PC Format Magazine » The Magazine

PC Format 265

Matthew Hanson — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 10:27:46 +0000

Hold on to your socks because the latest issue of PC Format is in the shops and on the digital shelves right now, and it has been specifically designed by a team of advanced cyborgs to blow them off. Your socks, that is.

So how have we managed this advanced form of sock removal? For a start we look at Nvidia’s new GTX 680 and dig deep into the Kepler architecture behind it to see if it’s going to be as revolutionary as Nvidia promise.

We also have an in-depth round-up of the best SSDs out there, and analyse the current state of the market for solid state drives. If you’ve long coveted the performance increases that come with SSDs but been put off by high prices and capacity limitations, then make sure you read this.

Elsewhere in the issue we have a fantastic group test of surround sound headphones. Can these headsets really replace our 5.1 speaker systems? You’ll be surprised by the results…

We’ve also got some fantastic practical guides to create your very own triple-screen stand for the ultimate gaming experience. We also guide you through building the perfect home server – as well as explaining why this is so important. Also, if that isn’t enough we look at the latest version of Windows 8 and show you how to get it up and running on your PC quickly, easily and for free.

Reviews-wise we test out the latest Ivy Bridge motherboards, the MSI Z77A-GD65, ASUS ROG Maximus V Gene and the ASUS Sabertooth Z77, and put AMD’s new 7800 series cards – the Radeon HD 7870 and the Radeon HD 7850 – through their paces.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg – there’s plenty more in issue 265. It’s an absolute stonker of an issue, so make sure you get your hands on it.

Never miss an issue again, and grab a subscription to PC Format magazine today.
Or, grab a digital subscription of PC Format magazine via Zinio (for desktop or Android smartphone and Tablet) or if you’d prefer, via Apple Newsstand (for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch).

Alternatively, you can order a single issue of PC Format magazine over at myfavouritemagazines, or a digital issue from Zinio.

PC Format 264

Alan Dexter, Editor — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 15:03:51 +0000

The latest, greatest issue of PC Format is in the shops and on the digital shelves right now. And even though we say so ourselves, it’s stunningly good. Here’s why:

The main feature and group test this issue looks at the best high-end platforms – Intel LGA 1155, LGA 2011 or AMD AM3? If you need the best performance around, then we reveal the platform that makes the most sense – with a wealth of high-end benchmarks to prove it. We’ve got reviews of the best motherboards for each platform along with reviews of the main processors.

We’ve got a special guide on optimising your PC for the perfect performance this issue as well. Whether you need to improve the sound insulation, cooling or windows performance, we show you how to go about getting your machine up to speed.

This issue we’ve also got a round-up of the best stereo and 2.1 speaker sets. Whether you’ve got £20 or £170 we reveal the best treat for your ears.

What were the best games of the last twelve months? We scour our hard drives for the titles that stood out as being the best of the bunch. Apart from picking four of our own favourites from 2011 we also unveil our game of the year.

PC Format 264 also boasts some great reviews of the latest hardware around, including the high-end Radeon HD 7950 and the more budget oriented Radeon HD 7770 and 7750. We have a pair of stunning new screens in the labs from BenQ and AOC too, both of which are determined to rewrite quality screen pricing. Plus we’ve got the best chassis ever made, the Cooler Master Cosmos II Ultra.

It’s a cracking issue. Treat yourself to a copy. You clearly deserve it.

Alternatively, you can order a single issue of PC Format magazine over at myfavouritemagazines, or a digital issue from Zinio.

Contact PC Format

Alan Dexter, Editor — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 10:16:03 +0000

If you want to drop the team on PC Format a line, about the magazine in general or simply to speak your mind, then please you the standard PC Format mail address: pcfmail@futurenet.com. You can also follow PC Format on Twitter and on Facebook.

Of if you’d prefer you can write to us at the following address:

Editor,
PC Format,
30, Monmouth Street,
Bath,
Bath & North East Somerset,
BA1 2BW

PC Format 263

Alan Dexter, Editor — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:44:10 +0000

The latest issue of PC Format is in the shops and on the digital shelves right now. Here’s what you’ll find inside:

Now, it may seem quite obvious to us all that a rig with the main components totting up to around £3,000 would be able to slap a £300 machine silly, but what if we told you it wasn’t so cut and dried? In PC Format issue 263 we’ve side-stepped our usual benchmark obsession in favour of a more experiential test, and the results are surprising to say the least. We’ve taken two rigs, one three grand and one three ton, and sat four industry guinea pigs in front of them. It’s a blind test and then some, could you tell the difference?

Sitting in the expens-o-rig is AMD’s latest graphical behemoth, the £430 Radeon HD 7970 and we’ve got a full, in-depth review of it this issue. The standalone review is backed up by its CrossFire credentials thanks to Overclocker’s Ultima 9450i Mosasaur MKII rig, which just so happens to be packing two of the blighters. Yup that’s right, a machine with £960-worth of polygon-pushing promise.

We’ve also got a pair of £200 monitors, of the non-TN variety, one MVA Phillips and one IPS Viewsonic. And both of them rather desirable – the screen market is moving at an incredible pace at the moment, and prices appear to be heading south on a daily basis. We’ve also got Corsair’s latest line-up of peripherals, including new headset and its first ever mouse and keyboard for gamers.

Our special report in PC Format 263 sees us putting our overclocking hats on again to give you the lowdown on getting the most out of your components. We’ve checked out the best OC processor and GPU as well as the best software to make things super simple. Inside we show you how to hit 4.8GHz with a Core i5 2500K, and even manage to get it booting running at 4GHz (although it wouldn’t benchmark at this speed reliably).

There’s also a host of gaming goodness in there too, as well as all the fun of home networking, including the best NAS devices and setting up your own torrent server.

So there’s a lot to read, hurry up and get your issue!

Alternatively, you can order a single issue of PC Format magazine over at myfavouritemagazines, or a digital issue from Zinio.

Jeremy Ford, New Media Manager

Alan Dexter, Editor — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 11:55:50 +0000

Multimedia extraordinaire, Jeremy serves up the fine Web Packs each and every issue. Just like the Web Pack freebies he sniffs out, Jeremy loves a bargain and maintains his rig a generation or two behind. Who needs the latest stuff, when overclocking can almost deliver the same performance as the more expensive hardware! He’s also always in black and white, for health and safety reasons (or maybe in reference to LIMBO).

Current rig: Core i5 750, 8GB RAM, AMD Radeon 5850, ASUS P7P55D LE, 2 TB Western Digital Caviar Green, Fractal Design Define R3, Corsair 650W PSU

Currently playing: Skyrim, The Darkness 2, LIMBO, Online Poker

Contact: jeremy.ford@futurenet.com

Matthew Hanson, Reviews Editor

Alan Dexter, Editor — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 10:41:05 +0000

Matt’s job is to get the latest gadgets, hardware and software in, test them to their limits and write about what he’s found. It involves a lot of playing about with new kit, but if that sounds like too much fun to be a real job remember that it also involves plenty of installing and uninstalling. He also has to sit next to Alan.

Current rig: Intel Core i7-2600K, 8GB RAM, AMD Radeon HD 5850, Asus P8P67, OCZ 90GB SSD, BitFenix Raider, XFX 650W XXX Edition PSU

Currently playing: Skyrim, Machinarium, Shadow of the Beast (past 20ish years) and some more Skyrim

Contact: matthew.hanson@futurenet.com

Paul Blachford, Art Editor

Alan Dexter, Editor — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 09:49:50 +0000

Paul is head crayon on the magazine, charged with making PC Format look brilliant. When he’s not design the best pages in the world, he can be found indulging in a healthy chunk of ‘serious’ games playing. Play sessions include Planetside, EVE, Star Wars: The Old Republic, RIFT and Skyrim, while also trying to play catch up on Mass Effect series before the third instalment arrives. It’s okay, from what we can work out Paul doesn’t need sleep.

Current rig: Core i7 965 Extreme, 8GB RAM, AMD Radeon 6950 2GB, Intel DX58S0 Skullcrusher, Western Digital 300GB 10k VelociRaptor, QuietPC 750W PSU, Hanns G HH281HPB @1920×1200

Currently playing: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Planetside

Contact: paul.blachford@futurenet.com

Dave James, Deputy Editor

Alan Dexter, Editor — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 09:29:47 +0000

Dave is the chubby, techy bloodhound tasked with sniffing out the latest PC technology and benching the silicon bejesus out of it in our testing suite. He’s also one of the few people in the world who knows the difference between the 3770K and 3870K, though he struggles to care.

Current rig: AMD FX 8120 @4.2GHz, 12GB RAM, Nvidia GTX 480, Crucial M4 256GB SSD

Currently playing: FM 2012, Skyrim and Jagged Alliance: Back in Action

Contact: dave.james@futurenet.com

Alan Dexter, Editor

Alan Dexter, Editor — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 17:10:37 +0000

Alan leads the PC Format crew, ensuring that the best kit is reviewed in a timely fashion, that the games playing doesn’t take up too much of everyone’s time, and that only the best articles make it into PC Format. He’s a veteran journalist, games player and recovering wow-addict.

Current rig: Intel Core i7 930, Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R, AMD Radeon HD 6970, 6GB RAM, Kingston 128GB SSD, Antec Twelve Hundred, Corsair 650W PSU

Currently playing: Skyrim, Rift & Diablo III

Contact: alan.dexter@futurenet.com