can challenge
the Microsoft Xbox One S on pure value,
but the alternative – emphasising image
and audio quality as well as connectivity
and extra features – can produce decks so
expensive that even dedicated home-
cinephiles may be put off.
Sony’s latest player, the UBD-X800,
occupies the middle ground. At £300, it’s
cheaper than the Oppo UDP-203, Panasonic
DMP-UB900 and the Samsung UBD-M9500,
but aims for a higher-quality, generally more
premium experience than what entry-level
alternatives can offer.
HANDSOME DEVIL
For one thing, it looks great in an AV cabinet.
Its all-black aluminium chassis and glass
contours are very handsome indeed, though
there’s no LED display, which is a slight
disappointment. The upside is that this
allows for a clean, uncluttered design that
won’t look out of the place in the poshest of
home cinema setups.
At the rear is an HDMI 2.0/HDCP
2.2-enabled video output for all your 4K
content, plus an HDMI 1.4 audio-only
output for older devices. You get one
coaxial S/PDIF digital output, plus an
Ethernet port and a USB input for media
playback at the front (beneath the
UBD-X800’s physical eject and power
buttons). Surprisingly, however, there’s no
optical output.
There is wireless connectivity, including
dual-band Wi-Fi for internet connectivity
and multiroom streaming via compatible
Sony audio products. There’s also Bluetooth
transmission for streaming audio directly
to wireless speakers and headphones.
One interesting aspect of the latter feature
is that it supports not only the regular
SBC Bluetooth codec but also Sony’s own
LDAC system, which is capable of sending
out a much higher-quality audio stream.
You’ll need to have compatible headphones
ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018
or speakers to decode LDAC over Bluetooth
to use this feature.
As you would expect, the UBD-X800
supports a wide array of audio and video
formats. There’s bitstream output for
passing both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X
soundtracks to compatible equipment, and
the UBD-X800 also supports 24-bit audio
from AAC and WAV all the way up to DSD
11.2MHz file formats. All in all, it’s a real treat
for audio enthusiasts.
There’s also support for HDR10, but the
UBD-X800’s lack of Dolby Vision might be a
turn-off for early adopters. Given that the
market for Dolby Vision-enabled films is still
rather limited, though, this shouldn’t be an
inherent problem for most.
KEEP IT SIMPLE, SONY
The remote control is excellent: an object
lesson in simplicity and sensible design.
The buttons are small, yet easily located
and responsive, and the selection of
controls is well judged. We particularly
like the Netflix button that launches the
built-in app, and the Net Service button
that delivers quick access to your most
recently used app. There’s also a Favourite
button that allows you to permanently
launch any app directly.
This no-nonsense approach extends
to the Sony UBD-X800’s user interface.
Once again, it’s simple and responsive, yet
provides all the advanced options you’ll need
through a set of easy-to-understand menus.
The choice of built-in apps are impressive,
too. There’s a flurry of pre-installed stuff
here, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video
and YouTube, which all support 4K streaming,
plus BBC iPlayer, My5 and Spotify. You can
add more through Sony’s bank of other
apps, but many of these, including Pandora,
Hulu and Vudu, are region-locked and not
available in the UK.
Crucially, image and audio quality are
indeed a significant step up from cheaper
4K BLU-RAY PLAYERS
players such as the Xbox One S. In particular,
the UBD-X800 has superb motion-processing
capabilities. In fast-moving scenes, the player
keeps up in excellent fashion with no
stuttering or jittering as the camera pans
around. Small details, such as the blood and
sweat on an actor’s face, are portrayed in
startlingly lifelike fashion, while colours are
full of life, vibrant and popping throughout
various scenes.
However, UHD upscaling of lower-
resolution content isn’t so immaculate.
There’s a lot of visual noise, which manifests
itself as distracting speckling in blurred
backgrounds; the Xbox One S has a similar
problem with noise appearing across the
same scenes as it does on the UBD-X800.
The Oppo UDP-203, by contrast, handles this
much more elegantly, presenting a cleaner,
sharper image overall.
We found the Sony UBD-X800’s transport
mechanism extremely quick and exceptionally
quiet, with virtually no sound emanating from
the disc spinning inside. Speed-wise, load
times are seriously impressive, to the extent
that it’s not just faster than the Xbox One S,
but also manages to outpace the much more
expensive Oppo UDP-203.
MEDIAN STUDIES
In the end, the Sony UBD-X800 lands pretty
much exactly where it aimed for: it may not
be as cheap as the Xbox One S or the
Samsung UBD-K8500, but it performs better
than these decks, and while its upscaling
prowess isn’t on a par with the Oppo
UDP-203’s, that’s easily forgivable when it
costs less than half as much.
Frankly, we’d still rather save £100 or so on
either the Xbox One S or the UBD-K8500, but
if you’ve already paid some serious money for
a big, bright 4K TV, the desire to pair it with a
Blu-ray player that can squeeze out every bit
of image and audio quality is understandable.
Even with some slightly noisy upscaling, the
UBD-X800 performs this role well enough.
99
 4K BLU-RAY PLAYERS

Award RECOMMENDED RECOMMENDED BEST BUY

Manufacturer MICROSOFT OPPO PANASONIC SAMSUNG SAMSUNG SONY

Model Xbox One S UDP-203 DMP-UB900 UBD-K8500 UBD-M9500 UBD-X800
Rating ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★
HARDWARE

Blu-ray profile 6 6 6 6 6 6

3D capable Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes

4K support Native, upscaling Native, upscaling Native, upscaling Native, upscaling Native, upscaling Native, upscaling

Accessories provided Gamepad Remote control Remote control Remote control Remote control Remote control

Dimensions 295x230x64mm 430x311x79mm 435x199x68mm 406x230x45mm 406x226x45mm 430x270x50mm

PORTS

Audio outputs 1x optical S/PDIF 1x HDMI 1.4, 1x 7.1 1x HDMI 1.4, 1x 7.1 1x HDMI 1.4, 1x optical 1x HDMI 1.4, 1x optical 1x HDMI 1.4, 1x coaxial
Phono, 1x optical S/PDIF, Phono, 1x optical S/PDIF, S/PDIF S/PDIF
1x coaxial 1x coaxial

Video outputs 1x HDMI 2.0, 1x IR out 1x HDMI 2.0 1x HDMI 2.0 1x HDMI 2.0 1x HDMI 2.0 1x HDMI 2.0

Video inputs 1x HDMI 2.0 1x HDMI 2.0 None None None None

Networking Ethernet, Wi-Fi Ethernet, Wi-Fi Ethernet, Wi-Fi Ethernet, Wi-Fi Ethernet, Wi-Fi Ethernet, Wi-Fi

USB ports 2x USB2, 1x USB3 1x USB2, 2x USB3 2x USB2 1x USB2 1x USB2 1x USB2

Memory card reader None None SD None None None

FEATURES

Video playback formats MPEG2, MPEG4, MVK, MPEG4, MVK, 3GP, ASF, MPEG2, MPEG4, XVID, MPEG2, MPEG4, MVK, MPEG2, MPEG4, MVK, MPEG2, MPEG4, XVID,
AVI, MOV, 3GP, WMV FLC, M4V, VOB, WMV MVK WMV WMV HEVC, VP8, VP9

High Dynamic Range HDR10 HDR10, Dolby Vision HDR10 HDR10 HDR10 HDR10
support

Image viewing formats JPEG JPEG, GIF, PNG JPEG JPEG JPEG JPEG, GIF, PNG, MPO
MPF 3D, BMP, WEBP

Audio playback formats MP3, ADTS, WAV, FLAC, WAV, ALAC, MP3, FLAC, WAV, ALAC, MP3, FLAC, ALAC, MP3, FLAC, WAV, ALAC, MP3, FLAC, WMA, AAC,
WMA, AAC, Dolby APE, SACD, AIFF, Dolby DSD, WMA, AAC, Dolby Dolby Digital, Dolby AIFF, WMA, AAC, Dolby ALAC, Dolby Digital,
Digital, Dolby Atmos, Digital, Dolby Digital Digital, Dolby Digital Digital Plus, Dolby True Digital, Dolby Digital Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby
DTS-X Plus, Dolby True HD, Plus, Dolby True HD, HD, DTS, DTS-HD, Dolby Plus, Dolby True HD, True HD, DTS, Dolby
DTS, DTS-HD, Dolby DTS, DTS-HD, Dolby Atmos, DTS-X DTS, DTS-HD, Dolby Atmos, DTS-X,
Atmos, DTS-X Atmos, DTS-X Atmos, DTS-X

Smart TV apps Netflix, BBC iPlayer, ITV None Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Netflix, BBC iPlayer,
Hub, All 4, My5, Now Amazon Instant Video, All 4, Amazon Instant All 4, Amazon Instant My5, PlayStation Video,
TV, Amazon Instant YouTube Video, YouTube Video, YouTube Amazon Instant Video,
Video, YouTube, Plex, Spotify, YouTube
Crunchyroll, Wuaki,
Twitch

BUYING INFORMATION
Prices correct at time of going to press

Price including VAT £200 £649 £369 £160 £305 £289

Warranty One year RTB Two years RTB One year RTB One year RTB One year RTB One year RTB

Supplier www.amazon.co.uk www.sevenoaks www.argos.co.uk www.appliancesdirect. www.amazon.co.uk www.johnlewis.com

soundandvision.co.uk co.uk

Details www.xbox.com www.oppodigital.com www.panasonic.com.uk www.samsung.co.uk www.samsung.co.uk www.sony.co.uk

Part code Xbox One S UDP-203 DMP-UB900 UBD-K8500 UBD-M9500 UBD-X800

VERDICT
Even we’ll admit the peculiarity of recommending a games console as
a 4K Blu-ray player, but for sheer value, the Xbox One S is way ahead
of its more specialised competition. As a piece of AV equipment, it’s
more than competent, with full HDR10 support, decent image quality
and extensive compatibility with various audio and video formats,
not to mention a fine selection of built-in streaming services. Add in
the (not inconsequential) fact that it can play current-generation
games, all for just £200, and it’s easily the biggest bargain here.
That said, not everyone is interested in gaming, and if it’s a low
price you want, then they don’t come any lower than the £160
Samsung UBD-K8500. That’s less than half what it cost at launch,
and even a year on it remains competitive: image quality is high,
the range of supported formats is wide, and it’s one of the better-
looking 4K Blu-ray players, despite technically being the budget
option. It’s the best player to buy for most people.
As for higher-end alternatives, the Oppo UDP-203 is by far the
most well-featured deck we have here – it even supports Dolby
Vision HDR – but at over £600, it’s hard to get enthusiastic about it.
The Panasonic DMP-UB900, by comparison, has similarly
comprehensive audio capabilities at nearly half the price, while the
Samsung UBD-M9500 is also worth a look for its ability to stream
Blu-ray content to nearby devices over Wi-Fi.

100 FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360

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30YOUR FAVOURITE COMPUTER
MAGAZINE HAS HIT THE RIPE
OLD AGE OF 30. MEL CROUCHER
TAKES A LOOK BACK AT THE TECH
INNOVATIONS THAT HAVE SHAPED
THE PAST THREE DECADES

T
hirty years is a long time in technology, and nothing
shows that passage of time so well as Computer
Shopper. When we started out all those years ago,
computers were still fairly new, there was no
internet, and phones were those things plugged into a wall.
As times have changed, so has the magazine, evolving to
keep up with the latest tech, but still fulfilling its original
promise to deliver unbiased results.
To see how far we’ve come, we’re going back to the
beginning and looking at the technology that has shaped
the life of the magazine.
 Steve Jobs launches a computer called
the NeXT. It’s a chunky black cube with
an optical disk drive and costs £6,000.
Clive Sinclair launches a computer called
the Z88. It’s a lightweight black slab
running on four AA batteries, and it
foreshadows future PDAs. It is utterly
brilliant and costs just £199, but is the
last computer Sinclair produces.
A graphic file format called the GIF
is launched, pronounced with a soft ‘g’,
as in ‘gin’. But everyone ignores this in
favour of a hard ‘g’, as in ‘gorilla’.
Amstrad is the biggest-selling UK
computer brand, and Alan Sugar begins
to wear his head upside down without
anyone noticing. Elsewhere, Hewlett-
Packard launches the Deskjet printer for
$1,000, squeezing out one monochrome
page every 30 seconds. And a new
graphics utility called Photoshop
charges £750 to pretend
everything is beautiful.
➡ The true purpose of
computing is revealed at
last, as uncountable
millions play Super Mario, a
jolly game in which players
take hallucinogens.
➡ Up to now
computers can
only peep and parp
from puny internal
speakers, but a
new audio card
called SoundBlaster
makes computers
really irritating.
Multitasking is made
possible by the Intel 486 processor.
It marks a turning point in computing,
which has always been software-driven.
Now it’s programmers who push the
boundaries of what their dumb
machines can do.
The Macintosh Portable is
launched, aimed at the wealthy
weightlifter market. Paying £6,750
to lug 7.2 kilos around means that
sales are disappointing, despite being
well reviewed for its active matrix
display, removable trackball and
high performance.
Meanwhile, an operating system
called Windows 2.1 gains popularity,
and a fellow called Tim Berners-Lee
comes up with an intriguing concept
he calls the World Wide Web.
Apple introduces the Macintosh
Classic as a back-to-basics rival to cheap
PC compatibles. It sells for $999 in the US
and whatever it can get away with here.
⬇ Windows 3.0 arrives with a primitive
GUI and compatibility for hardware
without needing different drivers for
every application. It confirms the fact
that you can fool most of the people
most of the time, and hold them to
ransom while doing so. The mess that
is Microsoft’s operating system goes
invisible, but MS-DOS still lurks in the
background ready to reboot the
system as it crashes every hour.
The first laser printer under £1,000 is
launched. Instead of wires to manipulate
the toner, HP’s LaserJet IIP has a charged
roller system for snaring ties, necklaces
and dangly bits with great efficiency.

1988 1989 1990 1991

The first web server harnesses the Mosaic
browser to let the genie out of the bottle. The
first website consists of a single page
explaining how to create other websites.
Nobody bothers to make a copy of this historic
item because they’re all too busy having fun
with something called Visual Basic.
On the two-hundredth anniversary of
its design, a team at the Science Museum
builds Charles Babbage’s mechanical
computer with techniques and materials
available to him in 1791. They prove that his
calculating engine not only works just fine,
but it could have been built in his day.

➡ Linus Torvalds ➡ The true purpose

liberates his Linux of computing is
operating system, which revealed at last,
is adopted by only seven as uncountable
users. But his secure millions play
code works and is Sonic the
freely available. Hedgehog, a jolly
Meanwhile, Sega game where players
announces the control a spiky blue
first VR character on his
headsets. quest for gold rings.

104 FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360


⬆ The Atari Falcon is a £299 flop.
Based on a 32-bit processor, with
many powerful features, performance
suffers because the data bus is only
16-bit. Atari ceases all desktop
production the following year to
concentrate on video games consoles.
Colour printers become popular,
and reputable merchants such as
WH Smith and Sons start to sell
colour cartridge ink at the equivalent
of £7,000 per gallon.
A bunch of researchers at
Cambridge University aim a video
camera at a coffee percolator, and
keep it bubbling as the first worldwide
webcam hit. And Neil Papworth uses a
personal computer to tap into
Vodafone and send the first ever text
message to his chum Richard Jarvis in
Berkshire. It reads, ‘Merry Christmas’.
1992 1993
The IBM ThinkPad is a recognisably
modern laptop. Its keyboard folds out
like a butterfly when the lid is opened to
give a full-sized array wider than the case.
Elsewhere, Kodak comes up with an
amazing 6.2-megapixel DSLR camera.
The only problem is it costs over eight
grand. Without the lens.
➡ The PlayStation is a 32-bit video game
console from Sony. The software is
loaded from CDs, which publishers
like because they can be
made cheaply
depending on
demand. But
the CD pirates
like them even
more, especially
ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018
After various combinations of yellow,
blue and red, the masthead on the cover
of Computer Shopper is set in friendly
white capital letters. The magazine is
now printed on the sort of razor-sharp
glossy paper that shareholders in
Elastoplast drool over. Advertisers
queue up to parade their wares before
our ever-increasing readership.
➡ Apple enters the handheld
computer market with the
Newton. Dubbed a Personal
Data Assistant, it has many
of the features that will
define handheld computers
for two decades. But the
handwriting recognition
software is rubbish, and so are sales.
The Pentium is the fifth generation
x86 microprocessor from Intel. It
introduces the ability to execute several
instructions at the same time and has
good support for graphics and music.
The true purpose of computing is
revealed at last, as uncountable
millions play Mortal Kombat, a jolly
game about death, and Doom, another
jolly game that gets folk to hook up
multiple PCs and kill their friends.
1994
when Hewlett-Packard breaks the $1,000
barrier with its CD-R. Data is written in a
single pass on a one-time recordable disc,
but the discs are cheap and tough and
hold 400 times as much data as the rival
3.5in floppy disk.
YEARS OF
⬆ Anyone with £500 to spare can snap
up the Apple Quicktake 100. This is the
first digital camera to hit the market for
home consumers, and it handles
640x480 pixels very badly.
A US law firm sends out thousands
of copies of an unsolicited immigration
lottery service to the UseNet
newsgroup. Their idiocy is treated as a
joke until inboxes start to get clogged
up with junk. Spam has arrived.
For Christmas 1994, Shopper gives
away a free floppy disc containing “16
essential screensavers”, but we soon
cover-mount CD-ROMs packed with the
latest utilities and entertainment. We
also set the trend for sticking booklets
to our covers to make sure that only the
most sedate readers can collect a
pristine set of the magazine, while the
rest of us rip the covers to shreds.
1995
➡ Windows 95 is launched
with MS-DOS bundled as a
hybrid operating system.
This kicks off the lunatic
habit of junking hardware
because it can’t handle new
software. When Apache
open-source web-server
software arrives, Bill Gates
finally admits this internet
thingy could become rather important,
and pops the Internet Explorer
browser into Windows. Microsoft also
launches voice recognition and speech
synthesis within Windows applications.
Pierre Omidyar starts a business
called eBay, but he can’t afford to hire a
single employee.
105
 ➡ The Nokia Communicator costs up Computing is no longer the realm of enthusiasts and boffins.
to £250 and is known affectionately as It is now mainstream, and affects the lives of everyone every
‘The Brick’. But despite its bulk, fiddly day. Computer Shopper reflects this, as the team grows fast,
keyboard, slow connectivity and expensive and we boast a gaggle of editors, a herd of production staff, a
running costs, it becomes an instant cult hit among the smart set. shoal of labs workers and a gross of freelance contributors.
Sales staff can send and receive faxes, the self-employed have an
office computer in their pocket at long last, and posers can yell ⬅ An IBM computer becomes the first
into it in public places while they get the antenna stuck up their artificial intelligence to defeat a world
cocaine-filled noses. chess champion, when Deep Blue beats
Garry Kasparov.
Jennifer Ringley installs a webcam in her college dorm room
and lets it run continuously. The refresh rate is only once every ➡ Dell not only becomes the largest supplier
three minutes, but her Jennicam is the first opportunity to legally of computers to the UK government, but also
observe the sexual behaviour of a complete stranger. It receives pioneers direct selling via its UK website.
over 100 million visitors a week. With aggressive price cutting, the Dell
Dimension XPS has a starting price of £1,299.
The PalmPilot 1000 Connected Organizer is launched as the first This includes 32MB of RAM, an internal
pocket computer, with dedicated keys for address book, 512KB cache, 3.2GB hard drive, 3D GX
appointments calendar, to-do list and memos. It uses a gesture Graphics card, a 15in monitor, 12/24 Speed
input language called Graffiti, which is quick to learn and fast, CD-ROM, integrated 16-bit sound,
and it can be synchronised with a PC or Mac. Windows 95 and Microsoft Office 97.

➡ The Voodoo 3D accelerator graphics card
boasts 4MB of RAM, costs £300 and brings
high-definition gore to our monitors. Elsewhere,
re,
the Actua 2100 introduces the term ‘3D printer’.
r’.
The true purpose of computing is revealed at
last, as uncountable millions play Pokémon, a
jolly game in which players capture imaginary
monsters and simultaneously wet themselves.
Mass music piracy is unleashed, thanks to Justin
Frankel’s Winamp MP3 software. Career opportunities are
opened for scammers, following the launch of web-based
banking in the UK. And Philippe Kahn is responsible for the
first known picture to be shared publicly via a mobile phone.
The true purpose of computing is revealed at last, as
uncountable millions play Grand Theft Auto, a jolly game
for teaching children to weaponise cars.

1996 1997 1998

As Shopper celebrates its 10th birthday,
our sharp, shiny pages are replaced by silky
paper that is more eco-friendly and pleasant
on the eye. We beef up the packaging and
our covers to withstand all the crystal-cased
goodies we present to readers, and appoint
dedicated disk editors to make sure those
2,000 bits of free clip art really are essential.
Mobile computing allows us to contribute on
the hoof. It’s a workplace revolution, not just
for us but for the entire nation. The bulk of
each issue is dominated by what we still call
‘IBM compatibles’, but we also feature
dedicated sections on the Acorn, Amiga,
Atari and Mac. Our news and reviews now
embrace a wider range of products and
services, as new buzzwords grab the public
interest: DVDs, scanners, notebooks,
camcorders, mobiles, wireless networks; it
feels like the future has arrived.
The £999 Apple iMac has a Shrek-green
carapace that enthuses the most cynical
PC fan more about the way computers look
than how they work, and there’s no floppy
drive. No sooner have we been seduced by
its charms than Apple enslaves us with
wireless networking. The Apple Airport
router provokes PC users to demand the
same privileges, and Wi-Fi hotspots begin
to invade airports, stations and cafés.
➡ Windows 98 force-feeds
Explorer and networking
into our lives in a bid to shut
out other companies, as the
web arrives on a mass scale.
BT rolls out broadband,
turbo-charging download
speeds, and getting us all
so excited we fail to notice
they are billing us twice for using the
same antique copper wires.
The 333MHz Pentium II processor from
Intel is faster and cooler than its forebears.
Then the AMD K6-III clocks in at 400MHz,
cramming 23 million transistors into its
guts. Intel escalates the challenge with the
P-III. Apple wades in with the PowerMac’s
500MHz option. AMD retaliates with the
Athlon 750MHz, followed by a 1GHz chip.
Will it ever stop? No, it will never stop!
A £29 fuzzy robot called Furby
becomes the year’s must-have toy. It
‘evolves’, first speaking gibberish but
soon developing the use of proper
English. Meanwhile, funding is
sought for a small Californian
company called Google.

106 FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360

 YEARS OF

⬅ With a launch price of £1,099, the As we laugh in the face of the Millennium Bug, there is a spate of
Apple iBook is a luxurious plastic box. ludicrous lawsuits, including BT’s claim to the rights of all hyperlinks,
In a range of eye-popping colours, Amazon’s claim to one-click ordering, and Maz Technology’s claim to own
the tough case has a built-in carrying the patent for encryption. They are all laughed out of court as Microsoft
handle, and there are no considers paying over a billion dollars to settle class action lawsuits brought
vulnerable latches or by Californian residents, who claim the company has abused its market
covers for the USB, position and overcharged for its software.
Ethernet or modem
ports. What marks the ⬅ Honda’s humanoid robot ASIMO
iBook out as special is steps on to the stage. Standing 1.3
that it’s the first portable to metres tall, it can walk, run, throw,
boast internal wireless networking as well as an catch and kick, which means it can
optical drive. It can also be used as a toilet seat. beat the England football team
without further programming.
Text messages cross networks for the first time,
and a new fever is unleashed as college kids latch The Nokia 3310 is the phone that
on to this inexpensive technology for their liberates the masses. At £129 and weighing
preferred method of communication. only 133 grams, it features text messaging,
primitive games and mobile calling.
➡ The Handspring Visor kicks
off the smartphone market ➡ Japan’s SoftBank introduces the
with full PDA and mobile world’s first camera phone. The
phone functions. The Rio J-Phone has a maximum resolution
PMP3000 becomes the first of 0.11 megapixels, a 256-colour
commercial MP3 player, display, and photos can be
liberating compressed audio shared wirelessly.
files from our computer hard
drives into our numb skulls. When Windows 2000
Domain name hijacks start to appears, it’s claimed to be
make the news. Here comes more reliable than Windows
the 21st century. 95, 98 and NT. It isn’t.

1999 2000 2001 2002

➡ The BlackBerry 950 is The Mozilla Firefox web browser becomes the biggest
dubbed the ‘crackberry’ competitor to Microsoft Internet Explorer, possibly because
because users become it works brilliantly and probably because it’s free.
addicted so fast. As it
arrives in the UK it’s only The popular success of Microsoft’s Xbox is a genuine milestone
available for corporate because it allows internet connections for real-time multiplayer
deals and costs at least games. The fact that it costs $299 in
£400 a unit, but there is the US and £299 in the UK is entirely
an immediate waiting list of due to profiteering. Windows XP
hopefuls. No logging in, no phone line, no web terminal, just a claims to cure interminable
little black box in your pocket that provides instant email compatibility problems, but that’s
anywhere, anytime. It is revolutionary. because so much time has passed
since the problems cropped up that
Computer power increases exponentially as high street costs most of the incompatible software
keep falling. AMD ships its first dual-core 64-bit desktop is now obsolete.
processor, and rival Intel introduces the Core 2 processor.
The Sony PlayStation has 20 times more processing power than ➡ The Roomba robot vacuum
the Apollo moon-lander and 100 times more memory than the cleaner invades the home, and
Apple Classic. The personal details of 25 million UK citizens are Apple’s new little gadget called
recorded on two CD-ROMs and then lost in the post. the iPod takes over the world.

ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018 107

 ➡ HP’s IPAQ Pocket PC is the ➡ The astonishing Sony Vaio TX
ultimate executive toy at £649. redefines the laptop. Built from
But it’s a genuine milestone in carbon fibre, it contains the
portable computing, with a most advanced technology ever
400MHz processor and to feature in a featherweight
the best-yet bright portable. The XBrite display is
and clear TFT screen. stunning, and the machine packs
It packs in Bluetooth, wireless WAN connectivity
infrared and Wi-Fi, as well alongside a full entertainment suite
as SD and CF card slots into its slim profile. It’s priced at
to augment the 64MB of £1,498, and for once the ransom demand
onboard RAM. 128-bit seems worth every penny.
security and fingerprint
recognition feed the current YouTube sets up over a pizzeria in San Mateo, and a video
atmosphere of paranoia, but the simplest delight and best feature called ‘Me at the zoo’ is the first to be uploaded. A year later,
of all is the user-replaceable battery. Google will buy the concept for more than a billion pounds,
launching Google Maps at the same time.
⬅ Social-networking websites allow
anyone to upload mass drivel and The compact Motorola Razr V3 is the poser’s phone.
download more of the same. The The flip-up clamshell is shiny, the keyboard
global leader is MySpace, boasting is flat, it has a twin screen, stills and video
over 300 million members and cameras, and 5MB of storage. It costs £50
accounting for around 10% of up front then £40 a month to keep the habit
global web time. Obviously, it is going once the addiction kicks in. And 50 million
bought by Rupert Murdoch. users get addicted worldwide.

The true purpose of computing is revealed at last, as ➡ The true purpose of computing is revealed at last, as
uncountable millions play Call of Duty, a jolly game where uncountable millions play Guitar Hero, a jolly game in
players defeat Hitler. which the utterly untalented prove they are.

2003 2004 2005 2006

⬅ A student at Harvard
University expands his website,
where students rate one another
as ‘hot or not’. His name is
Mark Zuckerberg, and he calls
his new enterprise The Facebook.
➡ Twitter makes its debut as a text-message
service. Its character limit is restricted by
Friedhelm Hillebrand. He types random sentences
and questions, counting every letter, number, and
space. Almost every time, the message amounts to no
more than 140 characters.

A new voice-over-internet Blu-ray is an optical disc that can store up to 50GB of data in
service called Skype establishes the same size as a standard CD. The format is adopted by most
itself, and the word ‘blog’ enters of the major consumer electronics companies.
the dictionary. Meanwhile, for
£199, the Adidas 1 Sneaker running shoe has microprocessors The United Nations Development
embedded in the heels that can adjust performance depending Programme announces a project to
on the surface of the ground. deliver technology and resources to
schools in the least developed
The everyday use of computers in the home and the countries. The scheme is the One
workplace becomes a continual battle against malicious viruses, Laptop Per Child consortium,
spam, Trojans, scams, spyware and identity theft. The Santy founded by Nicholas Negroponte.
worm exploits search queries to infiltrate 40,000 websites and
turn them into sources of infection. MyDoom sets the record ➡ Meanwhile millions of people
for the fastest spreading mass-mailer worm, and it causes over pay good money to stand on one
£20bn of damage in 215 countries. Oh brave new world. leg and play with their own Wii.

108 FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360

 YEARS OF

⬅ An MIT student starts a file-hosting service called ➡ The brand new Grindr social
Dropbox, making cloud storage a commodity for the network is a facility for men with
first time. Elsewhere, 10 million computers are body- similar interests to locate one another
snatched by the Storm Botnet and forced into slavery as fast as possible and exchange tips.
for purposes too scary to imagine. Crowdfunding is another new
buzzword, as the Kickstarter service
➡ Online retailer Amazon releases the Kindle gets under way for people who don’t like banks, and
reader, with wireless access for downloading vice versa. Whereas the brand new WhatsApp network
electronic books. Soon, anyone capable of is a cross-platform messaging service for people who
stringing a sentence together believes their don’t like anyone.
efforts are worthy of publication.
⬅ A digital currency called Bitcoin appears,
The Apple iMac is a thing of beauty, crafted without any administrators, repositories
from aluminium and glass, with everything inside or intermediaries, making it beyond the
a single unit: processor, widescreen monitor, reach of governments and taxation.
audio, video camera, and total connectivity.
Costing from £799 to £1,459, it CompuServe, once the first
sets the benchmark for style and commercial online service, is
performance at speeds up to 2.8GHz. Suddenly all finally put out of our misery.
those other computers sulking under desks and And analogue television signals begin
getting hot and bothered in their gloomy coffins seem to be shut down as we move to
very old-fashioned indeed. high-definition broadcasting.

⬅ And Apple bucks the trend yet again by wrapping ➡ The true purpose of
a brand new concept in a designer package and computing is revealed at
charging too much for it, as Steve Jobs announces last, as uncountable
the iPhone. The UK cost is an extortionate £899, millions play Angry Birds,
yet it makes headline news as punters queue round a jolly game in which
the block. The age of the app is upon us. birds are angry.

2007 2008 2009 2010

Computer Shopper celebrates its 20th birthday with DVDs on our covers. The first all-robotic surgery is performed at
Our News digest is a one-stop resource for in-depth stories, What’s New is Montreal General Hospital in Canada. Elsewhere, at
the UK’s ultimate resource for reviews and ratings, our Labs test reports are a cost of more than £5,000, Roxxy is the first sex
second to none, our Helpfiles deliver us from evil, the Learn section is an robot with a customisable personality, including the
essential resource, our Features are still as eclectic and intriguing as ever, and much loved Sarah Palin.
the Favourites are exactly that. At least 40 members of staff and 20 freelance
contributors deliver the goods, based around our new Mission Control on the ➡ Siri makes her debut as a voice-activated virtual
fifth floor in Cleveland Street, topped by Regents Park and tailed by Soho. personal assistant, able to answer questions, make
recommendations and perform actions within the
Apple introduces its first ultra notebook: a light, thin laptop with high- Apple environment. Apple also
capacity battery. The Air incorporates many of the technologies associated with announces its high-definition
Apple’s MacBook line of laptops, including an integrated camera and Wi-Fi Retina display, boasting it has
capabilities. To reduce its size, the traditional hard drive is replaced with a so many pixels packed together
solid-state disk, the first mass-market computer to do so. that a human eye cannot see
the joins. But the biggest Apple
⬅ The world’s first commercial bionic hand is launch of the year is a
delivered by Touch Bionics, it’s multi-articulating handheld device called the
with each finger powered by its own motor. iPad. It has no specific
Elsewhere, Sanyo’s Xacti is an all-in-one digital and purpose, but that doesn’t
video camera that can be held in one hand. It uses seem to stop anyone with
SD cards, so we don’t have to lug tapes around or between £429 and £599 to
worry that we’ll run out of internal memory. spare from wanting one.

ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018 109

 ⬅ A new concept in public ⬅ Although the iPhone
transport begins operation in 4 was the first Apple
San Francisco, with all phone to have a
mapping, logistics, pricing front-facing camera, it
and payments handled by a has taken until now, with
simple app. It is called Uber. the launch of the iPhone 6,
And a new video-streaming for self-obsessed hordes to ignore the
service begins operating in world around them in favour of taking
the UK, encouraging users photographs of themselves.
to view full-length movies
over the internet. It is called Netflix. Augmented reality hits the
⬆ In London, Will Shu starts kindergarten, as kids are given the
Snapchat is a photo-messaging app where a meals-on-wheels service power to upload their physical
images are automatically deleted seconds after called Deliveroo for people creations into their own virtual world,
viewing, a policy that the new UK coalition too daft to cook or too thanks to Lego Fusion.
government adopts with gusto. idle go out. The company
charges restaurants a fee to ➡ Microsoft
The number of eBooks sold all over the world pick up, then charges launches the
overtakes the number of print books for the first customers another fee to Surface Pro, a
time, and Apple overtakes Exxon as the most deliver, and everything is hybrid tablet,
valuable corporation on the planet. handled by an app. laptop, detachable
keyboard and
Silk Road begins operations as ➡ Edward Snowden, a CIA stand for around
an online black market for consultant working for Dell, £800. LG introduces the
popular items such as begins to leak hundreds of first mass-produced truly flexible
counterfeit goods and heroin. thousands of classified display, an 18in OLED screen that can
documents proving be rolled into a one-inch tube.
➡ The true purpose of that both the
computing is revealed at last, US and UK In the first case of its kind,
as uncountable millions play governments Yoshitomo Imura is sentenced to
Minecraft, a jolly game in which routinely spy two years imprisonment by the
players build their own world on private Yokohama District Court for using a
out of boredom. web traffic. 3D printer to create a gun.

2011 2012 2013 2014

➡ A Toyota Prius, controlled
by Google driverless technology,
is granted a road licence in
Nevada, and becomes the first
robot car to be let loose on a
public highway.

Until this year, the largest

⬆ A tiny, single-board, ultra-cheap
computer called the Raspberry Pi is
released for as little as £5 a unit, designed
to teach basic computer science in schools
and developing countries. It becomes one
of the best-selling computers in history.
OLED monitor measures 31
inches, but now LG offers a 55in, ➡ The true purpose of computing is
flat-screen, Google-enabled, 3D unit for revealed at last, as uncountable millions
less than £1,800. play Candy Crush
Saga, a jolly
A dating app called Tinder is trialled in a game in which
few colleges. A photo-sharing app called adults rot their
Pinterest hits 10 million users in record time. brains and
The number of active Facebook users children rot
exceeds one billion for the first time. their teeth.

110 FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360

 YEARS OF

➡ Apple’s Watch brings ⬅ The iPhone 7 hasn’t got a headphone jack,

the computer to the but for only £159 you can buy a pair of Apple
wrist, using a new Airpods to make up for it.
interface that
combines a ➡ UK company
touchscreen and Windhorse
physical buttons. Aerospace develops
Besides telling the the Pouncer
time, the Watch can humanitarian drone,
send messages, give costing £225 and
directions, track capable of feeding
fitness and make 100 people in war
wireless payments. zones and remote areas. As well as
essential relief items, the wings are
Skype’s Translator is a self-teaching artificial packed with food, and the vehicle can
intelligence utility. The more it hears dialects, accents be reassembled as a shelter.
and slang, the smarter it gets, producing audio
translations between 50 different languages. Snapchat Lenses allow users to
transform themselves in real time into
⬅ A drone moving, talking fantasy figures in
manufactured by virtual environments. Meanwhile,
Flirtey gets the first bomb-disposal expert Joshua Brown
government approval becomes the first person to die in a
for medical deliveries. self-driving car accident while being
Elsewhere, private taken for a ride by his Tesla Model S.
drones are used to
deliver beer to ➡ The true purpose of computing
Australians and class-A is revealed at last, as uncountable
drugs to prisoners. millions play Pokémon Go, a
jolly game in which players
RadioShack, one of the oldest established capture imaginary monsters and
electronics and computer outlets in the world, files simultaneously wet themselves.
for bankruptcy in the US. Again.

2015 2016 2017

A malicious worm codenamed Wannacry attacks spherical images and 4K
computers running Microsoft Windows in 150 resolution. It costs £139.
countries. Victims are held to ransom for up to £1,000
in bitcoins to unlock data that has become encrypted. The true purpose of
computing is revealed at
⬅ Amazon announces that its second-generation last, as uncountable millions
cloud-based service Alexa is available for play Resident Evil 7, a jolly game
customers in the UK. The intelligent personal in which players kill anything that
assistant is said to have been inspired by the moves. Sales of the franchise se top
talking computer in Star Trek. 78 million, and spin-offs net in
excess of £1bn.
Moley Robotics markets a robot chef that
can replicate the movement of ⬅ And Computer Shopper
pper
human hands to cook from a gets ready to celebrate its
choice of 2,000 recipes. 30th birthday as the
longest-running, most
➡ The Samsung Gear 360 camera popular publication of its
handles live broadcasts, 360-degree kind in the land.

ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018 111

 THE
DATA
GAME

COPING WITH THE EXABYTES OF DATA THAT HUMANITY

CREATES EVERY DAY IS NO MEAN FEAT. CHRIS FINNAMORE
CHECKS OUT THE INNOVATIONS BRINGING US EVER
LARGER AND FASTER MEMORY AND STORAGE
112 FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360
ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018 113
Credit: Jeff Kubina, Flickr Creative Commons
F
ABOVE Micron’s 11TB 9200 drive rom the megabyte to the gigabyte,
shows that flash has finally caught up the terabyte to the petabyte, the
with the data density of hard disks exabyte to the zettabyte and beyond,
we just can’t get enough of storage.
According to IBM, the world creates
2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day
– that’s 2.5 exabytes, or enough to fill 2.5 million PCs
fitted with 1TB hard disks.
This isn’t just cat videos and food selfies, either.
Companies collect huge amounts of data on
consumers, to better target them with adverts and
marketing materials, and the new wave of Internet
of Things (IoT) devices will upload data constantly
about where they are and whether they’ve run out
of coffee beans.
There’s more to storage than capacity, too: speed
is more important than ever, whether you’re reading
and writing gigabytes of 4K video or loading the
colossal textures for a modern 70GB game. What’s
more, if we have a hope of manipulating all that data
New ways to at a reasonable speed, we need ever-faster memory
to go with our increasingly powerful processors.
squeeze extra Fortunately, the world’s RAM, flash and hard disk
capacity from a titans are up to the job, innovating constantly to make
faster storage with more capacity in a smaller space.
hard disk’s This feature explores the current state of the art in
platters are storage and memory, what’s around the corner and
what we’ll be using to store humanity’s knowledge
needed to keep (and cat videos) in the future.
hard disks the PACKING IT IN
standard for The longevity of hard disks, and the rapid rise of
cost-effective solid-state drives (SSDs), can be attributed to a
continual improvement process to minimise the
storage drawbacks of either technology. The first problem is
capacity. Most storage devices need to adhere to a
standard form factor, either 3.5in or 2.5in, to fit in
standard desktop or laptop PC cases. This limits the
114
physical area of hard disk platters or flash memory
chips you can fit, and thus the capacity of the drive.
The solution to this packaging problem is to
increase data density by stuffing more bytes into the
same surface area, and manufacturers have proved
remarkably adept at inventing new ways to do this.
For example, the hard disk game changed dramatically
in 2005 with perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR),
where, broadly speaking, magnetised bits stand
perpendicular to the head of the hard disk platter
instead of lying down, making room for more bits
(see tinyurl.com/perpendisk).
After years of data density improvements using
PMR (densities doubled between 2009 and 2015),
researchers are hitting the physical limits: each
magnetic ‘bit’ is becoming too small to reliably hold its
data, increasing the potential for corruption. New
ways to squeeze extra capacity from a hard disk’s
platters, as well as a way to increase the number of
platters that will fit in a hard disk’s case, are therefore
needed to keep hard disks the standard for cost-
effective storage of huge quantities of data.
Shingled magnetic recording (SMR), introduced
by Seagate in 2014, is one way to fit more data on a
disk’s platter. In a normal PMR hard disk, data is
written in parallel tracks that don’t overlap. In an SMR
disk, when the write head writes a data track, the new
track will overlap part of the previously written track,
reducing its width and meaning more tracks can fit on
a platter. The thinner track can still be read, as read
heads can be physically thinner than write heads.
The chief disadvantage of SMR is that the writing
process with the fatter write head overwrites
neighbouring tracks and destroys their data, so these
tracks also have to be rewritten. This can slow down
the writing process, but this can be managed carefully
in the drive’s firmware and isn’t such a problem if the
drives are chiefly designed to be used in data centres.
FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360
 The next big thing, and less of a compromise
than SMR, is two-dimensional magnetic recording
(TDMR). This is another Seagate technology, and it
aims to solve the problem of reading data from
tightly packed hard disk tracks, where the read head
picks up interference from tracks around the one
being read. TDMR disks use multiple read heads to
pick up data from several tracks at a time, then
work out which data is actually needed, turning
the noise into useful data that can be analysed
and then discarded when not required. The first
TDMR disks are due to arrive in the next year or so,
promising 5-10% extra density and possible
performance improvements.
The multiple read heads of TDMR disks can
improve read speeds, but to improve write speeds
while increasing data density you need to move
away from SMR to the latest hard disk technology:
heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR). This aims
to overcome the compromise of SMR by changing
the material of the hard disk platter, to one where
each bit will maintain its magnetic data integrity at a
smaller size. The problem is that in order to write to
materials with the needed stability, or coercivity, a
stronger magnetic field is required than can currently
be produced from a write head.
As HAMR’s name implies, the solution is to use
a laser to heat up part of the hard disk platter
before the data is written. This lowers the
material’s coercivity enough for the data to be
written, before the heated section cools and the
coercivity rises to make the data secure. HAMR
has the potential to increase hard disk density
tenfold but, as you would expect, the technology
is incredibly hard to make work. Both Western
Digital and Seagate have demonstrated working
HAMR drives, but we’re unlikely to see them on
the market before the latter part of 2018.
ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018
TURBULENT TIMES ABOVE Fitting more data in the
Fitting more data on each of a hard disk’s platters is same physical space requires
one way to bump up data density, but why not just innovation in both the hard disk
platter and writing head
fit more platters instead? The problem is that the
more platters you pack into a disk, the more air
turbulence is created within the hard disk’s case as
they spin, potentially causing data errors as the
platters ‘flutter’ (move in the vertical plane). This
effect makes it impractical to fit more than five
platters in a hard disk; more platters means more
turbulence, and the platters will have to be made
thinner to fit, reducing their resistance to flutter.
The solution is to use sealed drives filled with
helium, which is seven times less dense than air.
This reduces drag as the platters spin, cutting
down on turbulence and even reducing power
consumption by nearly 50%. Helium drives are
expensive and designed for enterprise use, but are
available in capacities up to 12TB – 12 times what
you’ll find in the average desktop PC.
THE ASCENT OF NAND
There’s plenty of innovation in hard disk technology,
but it tends to revolve around fitting more data in
the same-sized box, which will most likely end up in a Companies
server rack somewhere. If you want your storage to collect huge
come in different shapes and sizes, to fit in anything
from a desktop PC to an ultra-light laptop, you need amounts of
to look at flash. data on
Flash (specifically NAND flash) is found in
everything from USB flash drives and smartphones
consumers, to
to computers’ solid-state drives. Flash’s big strength better target
is its flexibility: unlike in a hard disk, where a certain
configuration of platters and reading heads is
them with
required, flash drives can be all kinds of shapes and adverts and
sizes. Those wanting the neatest possible PC build,
for example, can fit a 1TB M.2 flash drive the size of
marketing
a Wham bar straight to their motherboard, doing materials
115
 This increase in away with all those messy cables and providing a
useful speed boost over SATA.
areal density The M.2 format is a leviathan compared to ball
means SSDs grid array (BGA), however. BGA devices are designed
to be soldered down to a circuit board, so are
finally have the non-removable, but the loss of upgrade potential is
potential to offset by their size: they can be as small as 16x20mm
and just 1.5mm high, so they’re ideal for fitting in
replace hard laptops, tablets and hybrids. BGA SSDs can also be
disks for long- incredibly fast. Samsung’s PM971 BGA SSD, available
through which run pillars, producing a memory cell
at the intersection of each pillar and layer.
This increase in areal density – the amount of data
that can be stored on a given unit of space – means
SSDs finally have the potential to replace hard disks
for long-term storage. Shadley claims traditional flash
longevity concerns have been put to bed. “We’ve done
some analysis to see how long it would take to wear
out an SSD, in a workload where it’s specifically
designed to write to very slow storage, and you’re

term storage in capacities up to 512GB, can read data at up to

BELOW Hybrid Memory Cube’s
DRAM stack improves memory
latency and packs more RAM into
a smaller space
1,500MB/s and write at 900MB/s: not bad for a
chip smaller than a stamp.
STACKS OF SPACE
There are also signs that SSDs may be overtaking
hard disks when it comes to how much data you can
fit in a certain-sized box. For a long time SSDs had
significantly less capacity than hard disks, and made
up for this with increased performance. This rule has
now been broken. Micron already produces an 11TB
SSD, available as a PCI Express card or in a 2.5in case
with a U.2 connector, and, according to Scott Shadley,
Micron’s principal technologist, “We’ll have capacity
points in 24[TB], 32, even beyond that in the [20]19-20
timeframe, that are still in that smaller 2.5in footprint”.
This makes SSDs potentially larger than hard disks,
and they’re certainly faster, although hard disks will
remain cheaper for the same capacity for the
foreseeable future. The increase in capacity is chiefly
down to a flash memory design called 3D NAND.
Instead of trying to cram ever smaller flash cells ever
closer together to increase data density – a process
that has reached its physical limits – 3D NAND stacks
cells on top of one another. The technology differs
between manufacturers, but Intel’s version (see
tinyurl.com/3dnandintel) shows a stack of 64 layers,
replacing that with something faster but with the
same workload, and you just don’t wear it out.”
WHEN RAM AND STORAGE COLLIDE
For almost as long as there have been computers,
there has been a distinction between RAM, the
super-fast volatile storage that loses its data when
the power goes off, and slow, permanent storage.
SSDs have narrowed that gap, but the future,
according to a joint project between Micron and
Intel, is 3D XPoint – a new type of non-volatile
memory that sits somewhere between the two.
3D XPoint memory contains a lattice, consisting of
a material that can change its resistance, intersected
with wires. At each intersection is a cell, and changing
the resistance of each of these cells makes it store
either a 1 or a 0 – the data. Once this data is set, it is
permanent and will survive a loss of power.
The first big advantage of 3D XPoint memory is
speed, and particularly latency: the time it takes for
a data transfer to actually start following a request
from the processor. A high latency increases the
time the rest of the computer’s components are
waiting for data to process. When announcing the
technology, Intel claimed 3D XPoint could have 100
times lower latency than a standard NAND SSD, and
100,000 times lower than a hard disk.

116 FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360


Intel also claimed that 3D XPoint’s latency was
only about 10 times slower than a system’s RAM – not
bad considering it’s a permanent storage medium, has
10 times the data density of DRAM and is about half
the price per gigabyte. It’s also easier to change the
value of the data in each 3D XPoint cell; in NAND
flash, a cell needs to be erased before it can be
rewritten, but in 3D XPoint the value can be changed
without the erasing step.
What’s more, in 3D XPoint (depending on the
implementation), data can be written one byte at a
time. By contrast, NAND is organised into ‘pages’
and ‘blocks’, usually 4KB and 512KB in size. Reads
and writes happen a page at a time, but when data
needs to be rewritten – even a single byte – the entire
block must be rewritten. This slows things down and
adds wear; Intel has claimed that 3D XPoint RAM
could last 1,000 times longer than NAND flash by
doing away with such steps.
However, more recent announcements are more
conservative. Intel’s partner Micron, showcasing its
own 3D XPoint (branded QuantX) memory technology
late last year, showed a 10 times latency improvement
over NAND flash, and 2.5 times the durability. Things
will hopefully improve over time, to the point where
3D XPoint is a viable non-volatile replacement for
DRAM in servers; a server could effectively have
terabytes of memory, big enough to hold an entire
database at once, and making it possible to run
queries at hugely increased speeds.
On the consumer side, Intel’s first 3D XPoint
product (branded Optane) is a fancy 16GB or 32GB
cache in an M.2 SSD package, designed to be paired
with an Intel ‘Optane-ready’ motherboard and a
slower storage disk (most likely a hard disk, where
the cache can make the most difference). The fast
ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018
Science fiction
storage
For some scientists, making a bigger and faster disk is simply
not enough. They want to push the boundaries of storage,
making data that will last for thousands of years, fit in a tiny
space or have unbreakable encryption. Here’s our pick of the
craziest experimental storage tech.
DNA
According to researchers at Swiss company ETH Zurich, a gram
of DNA could theoretically hold 455 billion gigabytes of data.
However, even once you’ve encoded your data in DNA – the
researchers have so far managed to store 83KB – you have the
problem that DNA degrades quickly. ETH’s solution is to encase
the DNA “in silica spheres with a diameter of roughly 150
nanometres”. ETH estimates that such DNA, if stored at low
temperatures, could retain its data for over a million years.
ATOMS
DNA is all very well, but if you want proper data density, you
need to start encoding data on to atoms. IBM researchers
managed this in 2017, storing a single bit on a Holmium atom
(a hugely magnetic element often used in powerful magnets).
An electric current flips the magnet’s north and south poles,
changing it from a 0 to a 1 and so encoding data. Atoms, of
course, are tiny, and the researchers reckon they could read and
write atoms spaced just a nanometre apart – leading to a data
density (according to our calculations) of 645 terabits per
square inch, compared to 1.5 terabits for today’s storage media.
ABOVE Ultra-
high-capacity QUANTUM ENTANGLEMENT
helium-filled hard Quantum entanglement is a phenomenon where two particles
disks are popular
with enterprise
share a state, so that what happens to one particle happens to
customers the other, no matter how far apart they may be. This has the
potential to create unbreakable encryption. Entangled particles
could be created and one set sent physically to your recipient
(such as in the post). By manipulating one set of particles, the
other will change instantly, allowing you to create a key to
encrypt the rest of your communications.
This avoids the problem of trying to send an already-created
key over an electronic form of communication, with the
potential for it to be intercepted. Researchers have found a
way to store such quantum information on a ‘quantum hard
drive’ for up to six hours before it collapses, and hope to make
the information last for more than a day – enough time to
move entangled particles around the world.
Optane cache stores frequently read information to
speed up access times, and temporarily stores write
information before writing it back to the hard disk at
its leisure. The cache is effective, but doesn’t appear
to be far removed from the Intel Smart Response
Technology that has been around since 2011.
It’s early days, though. As 3D XPoint develops,
and rival super-fast non-volatile storage methods
(known as storage-class memory, or SCM) start to
emerge, the shape of computing should start to
change. As Bill Leszinske, who heads up Intel’s
Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group, has said:
“The fact that we have something called memory
and the fact that we have something called storage
is really an artefact of the technology. Ideally, you’d
just have a big pool of your stuff.”
117
 ABOVE Samsung has managed to
squeeze 512GB of storage on to a
fast SSD smaller than a stamp
BELOW Intel’s first consumer
3D XPoint product is a super-fast
cache for your PC
118
THE RAM REVOLUTION
With all this talk of advancements in permanent
storage and storage/memory hybrids, it’s easy to
forget that things are moving on in the field of RAM,
too. DRAM has been ticking along, progressing nicely
from DDR3 to DDR4, and DDR5 coming around 2020,
with corresponding increases in memory density and
speed, but these are evolutionary, rather than
revolutionary, steps. If you want a RAM revolution,
you need to look at two new technologies: Hybrid
Memory Cube and High Bandwidth Memory.
HYBRID MEMORY CUBE
Hybrid Memory Cube (HMC) technology is being
developed by a consortium of eight companies,
including Micron, Samsung, ARM, Intel and IBM.
According to Micron, current memory technology
can’t keep up with the demands of processors with
increasing numbers of cores, as well as applications
that are written to take advantage of all those cores:
“Multiple compute elements per processor require an
increasing amount of memory accesses per element.”
HMC is designed to break through this so-called
‘memory wall’, with higher speeds and lower latencies.
A Hybrid Memory Cube consists of a single
package, containing multiple stacks of DRAM dies.
Each four-high stack of DRAM dies sits on top of a
dedicated memory controller, and each of these
DRAM/memory controller stacks is called a Vault. The
Vaults are joined together with thousands of ‘through-
silicon via’ (TSV) connections. TSV connections pass
straight through each die’s silicon, connecting each to
the one below and to the memory controller.
The TSVs mean that the DRAM dies can be
stacked very close together and with very short
connections, so data has less distance to travel: a
formula for low latency times. When revealing the
HMC design in 2011, the HMC Consortium claimed
that HMC could have 15 times the bandwidth of
DDR3 (the dominant memory technology at the
time of the announcement), as well as using up to
70% less power per bit stored, and all in 10% of
the space. As DDR4 has about twice the bandwidth
of DDR3, HMC also compares favourably to the
current RAM standard.
HIGH BANDWIDTH MEMORY
Similar in concept to, but incompatible with, HMC is
AMD’s and Hynix’s High Bandwidth Memory (HBM).
HBM is designed to be used in graphics cards, and
is intended chiefly to solve the problem of current
GDDR5 graphics memory’s spiralling power
consumption. As graphics hardware gets faster, it
demands ever faster data transfer from memory,
but, according to AMD, “each additional gigabyte per
second of bandwidth is beginning to consume too
much power to be a wise, efficient, or cost-effective
decision for designers or consumers”.
Like Samsung and Micron, AMD’s and Hynix’s
solution is to create a cube. HBM stacks DRAM dies
on top of one another, connected, as with HMC, by
through-silicon via connections. These dies sit on a
controller die, and the whole lot plugs into a high-
speed interconnect called an interposer. Next to the
stack on the interposer sits the GPU. The ISVs mean
that data can travel quickly through the stack, and
the interposer is a fast enough connection that,
AMD claims, it’s almost as if the RAM chips are
integrated into the GPU.
AMD says that HBM will give more than three
times the bandwidth per watt of GDDR5 memory.
First-generation HBM has already appeared in the
AMD Radeon R9 Fury graphics card range.
What’s more, Nvidia uses the next-generation
HBM2 technology in its Tesla P100 ‘Data Center
Accelerator’ – a high-performance component
designed for tasks such as simulating the weather
or deep-learning artificial intelligence.
FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360
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 Business Help
If you have database, office application or macro issues,
Kay Ewbank is here to help
Send your problems to businesshelp@computershopper.co.uk

Ticks all the boxes

I’ve created a Word 2010 document with tickboxes in it. It all works
as expected, but when I send it to another member of our club, if he
cuts and pastes it into his own online documents the tickboxes are
changed to question marks. I don’t have details of what application
the other person is using. Is there a way to convert them all to a
static version as a single action? There are a lot to do manually.
Leon Maclean

You can convert the active tickboxes to a square symbol quite simply
by saving a copy of your documents in Word 97-2003 format. When
you choose this format, you’ll be warned that some features of the
document aren’t supported by earlier versions of Word, and will be
converted to simple text format. Confirm that this is OK, and you’ll
have a version without the problematic tickboxes. If this removes too
many other features that you want to retain, the only way to convert
all the boxes at once would be to use a macro along the following lines:

Sub removechecks()
Dim cbRange As Range
Dim objCC As ContentControl ⬆ Save a Word document in Word 97-2003 format to remove active content
With ActiveDocument
looks at each content control one at a time. If it’s a tickbox, as
For Each objCC In ActiveDocument.ContentControls identified by the test:
If objCC.Type = wdContentControlTickbox Then
Set cbRange = objCC.Range If objCC.Type = wdContentControlTickbox Then
objCC.Delete
cbRange.Text = "[ ]" then the range used by the object is stored in the range variable cbRange.
End If The content control is deleted, and the range it previously occupied
Next has its text set to two square brackets with a space between them [ ].
End With You can set this text to be anything you like. For example, choose a
End Sub square character from the Wingdings font by replacing the line:

The macro works by looking through the active document at each cbRange.Text = "[ ]"
ContentControl object in turn. ContentControls are the items on the
Developer tab of the Office Ribbon – the tickbox, date picker and so with these lines:
on. The loop that starts:
cbRange.Text = Chr(168)
For Each objCC In ActiveDocument.ContentControls cbRange.Font.Name = "Wingdings"

Following on
I’m creating a presentation using
PowerPoint 2010, and I’ve got a set of
points on one slide that I’ve numbered
using auto numbering.
My problem is that I want to continue
the numbering on the second slide, but it
starts from 1 again. How can I make it
carry on from the last number on the
previous slide?
Margaret Miller
You can’t fully automate this, but what you can
do is to alter the starting number on the
second slide. To do this, right-click on the first
item on the second slide. From the options
you’re offered, choose Numbering, then in the
dialog that appears, click on Bullets and
Numbering. There’s an option on this dialog for
Starts At. If you change this to one greater
than the last number on the previous slide, you ⬆ Change the Starts At value in PowerPoint to set
should get the effect you want. numbering to values other than 1

122 FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360


Indirect question
In Excel I’m trying to use the Indirect
function to look for a particular symbol in a
cell three columns to the right of the
formula. I’ve tried this, but it doesn’t work:
=FIND("s",(INDIRECT("RC3",FALSE)))
It returns #VALUE no matter what’s in the cell.
Andrew Galway
The Indirect function is often used with a
specific cell reference, so you’ll usually see it
used like this:
=INDIRECT("A3")
This is in fact the shortened version of:
=INDIRECT("A3",TRUE)
The TRUE tells Excel that the cell reference is a
type of cell reference where you give a specific
row and column (in this case, A3). However,
Indirect can also be used with a relative cell
reference where you say how many rows up or
down, and how many columns left or right the
cell in question is. In this case, you need to
Meeting points
I’ve got two tables in Access: one of club
members, and one of meetings attended. I
want to see two sets of results: the people
who were present at each meeting, and the
number who were absent. My clubmembers
table has a memberID and the name of the
person, among other fields. The meetings
table has a list of memberIDs and the dates
they attended meetings. How can I get the
details of who attended, how many attended
and how many didn’t? I’d also like a list of
people who haven’t attended any meetings.
Kelly Morgan
Finding out the ‘positive’ side is easy as their
details are in the meetings table. You can just
do a count grouped by date. You should then
be able to get the count of those who didn’t
attend by subtracting the number who
attended from the total number of members.
To get the names of those who attended on
a particular date, create a query that joins the
clubmembers table to the meetings table on
memberID, then include the name field from
the members list.
Getting the details of who wasn’t there is
trickier. You need to use a subquery. You’re
creating a list of everyone who’s a member,
then finding those who are in the member list,
but not anywhere in the list of people who’ve
attended. You need something like this:
SELECT MemberID , MemberName
FROM ClubMembers
ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018
specify both the number of rows or columns
across and up or down, and to tell Excel that
this is an RC type of reference. You do this by
adding the FALSE parameter to the function.
Where you’re going wrong is that for the
RC type of reference, you put the number of
rows or columns into square brackets. In your
case, you actually need:
=INDIRECT("RC[3]",FALSE))
This tells Excel to look three columns across, in
the same row. The whole formula would be:
=FIND("s",(INDIRECT("RC3",FALSE)))
You can have negative or positive numbers, so:
=INDIRECT("RC[-2]",FALSE))
would look two columns to the left of the
current cell, and:
=INDIRECT("R[-1]C[2]',FALSE))
would look one row up and two columns to
the right, relative to the current cell.
⬆ A subquery finds people who haven’t attended
WHERE NOT EXISTS
(SELECT Meetings.MemberID
FROM Meetings
WHERE Meetings.MemberID =
ClubMembers.MemberID) ;
This selects the member name and ID from the
ClubMembers table, but only those that do not
exist in the recordset returned by the Select in
the subquery. When you run the query, the
main or outer part runs once for each record
in the ClubMembers table. In each case, the
inner or subquery is run to decide whether this
member should be returned as a match. To do
this, the subquery is run. It finds any record in
the Meetings table that matches the MemberID
for the ClubMembers table to the same
MemberID for the Meetings table. If there’s a
match, the member attended a meeting. We
want the opposite of this: any member where
they didn’t attend a meeting. Using the
WHERE clause NOT EXISTS in the main query
means that if this is a member who doesn’t get
returned by the subquery, it’s one we want.
BUSINESS HELP
Outlook :-)
I’d like to make my Outlook emails look
friendly and colourful. I use the emojis
that Outlook supports, such as :-) and
:-( . However, I’d like to use more of the
exotic-looking ones, ideally the animated
emojis. At the moment I have to look in
my web browser, find the one I want,
and paste it in, which is a nuisance. It
also doesn’t seem to like the animated
ones. Is there a way for me to do this?
Tom Russell
You don’t say which version of Outlook
you’re using, but the good news (if you’re a
fan of emojis) is that Outlook 16 and later
support a wide array of emojis as long as
you’re running it on Windows 8 or later.
If you’re using an earlier version of
Outlook, you can still use AutoCorrect to
convert text to an emoji, adding your own
choices to the options in the settings.
The way to do this is to start with a
new message. Find the emoji you’d like to
be able to include, and paste it into your
email. Make sure the emoji is selected.
Now open the AutoCorrect options dialog.
If you’re using Outlook 2007, this is
accessed from the Office Logo, from where
you need to choose Editor Options,
Proofing, then press the button labelled
AutoCorrect Options.
If you’re using Outlook 2010 or 2013,
then the dialog is accessed from the File
menu by choosing Options, Mail, then
pressing the button Spelling and
Autocorrect. From the choices there, click
the button labelled AutoCorrect Options.
Once you’re in the right dialog, click the
AutoCorrect tab. You’ll be placed in the
Replace text as you type field. Type the set
of characters that should be replaced by
the icon you want to use, such as ;-) or ;-P.
Then make sure that the With field is set
to Formatted text. You may or may not be
able to see the image you’re going to use
in the Replace box, but you should at least
see a square box. Click the Add button, and
your new entry will be added. Now when
you type the set of characters that you
chose for the emoji, the image that you
chose will be
inserted into
your message.
If you choose
an animated GIF,
it won’t appear
correctly in
Outlook, but if
the person to
whom you’re
sending the email
has support for
animated GIFs, it ⬆ You can add emojis to
should appear Outlook’s AutoCorrect
correctly. list to use in messages
123
 Help
Helpfile
Whatever your general PC, hardware and software
woes, Simon Handby is here to help
Send your problems to help@computershopper.co.uk
Sharing, but not with everyone
I am part of a small group of robust men
in their 70s who take regular walks out in
the countryside, followed by long pub
lunches and a couple of pints of ale. I am
the photographer and would like to set up
a website that my pals and their families
can use to see what happened each week.
I don’t want a following of any kind; I
want to limit it to our small closed group.
I’ve got no experience of social
media, but I think that two of the
options might be YouTube and Facebook.
There are probably others, but I don’t
know which is best. Can you give me
some guidance on how to achieve this
while still not attracting any significant
public attention?
Roger Taylor
As you suggest, there are a huge number of
social networks that will let you share your
photos, so it’s a case of finding the one that
both displays them in a way that makes
sense to you, and lets you keep control of
who sees them. YouTube is specifically
geared to the sharing of videos, so you can
discount that from the start. The key
remaining options would be Facebook,
Instagram, Flickr and Google Photos.
You can probably rule Instagram out
quite quickly. As the name implies, it’s very
much geared to the instant sharing of
photos in a public timeline. You can make
WorkForce management
My Epson WorkForce WF-3540DTWF
has never given me any trouble, until
today. In the middle of printing, it
stopped, gave an error beep, and told
me to turn it off and on again. I thought
it would be a momentary problem, but
now when I try to turn it back on it just
beeps again and tells me the printer has
failed with error code 0XFA. All it can
suggest is that I turn it off and on again.
I’ve tried switching the power off at the
mains for a few minutes, and I’ve
checked under the scanner, but there’s
no paper jam. Is it dead?
Ian Storey
124
your feed private to you and your approved
followers, but only from the Android or iOS
app, and while you can create albums, these
are comparatively basic.
Facebook supports albums, and you can
control who sees them up to a point, but only
if everyone you want to share them with has
their own Facebook account. If not, you’ll
need to make an album public. Facebook has
lots of other distractions, and not everyone is
happy to use it, so if your main purpose is to
share photos it’s also not ideal.
Flickr and Google Photos are probably the
best choices. Both offer free accounts, both
let you upload huge numbers of photos either
at the original or a reduced resolution, and
both let you mark photos as private so that
they won’t be visible to the public. The photos
The 0XFA error message is pretty
vague, but it seems that it’s usually
caused by a paper jam.
Epson’s WorkForce printers
typically show a specific alert for
paper jams occurring around the print
heads, but we’ve seen them get
unsettled if the jam occurs in the
duplex unit at the rear. Turn off the
printer, turn it around and open the
rear compartment. If you find some
paper stuck there, remove it carefully
and be sure to retrieve the entire
sheet. The printer should work ⬆ Epson’s WorkForce WF-3540DTWF: usually the biggest
perfectly when you next turn it on. problem is remembering all those letters
⬅ Both Flickr and Google Photos
(pictured) let you share a link to a
private album
you take appear in a timeline
with the newest first, but you
can put them into albums: one
for each walk, for example.
In both services, you can
create a shareable link to an
album (simply a URL people can
click on), and email that to
everyone who needs access.
Only people with this link
would be able to see the photos.
While both Flickr and Google Photos focus
on still images, they’ll also let you share
videos if you sometimes shoot those.
It’s hard to recommend one over the
other. Flickr is owned by Yahoo!, so if you
already have a Yahoo! email address you
can log in and start using it straight away.
Similarly, a free Google account gives you
15GB of storage, which includes Google
Photos. We’d suggest uploading a batch of
photos to each service, putting them in an
album, playing around with the options
and seeing which one you like the most.
Don’t forget to check the privacy on each
platform to be sure you’ve understood how
it works; ask someone to try viewing your
profile without sending them any links and
check they can’t see your photos.
FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360
 HELPFILE

Stuck update Not now,

A few days ago my Windows 10 PC
updated itself, and I allowed it to install
updates and shut down. Yesterday I
switched it back on and waited while it
finished updating, but all I got was a
black screen and a message box about
personalised settings.
I’m not sure if it was something I
did, but after a time this disappeared
leaving me just with a black screen and
a mouse cursor. I tried waiting, then I
tried turning it off and on again, but I ⬆ Windows 10 offers plenty of recovery options, but it’s a
still end up with a black screen. Did the shame System Restore is off by default
update break my PC?
Sally Carpenter
It’s probably not anything you did, but it does
sound like something went wrong with the
final stage of the update. The first thing we’d
suggest is to boot into Safe Mode: start the
PC, and when the cursor appears press
Ctrl-Alt-Del and click the power icon at the
bottom right of the screen. Hold down Shift
and select Restart, then wait a few moments
and you should see an options screen. Select
Troubleshoot, then Advanced options, then
Start-up Settings and choose Restart, then
choose option four to enable Safe Mode.
If the computer boots successfully into
Safe Mode, you’ll probably find that after
another restart it will boot normally into
Windows. If not, retrace the steps above to
get into the Advanced options menu. If
you’ve previously enabled System Restore on
your PC, select that option, then log in as
prompted and follow the prompts until you
see the list of restore points; choose the one
before the most recent updates, click Next
and allow the restore process to complete.
If you see the message ‘No restore points
have been created on your computer’s
system drive’, or if you’re still unable to
reboot after the restore completes, again
follow the steps above to get to the
advanced options, but this time select
Start-up Repair. Log in when prompted
and allow Windows to diagnose and
attempt to fix the problem.
By now your computer should start
normally. If you haven’t already, we’d
recommend enabling System Restore; not
only is it off by default in Windows 10, but
with each new feature update Microsoft
switches it off again. From Windows, open
the Start Menu and search for System
Restore then select Create a restore point
from the results. Select your system drive,
click Configure, select Turn on system
protection and click OK. For most people, the
default 5% disk space setting should suffice.
Google
A few months ago I replaced my Android
phone with a Moto G5 Plus, which at
some point prompted me to opt into
the Google Assistant. I’ve not been
impressed. I assume it’s something about
my phone, but whereas voice searches
with ‘OK Google…’ used to be practical,
now the phone takes an age to respond
and start listening for my query, then an
age to resolve it and come up with any
results or suggestions. Often I’ll lose
patience and try to use the navigation
keys to cancel the search, at which point
Android will tell me that Google Search
isn’t responding, and ask whether I want
to wait or close it.
I’ve also found the ‘card’ notifications
pointless and a bit intrusive. Every time I
go to a café, walk past a station or sit in
an office, the phone waves timetables in
my face or wants me to leave a review.
Through trial and error, I switched off
most of them, but still, if I leave the
phone alone for an hour or so it wants to
tell me about the weather when I next
unlock the screen. Is there an option to
just get rid of all the extra noise and go
back to simple ‘OK Google’ searches?
One other thing: I’ve noticed a
white notification light, hidden in the
speaker grill above the screen, but I
can’t get this to work with any of my
apps. Is there a way?
Max Moore

Your problems relate to two separate

Stale mail Google Search features. It’s possible

I had a POP3 email account configured on my Android phone, but I recently discovered
that it’s easier to use my main Gmail account to also send and receive mails for that
address. Now I’ve set that up I no longer need the POP3 account on my phone, but I can’t
work out how to delete it. It’s listed when I go into
the phone settings and view my accounts, but if I
select it, there’s no delete option on the menu. If I
go into Account settings it just takes me to the
email account configuration page, which doesn’t
let you remove an account.
Can you help me get rid of it? I keep selecting
it by mistake when I’m switching between other
accounts in the Gmail app.
Ronan Mitchell
This has caught us out before, but the option to
delete an account is hiding in plain sight. Go back into
the phone settings and view your accounts. Select
your POP3 account and tap the area which shows the
sync status and email address; it’s not immediately
obvious, but this takes you to another sub-menu.
Tap the three dots at the top right here, and you’ll
finally see a Remove account option. Select this,
⬆ Removing a POP3 account from Android provide confirmation and it will be gone; remember
is a well-hidden option to back up your mails or contacts first if needed.
to turn them both off, but the options
are almost as well hidden as the
planning application to demolish
Arthur Dent’s home.
First, disable Google Assistant by
opening the phone’s settings, scrolling
down and selecting Google, then Search.
Under Google Assistant tap Settings,
then under Devices tap Phone, and finally
you’ll see a slider switch to disable it.
You should now find that voice searches
worked as they did before.
To stop the additional notifications, tap
the back arrow in the top left corner twice
until you’re back in the Google settings.
Under Search, scroll down and tap Your
feed, then turn the Notifications slider off.
Regarding the Moto G5 Plus’s
notification light, unfortunately this can’t
be enabled without rooting the phone,
which we don’t generally recommend.
We assume the reason is that your phone
shows notifications on its ‘always on’
display, but of course the display only
wakes up when you move the phone.

ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018 125

 Advanced
Projects
Clive Webster has been tinkering with computers ever since
Windows 98 forced him to manually install his drivers
clive@computershopper.co.uk

Secure your laptop

There are many way to make your laptop safer, and most of them are either
free or inexpensive. We show you how to lock down your portable PC
WHETHER YOU’RE WORKING in a café, checking
emails at the airport or you just don’t trust your kids,
it’s useful to prevent other people accessing
your laptop. This article won’t go over the
obvious advice; you’ve surely already got a
strong password, know the merits of using a
VPN and keep all your software up to date.
Instead, we’ll focus on tools and gadgets
that specifically make your laptop more
secure when you’re out in the big wild world.

126 FEBRUARY
FEBRUA
FEB RY 2018
RUARY
RUA 2018 | COMPUTER
COMPUT
COM ER SHOPPER
PUTER SHO | ISSUE
UE 360
 ADVANCED PROJECTS

A DILEMMA WHEN working in a public place

is what to do when nature calls. Do you pack
everything up and take everything with you
when you go to the loo? Or do you leave
everything on the table and trust your fellow
café goers or airport lingerers?
Predator (see www.predator-usb.com)
solves the problem by offering a quicker and
more secure alternative to just logging out.
By writing a special keycode to any old USB
drive, you can lock your laptop by just
unplugging your drive, and unlock it by
plugging the drive back in again. And unlike
the standard Windows Lock screen, Predator
will disable your keyboard and trackpad, so
there’s no way to force a reboot of your
laptop when you’re away.
Predator installs as a 10-day trial, so you
get a decent amount of time to see whether it
will work for you or not. After that, the Home
version costs $10 (around £7.50) while the
Professional version costs $15 without
support or $30 with (around £11 or £23
respectively). The Professional version adds
a few extras, such as tracking elements, but
you can get bespoke tracking software for
free (see ‘Tracking software’, page 129).

INSTALLING PREDATOR
Once you’ve downloaded Predator, unzip the
file and run the PredatorPackage Windows
Installer Package. You’ll probably be warned
by Windows Defender SmartScreen that
running this file might put your PC at risk, but
click More Info and then ‘Run anyway’ –
Predator is legitimate, it’s just not on
Microsoft’s list of known applications.
You can click Next at every step of the
install process, although User Account
Control could kick in to ask if you really want
to install the application. Launch Predator
from the desktop, and it will ask you to
define a password and to register a key.
Insert any USB drive and click OK to create
your Predator master password. Since
Predator only writes a 1KB file to the USB
⬆ There are a few options in Predator you’ll need to change immediately
drive (rather than formatting the drive), you
can use a small old drive, or a large USB3
device you use for other purposes.
The advice for passwords these days is
for long but memorable passwords rather
than short but complex ones. Get Safe
Online (see www.getsafeonline.org)
recommends using three random words, and
only adding special characters and oddly
placed capitals for very strong passwords.
Because password cracking relies mostly on
‘brute-strengthening’ each character of a
password, a longer password in plain English
will take longer for a hack bot to crack than
a short jumble of random characters and
symbols. Add to that the likelihood that an
alien jumble of characters is so hard to
remember that it’s likely the human user
will write it down somewhere, and it’s more
likely that the password ‘c8^nE’ will be
cracked easily while ‘manymelonhorses’ will
prove much harder.

DRIVE TIME
Once you’ve chosen your master password,
you need to assign a drive. The USB drive you
inserted should already be shown in the
drop-down list. If it’s not, tick the ‘List fixed’
box, as some USB drives can show up in
Windows as fixed drives rather than
removable ones. You can cross-check drive
letters by opening Explorer with Windows-E.
Click OK and you’ll see a green circle appear in
the System Tray: Predator is armed and active.
However, you’ll want to change a few
settings straight away. Right-click the
Predator icon in the System Tray and select
Preferences. Enable AutoStart with Windows
and decrease the Read interval to 10. This
change means that Predator will check
⬆ You might want to change some of Predator’s Alarm options, too whether the USB key is in place every 10

ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018 127

 ADVANCED PROJECTS

⬆ The iDoo Mini USB Fingerprint Reader is tiny, costs £27 and adds super-quick logins to any laptop

seconds. You’ll want to increase the Write
Interval too, as this will give you longer before
the keycode on the USB drive becomes too
old; 600 (10 minutes) should you give you
enough time to order another latte, or attend
to the consequences of its predecessors.
If you’re a superspy on a budget, leaving the
Write Interval at 60 gives your enemies only
one minute to either steal or clone your USB
drive and use that to unlock your
laptop. If the keycode on the USB
drive expires, you’ll just have to
enter your master password
manually to unlock your laptop.
The Alarm options tab has a
number of attractive options. The
Sensitivity setting sets how many
keypresses are required to bring
up the manual login option.
The default is Medium, which
requires three key presses, while
Low requires five rapid key presses
and High just the one. Do not use
the Disable option as this prevents
manual unlocking of your laptop.
The Commands section (Event
and Action) allows you to modify
what happens after an event, and is
also best left alone. Enabling a
schedule could also create more
problems than it solves. The idea is
that you can set a ‘working hours’
schedule, outside of which Predator
will lock the laptop. ⬆ It looks like you should wait for confirmation that your current finger
Once you’ve altered whichever of press has been recognised; in fact, just keep lifting and pressing your
Predator’s options look useful, click finger regardless of the message
OK and you can start using a USB drive to
thoroughly lock down your laptop.
DYNAMIC LOCK
Windows 10 has an option to automatically
lock your computer when your phone goes
out of Bluetooth range called Dynamic Lock.
If the Bluetooth connection between your
laptop and smartphone is broken, Windows
assumes you’ve moved away from your
laptop and locks it. However, Bluetooth can
have quite a long range these days – perhaps
10m or more – so Dynamic Lock might only
be handy for automatically locking your PC
when you pop out for lunch.
To enable Dynamic Lock, go to Settings,
Devices. Click Add Bluetooth or other device,
and then click Bluetooth. Make sure that your
phone is visible and then pair it to
your computer. Next, go to Settings,
Accounts, Sign-in options and select
the box labelled ‘Allow Windows to
detect when you’re away and
automatically lock the device’.
ADD BIOMETRICS
There’s some truth to the Hollywood
fiction that biometric security is
flawed, although it’s not as bloody
as the movies often make out.
Biometric logins depend on a
scanned thing (such as a fingerprint,
eye or face) matching the patterns
described in a digital file. While any
fool can look over your shoulder and
note down your password, only a
select few have the skills to hack a
secure biometric file. A fingerprint
reader also prevents keylogging
software capturing your password as
you type it, and makes logging into
your laptop quicker and cooler.
Amazon has a range of suspiciously
similar Mini USB fingerprint readers;
we opted for iDoo’s for £27.

128 FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360

 ADVANCED PROJECTS

Tracking
software
Should the worst happen and someone
filches your laptop, there are still ways
to keep to it secure, and possibly even
retrieve it. Prey (see www.preyproject.
com) offers a free version that allows
you to track up to three devices,
including iOS and Android devices.
If your laptop (or smartphone or tablet)
is stolen, you need to log into Prey’s
website and mark the device as missing.
For the best results, on supported
devices, also enable Geo to use a
computer’s GPS hardware to locate the
device, and Network to include the
names of any networks it can see.
Please don’t try to recover your
laptop yourself, though, as superheroes
should stay on the silver screen.
Instead, contact the police and share
the regular Prey updates with them.

Plug in the iDoo and wait until Windows
notifies you that the ‘Synpatics WBDI
Fingerprint Reader – USB 052’ setup has
completed; you might need to be online for
this. Open the Sign-in options menu (search
the Start menu for ‘sign’) and click Set up
under Fingerprint. If the option is greyed out,
you’ll have to set a login password first.
The process is fairly well explained, except
for the actual scanning of the fingerprint.
Ignore the prompts and just keep lifting
and pressing the fingerprint reader until
the fingerprint pattern is completed. Try to
press your fingertip at slightly different
angles so the small sensor can build up a
picture of your entire fingertip.
You should register multiple fingertips,
just in case you suffer a horrible accident, or
your finger is muddy, scratched or clogged
with paint. You should also set up a PIN, just
in case something goes wrong with the
fingerprint software or hardware. Once done,
sign out of Windows to try logging in with
just your fingerprint.
To use your USB fingerprint reader with preferred browser) and ask you whether you
websites and other passwords you’ll need to want to install the PQI add-on. Do so and
download and install the PQIKeySFInstaller file close IE. Then press the ‘add’ button again,
from tinyurl.com/pqi-softw. Click Ignore on any head to the website you want to log in to
‘no dongle found’ errors when installing. automatically, enter your login details as
normal, and you should see a dialog box from
AT YOUR FINGERTIPS PQI asking whether you want to save those
To use your fingerprint reader to log into details. Click OK. Repeat the process for all
websites, launch PQI’s Secure File software your favourite websites. Those details won’t
and click the Web Login button. You’ll need to appear in the list until you click the Exit
scan your fingertip (using a finger previously button and re-open this Web Login.
Any fool can look over your shoulder at your password, but
only a select few have the skills to hack a biometric file
set up for Windows Hello) and then you can The Secure File software also adds file- and
start adding logins by clicking the green Plus folder-encryption. Just right-click on an item
button on the PQI KEY screen that appears. and you’ll see two new options, PQI KEY File
This process is a little clunky at first. Once Encryption and Encryption For Share.
you press the ‘add’ button, Internet Explorer Choosing the former just encrypts the file.
will launch (not even Edge, let alone your To decrypt it, right-click the file and select

⬆ It’s not the most elegant, but PQI’s Secure Key software adds useful abilities for your fingerprint reader

ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018 129

 ADVANCED PROJECTS
⬆ You can use the slightly clunky PQI software to use your fingerprint reader
to log into websites
PQI KEY File Decryption to use your fingertip
to unencrypt it. If you choose ‘Encrypt For
Share’ you’ll be prompted to create a
password for the file or folder, which you
share with the recipient. Don’t send this
password with the file, and preferably not via
the same medium. Instead, email the file and
text the password, for example.
If you’re particularly worried about
someone stealing your files, you need to be
aware that it is possible to remove a laptop’s
hard disk and access its files via a second PC.
To counter this threat you might want to
automatically encrypt your entire Documents
folder. FreeOTFE (see sourceforge.net/
projects/freeotfe.mirror) is a free tool that
does exactly that.
⬆ The Epic web browser is stripped back and locked down for maximum privacy and security
130
⬆ You can even use the fingerprint reader to encrypt and decrypt your
files and folders
A MORE SECURE BROWSER
The above tricks can protect you from threats
in the physical world, but what about online?
Using a VPN will hide your communications
online, while anti-virus software should protect
you from nasties that might get through
even if you keep all your software up to date
(try Flexera’s Personal Software Inspector to
make that job easier; see www.flexera.com/
enterprise). But you could make yourself even
more secure by using a specific, locked-down
browser when computing in the wild.
While typical browsers such as Chrome,
Firefox and Opera are pretty secure, there are
browsers specifically set up to protect your
privacy and strip out all non-essential
functions to enhance your security. For a
really stripped back browser, try Epic (see
epicbrowser.com). Epic won’t save passwords,
has no web or DNS cache and even prevents
spellchecking. Your searches are hosted on
Epic’s servers, meaning they can’t be linked to
your IP address, and there’s comprehensive
ad- and tracker-blocking. When you close Epic
it deletes every trace of your browsing
session, and there’s even an ‘encrypted proxy’
mode that acts like a pseudo-VPN.
NEXT MONTH
UPGRADE OFFICE
We show you how to add extra abilities
and functions to Microsoft Office for free
FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360
Multimedia
Expert
Photographer, musician, sound engineer, designer and video
producer Ben Pitt guides you through a multimedia project
ben@computershopper.co.uk

Music
notation
Discover the orchestral
arranger you never knew
was in you with our
beginner’s guide to
Sibelius First

ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018 131

 MULTIMEDIA EXPERT
⬆ Sibelius First excels at producing attractive, legible scores with minimal effort
MOST PEOPLE WILL have some experience
of music notation, whether it’s from
instrumental lessons as a child, composing
for GCSE or O-level music, or perhaps
playing in an orchestra. Performing music
doesn’t end when you leave school, though,
and the same is true for notation. It allows
groups of people to make music together
with the minimum of rehearsals, and keeps
everyone aiming for the same musical goals.
Whether it’s for a community choir or big
band, string arrangements for a pop song
or music for a local theatre group, there are
lots of reasons to give it a go.
The barrier is that it’s often seen as a
highly specialised skill, and one that most of
us have long forgotten since we left school.
Admittedly, notation can feel like learning a
language, as it’s full of idiosyncratic rules
and mysterious symbols. Fortunately,
software can unravel some of these
132
mysteries. Notation software has these rules
built in, so the experience is more like getting
back on a bicycle than being plunged into a
foreign language.
We’re using Avid Sibelius First for this
tutorial because it’s excellent and not too
expensive. It costs £120 to buy outright, £59
Notation can feel like learning a language. Fortunately,
software can unravel some of these mysteries
for a one-year subscription or £6 for a rolling
monthly subscription. The latter is ideal for
people who don’t necessarily need to use it
regularly and perhaps just have a couple of
projects per year they want to work on.
Sibelius First is the cut-down version of
Avid Sibelius, which is the industry-leading
notation application. Sibelius First is limited to
16 staves (most instruments require a stave
each, but keyboard instruments use two) and
omits certain features aimed at
classrooms and for creating
unconventional scores.
Even so, it’s more
than up to the job of producing scores for
small and medium-sized ensembles.
There’s a 30-day trial version available,
which is fully functioning except that the
built-in sounds for score playback aren’t
included. It may be possible to use Sibelius
First in conjunction with a third-party General
MIDI synthesizer but it works more elegantly
with its built-in sounds. Try the demo to get
a feel for the software, but if you decide to
use it on a project it’s worth purchasing or
taking out a subscription.
GET YOUR BEARINGS
One thing we really like about Sibelius is its
ability to produce attractive scores with
minimal effort, while also offering the ability
to customise their appearance if you prefer.
However, while it’s quick to use, it could be
more intuitive. Its heavy reliance on keyboard
shortcuts really speeds up note entry once
you know what you’re doing, but it can leave
new users feeling bewildered. The main aim of
this article is to get you up to speed.
FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360
 MULTIMEDIA EXPERT

Orchestration tips
Most of this article covers the process of creating musical scores,
but there are lots of creative decisions to make too. If you’re
arranging a well-known song, your choice of instruments and the
notes they play will be guided by the song, but even then you can
afford to take some creative leeway depending on the instruments
at your disposal and the ability of the players.
Whether you’re arranging an existing piece or composing
from scratch, here are a few tips to help keep your musicians
happy and the music sounding great.
Most instruments can play a wide range of pitches, but there’s
a smaller range where they sound at their best. Try to avoid the
extremes of their ranges unless you’re looking for a special
effect, such as screechy high strings.
Dynamics (volume) markings can bring an arrangement to
life, and especially swells for string and brass instruments.
Don’t leave everyone playing at the same volume all the way
through, however.
String instruments are generally quieter than other orchestral
instruments, so consider using two or four performers on
each part to boost the volume and thicken the tone. If you
want a single player for a particular passage, add a ‘solo’
technique instruction (Ctrl-T, right click, solo). To cancel, use
‘tutti’ (Italian for ‘all’).
Remember that wind instrument players need to breathe. Ensure
there are gaps every couple of bars, and give them a longer rest
every now and then so they can catch their breath properly.
Only use guitar TAB if you can check that it’s playable. Chords
spread across lots of frets won’t be possible, and even some
tight groupings might not be. It’s often easier just to give chord
names to guitar players and let them figure it out.
Most drummers will feel stifled by detailed drum notation.
Perhaps give them a basic pattern to play but let them come up
with their own fills and embellishments.

Once you’ve installed the software, you’ll
be greeted with the Quick Start dialog box.
The Score Starter tab is useful for getting
a flavour of the interface before starting
work in earnest. Select a score and click
Choose to load it.
There are various ways to navigate the
score, but the simplest is to click and drag an
empty part of the page. The mouse wheel is
handy, too: on its own it scrolls up and down,
but you can also use the Ctrl, Shift and Alt
keys to zoom, scroll left and right, or to jump
between pages. Big scores can still be
unwieldy, so the Navigator panel is useful to
jump to a particular section. Click the View
tab at the top and enable the Navigator in the
Panels section. The default view is to show
pages as they’ll be printed, but for note entry,
it’s often easier to show the score as a single,
infinitely wide page. This is available by
clicking the View tab, Panorama.
TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT
Transport controls are located in the Play
tab but it’s useful to have these available all
the time, so enable the Transport panel too.
This also includes a slider to zip back and
forth through the score. If you’re running
the full version of Sibelius First rather than
the trial version, hit play and you’ll hear the
score being played back. Sound quality is
good rather than great and the volume
levels can be misleading, but it’s a really
useful tool to make sure you’ve entered
the right notes and timing. To change the
volume levels, open the Mixer panel and
adjust the faders. There are also options
to change distortion levels on guitars,
reverb on vocals and so on.
To hear a single instrument in isolation,
click on a bar for that instrument to highlight
it and hit Play. Be careful to select the bar
rather than a specific note.
While you’re here, feel free to drag a few
things around to see what happens. Dragging

ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018 133

 MULTIMEDIA EXPERT
⬆ Use the score templates to get a feel for what’s possible
a note up and down changes its pitch, which
makes sense. If you go too low or too high
for that particular instrument, it will turn red.
That’s a warning to show that the note is out
of that instrument’s range. A dark red note
means it’s hard but not impossible to reach
the note in question.
Drag a note left or right and Sibelius will
adjust the amount of space given to that
note, but it won’t affect the timing. This is
useful for complex passages that look
cramped and need some extra space,
The options let you define the time signature, tempo and
key signature, and add a title, composer and so on. You can
set the tempo in beats per minute or as a text instruction
although the software usually handles this
automatically. Gaps between each stave can
be more of an issue; drag an empty part of
a bar to adjust the gap between it and the
stave above. Lots of things in Sibelius can be
adjusted by dragging, but it’s important to
note that the note pitch is the only one that
is materially affected. For everything else,
dragging simply changes the score’s
appearance and not its content.
134
LAYING OUT YOUR SCORE
Let’s start again with a blank canvas. Click
File, New, select the New Score tab and
choose the template called Blank. In some
cases, it’s quicker to select one of the other
templates but let’s start from scratch.
On the next page there are options to
define the page size, orientation and house
style. The latter sets the group of fonts used
both for text and the notes themselves.
Standard Opus (Plantin) looks smart and
modern but feel free to try some others.
The Change Instruments button launches
another dialog box where you define what
instruments appear in your score. Locate
one from the list on the left and use the
Add to Score button to add one or more
instances of that instrument. Note that
fretboard instruments have options to be
written as standard notation or TAB,
whereby notes are represented by
numbers on lines that relate to a fret on
a string. It’s up to you and your performer as
to which is easier to read.
Some instrument names are a little
unusual, such as ‘violoncello’ rather than
the more familiar ‘cello’, and ‘drum set’
rather than ‘drum kit’. Just add them for
now, and later you can click on the name as
it appears in the score itself to rename it.
Instruments are ordered according to
standard orchestral score layout, but this
makes less sense for pop arrangements.
If necessary, adjust the order with the
Move buttons. Click OK to see your score
beginning to take shape.
The remaining options let you define the
time signature, tempo and key signature,
and add a title, composer and so on. Some
people prefer to set the tempo in beats per
minute (bpm), but it’s nice to add a text
instruction such as Allegro or Andante too.
If these Italian terms are unfamiliar to you
or your performers, you can choose to go
for an English option instead.
All of these markings can be amended
later, including time and key signatures, and
tempi that change in the middle of the
arrangement. To add, remove or reorder
instruments, click the Home tab, Add or
remove. To change time and key signatures,
select the bars you want to apply the
change to, visit the Notations tab and use
FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360

⬆ The New Score dialog box is where you define the key and time signature
the buttons in the Common tab. You’ll also
find options here to add repeat marks and
change the clef for a particular instrument.
NOTE INPUT
It’s about time we got some notes into this
score. There are lots of ways to do this, some
of which are obvious but slow while others
are less obvious but faster.
Hit the N key on the keyboard to enter
note entry mode. The cursor will turn blue
and, hovering over a stave, you’ll see the
note you’re about to draw when you click.
The length of this note is defined by the
Keypad panel that should be hovering in
the bottom-right of the screen. Enable it
from the View tab if it’s not.
The Keypad panel mirrors the number
pad on your keyboard, so you can quickly
select note lengths using keys 1 through to 6.
There are various other options here, too.
The decimal point key creates a dotted note,
increasing its length by a factor of 50%.
Keys 7, 8 and 9 add natural, sharp and flat
accidentals for notes that aren’t in the current
key signature. The keys above add
articulations – accent, staccato and tenuto –
to a note. Then there’s the zero key, which
adds a rest for the note length currently
selected. To create a chord, simply add
multiple notes in a stack with the mouse.
ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018
For all these commands, the technique is
to define what type of note you want, then
add the note to the stave. The exception is
when you need a tie to join a note up to the
next one. This is useful for syncopated notes
that span the downbeat, such as a note that
comes in just before the beginning of a bar
and carries on into the next bar. Hitting the
Enter key on the keypad adds a tie to the last
note that was entered rather than the one
about to be entered. Note that a tie between
two notes is different to a slur that joins two
or more notes and helps the performer with
phrasing. They look pretty similar, but Sibelius
interprets them differently.
If you need to adjust a pitch, just use
the up and down cursor keys directly after
MULTIMEDIA EXPERT
entering it. To change the note length,
accidentals or articulation, hit the N key again
to leave note entry mode and then select the
note or notes in question. Hold down the Ctrl
or Shift key while clicking to select multiple
or a range of notes. You can then use the
number pad to adjust note lengths and toggle
other modifiers on and off.
The mouse is reasonably intuitive for
entering notes, but it’s quite slow. A quicker
method is to use the keys A to G on the
QWERTY keyboard. This not only makes
them easier to reach but also means you can
proceed automatically to the next note. If you
need to jump up or down the octave, hold
down the Ctrl key while pressing the up or
down cursor keys to change the last note
that was inputted. This command works
with any selected notes, and is a handy way
to shift octaves of larger sections of music
too. Chords are trickier in this method but
not impossible. Add a note and then use
the number keys above the
QWERTY keyboard to add
notes a third, fourth or fifth
higher, and so on. Hold down
the Shift key to add notes
that are lower than the
selected one.
135
 MULTIMEDIA EXPERT
⬆ Use hyphens and double spaces when entering lyrics so Sibelius knows how the words fit the notes
Yet another method of entering notes is
to use an onscreen virtual MIDI keyboard,
available via the View tab, Panels. There’s also
a Fretboard panel here, which is ideal for
entering TAB notation. Another option is to
add TAB notes with the mouse and then use
the numbers above the QWERTY keys to
define which fret should be played.
For normal noteheads, a MIDI keyboard is
probably the best option if you have one
available. It’s quick, there’s no confusion
about which octave you want and it’s easy
to add chords. It also means you can play
sharps and flats directly rather than via the
keypad panel. Sibelius may use the wrong
accidental, such as writing an A# as a Bb.
It’s the same note but it usually makes
sense to write it a certain way depending
on the composition. You can convert it –
known as an enharmonic shift – simply by
hitting the Return key.
136
We’ve already covered how to select a
passage using the Shift and Ctrl keys. You can
then use Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V to copy and paste
selections, not just to different bars but also
across to different instruments. An even
quicker way to do this is to select some
Lyrics are handled elegantly by Sibelius. Start typing
the lyrics and the software will automatically assign
words to notes, adjusting spaces as necessary
notes and then Alt-click elsewhere to copy
and paste in a single action, or type R to
repeat the current selection.
ARTICULATION
So far your performers will know what notes
and rhythms to perform but not necessarily
how to perform them. We covered three
articulation marks – accent,
staccato and tenuto –
earlier because they appear on the Keypad
panel, but there are lots more. At the top of
the Keypad there are six buttons that act as
tabs, changing the role of the number pad
buttons. Here you’ll find markings for
tremolo, marcato, up and down bows,
arpeggios and lots more besides. Depending
on your command of Italian, you may need to
look up the meaning of these in the PDF
manual, or Google it.
Other articulations can be found under the
Notations tab, grouped as Lines and Symbols.
These include slurs, trills, glissandi and pedal
marks. To add one, select a note and then
click the marking you want. The beginning of
a line is attached to a specific note but you
can extend its length simply by dragging it.
In most cases, Sibelius will have a go at
interpreting the markings in its playback.
The Lines section also includes hairpin
crescendo and decrescendo markings for
FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360
 MULTIMEDIA EXPERT

Transposing instruments
For most instruments, when
you write a note, that’s the note
they play. However, transposing
instruments aren’t so
accommodating. For example, ask
a Trumpet in Bb to play a C and it
will play a Bb. Every note it plays
is a tone lower than what is
written, so to get a C you need to
write a D. There are lots of
instruments that do this:
clarinets are in Bb or A, the
French horn and cor anglais are
in F, and various saxophones are
in Bb or Eb. When arranging for
them, you’ll not only need to
transpose the notes but also
convert the key signature. It’s
enough to melt the brain when
arranging for these instruments.
Thankfully, Sibelius handles
all of this for you. By default, all
instruments are written in
concert pitch, which means
what you see is what you get.
However, visit the Home tab and
press the Transposing Score
button and any transposing
instruments will be automatically
converted. Just keep an eye out
for overlapping objects on the
page, particularly where you’ve ⬆ Sibelius automatically takes care of transposing instruments such as saxophones and French horns,
manually moved them. putting them into a different key so it all sounds correct

making the volume gradually louder and
softer. Setting a specific volume for an
instrument is done using dynamics markings:
pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff. These are abbreviations
for pianissimo, mezzo forte and so on. To
add one, select a note and type Ctrl-E for
Expression, and then right-click to select
from the list of available options.
There are various other Expression
markings available via the Ctrl-E command,
plus Technique markings that are available by
typing Ctrl-T and right-clicking. These include
string playing styles such as pizzicato, tremolo
and arco. The difference between Expression
and Technique markings is simply that the
former appear below the stave and the latter
appear above. Ultimately, you can write
whatever you like anywhere on the score by
hitting Ctrl-E or Ctrl-T and then typing.
Lyrics are handled elegantly by Sibelius.
Select the first note in a passage and type
Ctrl-L to begin. Start typing the lyrics and the
software will automatically assign words to
notes, adjusting spaces as necessary. If a word
contains more than one syllable, add a hyphen
between them so each syllable is assigned to
its own note. If a single syllable is held over
two or more notes, use a double or triple
space and Sibelius will add a line to instruct
the singer accordingly. It’s good practice to
also add a slur to the note heads where a
syllable is held for multiple notes, so select
the first note in question, type S for slur and
extend its length if necessary.
SCORES AND PARTS
You’ll need a full score for the conductor or
arranger to refer to, but each musician only
needs their own part when playing. Sibelius
makes it easy to extract individual parts and
customise their appearance.
Right-click the strip just below the tabs at
the top where it says Full Score and select
one of the parts to view. In some cases there
won’t be anything else to do, but it’s often
helpful to adjust the layout to make it more
legible. Adjustments to the location of objects
in parts won’t affect the full score. The Layout
tab has some useful tools, such as System
Break for starting a new line, and Page Break
for a new page. Select a bar line and click
these buttons. Make sure that performers
have time to turn the page.
The Hide Empty Staves button is useful for
tidying pages in the full score where certain
instruments don’t have anything to play on a
particular page. Another useful button is
Rehearsal Mark, located in the Text tab. Select
a bar and press this button to add a rehearsal
mark. These normally appear at the start of
each block of music, although you don’t need
one at the start of the piece. They make it
much easier to rehearse the piece in sections
and help players find where they are.
FINAL SCORE
When your score is complete, you can
export it as PDFs via the File, Export menu.
There are options to export just the score,
score and parts, and so on. The Home tab
also includes a cloud sharing option,
allowing performers to view scores using
the free Avid Scorch iPad app.
There are lots of other features in Sibelius
First and even more in the full version of
Sibelius, but the ones described above should
be enough to get your ideas down on paper.
Producing a score can be hard work but it’s
hugely rewarding hearing it come to life with
real instruments.
NEXT MONTH
RECORDING ACOUSTIC
INSTRUMENTS
Whether it’s an acoustic guitar or a
full orchestra, our guide will ensure
your arrangements sound as good on
record as they do in the flesh

ISSUE 360 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | FEBRUARY 2018 137

 PARTING SHOTS
Zygote
His good name has been hijacked by Google and besmirched by hackers, but that won’t
stop Zygote continuing the battle against computerised idiocy and corruption
OMG
Anthony Levandowski is a man
who keeps his eyes on the road.
After helping launch Google
Street View, he went on to
program the company’s
self-driving car, not to mention
the first riderless motorcycle
and a fleet of robot trucks.
Then he hit the tarmac again
designing software for Uber.
But now he’s lifted his eyes
to heaven. Levandowski is
building a brand new robot god,
and he invites us all to come and
worship at its feet and thereby
save the world. In fact, he has
declared himself President of
the Way of the Future, with a
mission to “develop and promote
a Godhead based on artificial
intelligence, and through worship
of the Godhead contribute to the
betterment of society”.
Zygote thinks this really is a
miracle, and it’s about time God
sent us a Messenger who knows
how to run a proper taxi service.
SCRAMBLE DREGS
Zygote is the bearer of bad news
if you happen to use Microsoft
Outlook to encrypt your emails.
Please don’t use the standard
public key encryption known as
S/MIME, which is built into
common operating systems.
A bug in the Microsoft software
means that any message on a
network connection can be
intercepted and read, because
the encrypted text automatically
attaches a plain text version of
the same email. Although this
may be useful to the sender as
a record of their original
message, it rather defeats the
purpose of encrypting the
damn thing in the first place.
SON OF A GUN
Gumtree is a classified ads
website, wholly owned by eBay,
and it’s where nice people sell all
sorts of nice things to one
another. On the other hand,
Guntree is a classified ads
website for guns and ammo. So it
comes as no surprise that eBay
138
has got a bit miffed that its
copyright is being infringed,
particularly as it has a very
strict policy against the sale of
any sort of firearm in its
Gumtree listings. It also comes
as no surprise that the web
domain registry Nominet has
ruled against Guntree as a
deliberately abusive registration
that infringes a trademarked
name, and has ordered it to be
transferred to Gumtree with
immediate effect.
The arms dealers have tried to
appeal, on the grounds that their
new logo consists of a tree made
of guns, which they maintain
cannot be confused with a tree
made of gums. To which Zygote
concludes they nust be nad.
NAMESAKE
Since Zygote first appeared on
the final page of Computer
Shopper, this space has always
represented the interests of our
readers against the forces of
computerised idiocy and
corruption. So it is with horror
that we discover Zygote has
become synonymous with that
very idiocy and corruption itself.
For reasons best known to
Google, it decided to hijack the
name ‘Zygote’ for the device
that starts apps on its Android
operating system. And now this
imposter of a Zygote has been
infected by a very powerful
cyber attack, designed to steal
advertising revenue to the tune
of over a million quid a month.
This so-called copycat scam
injects code into Zygote to
install fake apps and adverts
that look like the real thing, but
it substitutes the user ID with
its own to rake off referral
revenues. Many Android users
think they are simply suffering
from annoying pop-ups, but in
fact they are acting as
accomplices to theft.
HACK BACK
Members of the US House of
Representatives have introduced
a bill that allows victims of
hacking to seek revenge by
turning the tables on the
cyber crooks. An amendment
to the Computer Fraud And
Abuse Act would allow the
deployment of tracers to
identify an intruder, pinpoint
their physical location, destroy
any data that’s been stolen, and
hack the hackers back.
Zygote notes with interest
that although the new bill is full
of good intentions, it is called
the Active Cyber Defense
Certainty act. This has been
abbreviated by its sponsors
to ACDC, once labelled by
Rolling Stone magazine as the
greatest rock’n’roll band of
all time. However, Zygote
reminds the US House of
FEBRUARY 2018
Representatives that AC/DC’s
greatest hit was called Highway
to Hell, which is what good
intentions end up becoming.
CINEMA GOER
It’s time for Zygote’s Golden App
of the Year Award, and the
winner of the coveted 2017
accolade goes to a vital utility
called RunPee. This is an absolute
must for any cinema fan with an
enlarged prostate, diabetes,
cystitis, or a compulsion to down
too many drinks before the film
starts, because as it says in the
RunPee advert, “movie theatres
don’t have pause buttons”.
That’s right folks, this app
means an end to bursting-
bladder misery during a night
out at the flicks, because your
phone will now vibrate gently at
the optimum moment to run and
pee during the screening of any
popular movie, without the risk
of missing a vital plot element.
The app also provides a synopsis
of the first few minutes of each
film just in case you get caught
short before the start, as well
as revealing if there are any
unmissable extras after the
end-credits before you nip off
to relieve yourself.
The fact that many
smartphones are still not
waterproof means this is a vital
public convenience, and a
worthy winner of the award.
YEARS OF
| COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 360
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