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03
ISSUE 232 MARCH 2017
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CONTENTS
24 CLEAN WINDOWS
We reveal how to keep persistent PC pests at bay
With these hints and tips your PC will be slicker
and better behaved
REGULARS
Q FEATURES
Clean Windows The state of Artificial Intelligence Cassidy
Tips and tricks to tidy Windows ................ 24 From predicting elections to better Steve attempts to decode the
weather predictions ......................................89 future courtesy of Microsoft, before
Windows 10 Update tweaks having all his IoT complaints solved
Set your Windows Update to behave by a very good doctor indeed ....................110
as you want it to ............................................ 30 Q REAL WORLD COMPUTING
Honeyball
SD Cards Jon battles with bugs, wars with Wi-Fi Q ALIST AND KITLOG
A tale of a card format that keeps on and fights with fonts. But he does have The best of the best
keeping on ....................................................... 36 something nice to say about RDX ...........100 Our picks for the best and best value
tech and PC gear today .............................. 94
Ockenden
Q TECHDESK Paul looks at a common source of
News buffering problems with streamed Q DVD CONTENTS
Windows is back on with an ARM TV, and dives into the world of mesh App guide
architecture ........................................................8 Wi-Fi................................................................ 103 Features and installation guides for
all the free apps on this months DVD .... 98
Game News Guest: Carl Davis
Cheap Chinese VR HMD are here! ............. 10 Agile isnt simply a project delivery
process, says Carl; its about shaping a Q EPILOG
Chip News team culture that leads to success ........106 When IoT fails
AMDs Vega GPU and Rizen CPU ............... 12 Dont trust your smart devices too
Winder much, because when they let you
How to harden your LinkedIn profile and down its a big fall ........................................ 114
Q FUTURES spot the fake requests before the
Is cash dead? damage is done. Plus, why you might
When will digital payments take over? ...86 just want a Double VPN ............................108
4 March 2017 www.pcandtechauthority.com.au

CONTENTS
REVIEWS
Q PCS & LAPTOPS Q PERIPHERALS
Acer Spin 7.............................................................. 40 Wacom Intuos Pro ............................................... 48
Asus Transformer T102HA ..................................41 Bang & Olufsen BeoSound 1 .............................55
Lenovo Y710 Cube ................................................42 Xiaomi Mi router ....................................................58
Asus Zenbook 3 .....................................................44 Seagate Backup Plus.......................................... 64
Panasonic Toughpad ...........................................45 Asus ROG Spatha mouse ................................. 64
Shuttle DX30 ..........................................................45 TP Link Smart Wi-Fi LED bulb......................... 64
Kano Kit PC ..............................................................51 Asus ROG Centurion ........................................... 64
Pioneer Dreamvision AIO................................... 60
Q LABS: GRAPHICS CARDS
Q COMPONENTS Nvidia GeForce GT 710 ........................................ 74
Samsung 960 Evo................................................56 Nvidia GeForce GT 730 ....................................... 74
Asrock Fatal1ty H270 ...........................................59 AMD Radeon R7 240 ........................................... 74
AMD Radeon R7 250 ........................................... 74
Q GAMES AMD Radeon RX 460 .......................................... 74
Ghost Recon: Wildlands .................................... 90
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050..................................76
War Hammer 40K:
Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti ...............................76
Space Hulk Death Wing.......................................81
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti .............................76
Q HANDHELDS AMD Radeon RX 470...........................................76
OnePlus 3T .............................................................52 AMD Radeon R9 380X .......................................78
HTC Evo 10 ..............................................................54 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060..................................78

AMD Radeon RX 480 ..........................................78
Q SOFTWARE AMD Radeon R9 Fury ..........................................78
Free Agent ...............................................................62 AMD Radeon R9 Nano.......................................80
Quick Books Online Plus.....................................62 AMD Radeon R9 Fury X .....................................80
Sage One Accounting.......................................... 73 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080.................................80
Wave Apps .............................................................. 73 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 .................................80
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www.pcandtechauthority.com.au March 2017 5

LOGIN TECHDESK
JELLY ROLLS
of doom
H
aving just listened to to make the Note 7 as undeniably
Samsungs report describing beautiful as it was, Samsung needed
the outcome of its to reinvent the battery manufacturing REAL TECH ADVICE
investigation into the now famous process. The result was a much thinner YOU CAN TRUST!
Galaxy Note 7 faults, its hard not to separator between the cathode and
be impressed with the thoroughness anode, and its this separator and the O Our tests are performed by
of the investigation. At its large scale manufacturing process that caused experienced reviewers in our Labs in
test facility thousands of Note 7s the problems. Lithium ion batteries are accordance with strict benchtesting
were subjected to testing designed produced in a jelly roll construction, procedures
to recreate every conceivable form of which is apparent when you view one O Our brand new benchmarks have
electrical abuse. Samsungs new fast side-on, and you can see how the
been tailor-made to reflect real-
charging an initial suspect in the separator is rolled upon itself many
world computing needs
Note 7 drama was given the all-clear times. Overhang at the edges in some
after testing with a multitude of first units shorted out the battery causing O We put tech through its paces
and third-party chargers and using the overheating, and in some cases the seriously. From processing power to
varying currents. The Type-C ports thinness of the jelly roll caused spot battery life, from usability to screen
was subjected to up to 4000 volts of welds to protrude through the other brightness, our tests are exhaustive
power during testing. side of the surface and make contact
From these and many more tests with the adjacent part of the roll, also O We will always offer an honest and
it was determined that the Note 7s causing a short. unbiased opinion for every review
electronics were not at fault. This left I personally find this really interesting
the battery, which may have seemed because its not often we get such
obvious as the likely culprit but the insight into manufacturing processes.
THE TEAM...
controlling electronics for such a But most of all Im struck by the Digital Editor Tech
cutting edge device were just as likely potential danger present in all lithium and Gaming
to have played a role, and were equally ion batteries and what worries me David Hollingworth
valid for the thorough testing regime. is that if a giant like Samsung can E dhollingworth@nextmedia.com.au
T @atomicmpc
I think the big takeaway from all this encounter these issues then what of the
is the spotlight it shone upon lithium great many cheap batteries made by
ion batteries as a technology. These companies weve never heard of?
power sources will be with us for many Samsung has promised to share its Senior Labs Editor
years, if not decades. Its Elon Musks data with the wider industry, and if that Bennett Ring
big bet for his Tesla Gigafactory, helps raise safety standards thats the
pumping out lithium ion batteries for best thing to come from all of this.
cars and Powerwalls. So, if a company National Advertising
with the experience and expertise Manager PC&TA
of Samsung can ship a dangerously Sean Fletcher
E sfletcher@nextmedia.com.au
faulty battery design in its most
premium product, then its even more
likely we will see it happen again from Group Advertising
manufacturers with less credibility.
Manager Tech and
Gaming
The actual fault stemmed less
from sloppy manufacturing than
Cameron Ferris
E cferris@nextmedia.com.au
from a push to pack more juice in a
smaller form. To meet its target of a Ben Mansill
3500mAh capacity yet in a slimmer Editor Art Director
than ever before battery pack in order bmansill@nextmedia.com.au Tim Frawley
E tfrawley@nextmedia.com.au
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TECHDESK LOGIN
INBOX
Write, right?
READER TIP: FREE RESTORE POINT data. As always, it is buried but easily A MATTER OF BALANCE
SPACE ON YOUR SYSTEM accessible. Using File Explorer, open Jon Honeyball it at it again, with his views
Greetings to the PCTA folks. You have Properties on the System Disc, Access on windows touchscreens. (PC & Tech
helped me and mine several times in the Disk Cleanup and after it does its stuff, Authority Feb 2017). Maybe his laptop has
past year. Thank you! choose the Cleanup System Files and weak hinges that move when he pokes
Time to return the favour. I have after that is done, Open the More Options the screen, but if he poked his phone
three PCs: a Venom for gaming, a NUC tab, choose the option to delete all with the same force perhaps it would
for experience and this aged Acer used System Restore les except the latest. fall to the ground? I use Windows 10
every day for communications. All have Let it run, but if you have not used Disk touchscreens on my Surface Pro 3, 20-
SSDs I have installed as the System Cleanup for a while, or never, it can take inch HP all in ones on the walls at work,
Drive, essential these days. hours. I have also had it do the job, but and on my Asus 16-inch ultrabook.
Win 10 by default turns off System not close at the end. Cancel and rerun to I admit on the Ultrabook the screen
Restore, but as it has saved me from conrm the cleanup. moves a little, but you have to get used
complete rebuilds on several occasion, I OK, System Restore les are gone. Now to touching not poking or prodding with
turn it on and allocate 10% of disk space go back to the search box and ask for force. The Surface Pro 3 with kickstand
for the function. Having been caught Restore point. In the settings page, open doesnt move at all, neither do the all
by losing the Operating System AND Conguration and set the disk allocation in ones. I suppose with keyboard and
data during the not if but when reinstall to how much you are prepared to assign mouse it is not ergonomic to use three
Windows, I generally partition the SSDs to this function 10% in my case. While input methods (keyboard, mouse and
for the Operating System and Data in there, create a Restore Point as your touchscreen) as you have only two hands,
separate drives. Has also saved me a lot computer should be working properly, but when in desktop mode all three
of time over the years, but puts space and is a known place to return to in case devices work ne with keyboard and
pressure on the smaller SSDs. of a problem. mouse, when in tablet mode, touch is
I recently encountered the Mystery of How well did it work? In this instance, also ne, giving best of all worlds.
the Missing Bytes, and despite cleaning I now have 69 GB free on the Operating The pen that comes with the Surface
up the disk, the problem remained. System partition. Chrome is happy and Pro 3 is fantastic, aftermarket pens
Chrome complained it could not update, so am I. for Windows touchscreens are readily
so time to dig deeper. Only 8GB of I would recommend using Windows available. Try it!
the 128GB assigned to the Operating Disk Cleanup like this after major He also mentions the eye watering
System partition remained. Windows updates. Im a great fan of prices of some new laptops by Microsoft
Typing Restore Point into the Search CCLeaner, but it does not clean out the and Apple. My Surface Pro 3 is the 128GB
Box returns the System Setting page, Windows System les. core i5 model which now has a Samsung
and looking at the Conguration, I There is another Microsoft Easter Pro 256GB microSD card in it, more than
found that Win 10 had very generously Egg embedded in Disk Cleanup - it often fast enough and storage enough. Its main
assigned itself 100% of the disk for advises me that 3.9 or 4.0 TB of System limitation is the low powered USB3 port,
saving restore points. I have seen this Files will be released. I wish! Still, it works, but I obtained a USB 3 Y adapter from
happen before and suspect a Windows even with clunky hangs. Germany and can now connect any USB
Update resets the allocation. No Chris Mills powered device including 1.5TB hard
doubt Microsofts warped sense of drives.
punishment for using System Restore Ben Mansill replies: Nice tip, thanks Philip Dawson
instead of File History. I use both, AND for sharing that with us Chris! We have a
backup to a NAS. The result was that as few tips ourselves in this issue covering Ben Mansill replies: I, too, am a fan
I used my Acer daily, it accumulated a Windows Update, and how to get it of the Surfaces kickstand, as are many
huge repository of Restore Points. behaving as youd like. That starts on page competing tech manufacturers if you look
So, time for the suppository to clear 30. at how many clones are appearing.
out the excessive System Restore
Want to get in touch?

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http://forums.atomicmpc.com.au

TECH NEWS
The latest trends and products in the world of technology
WINDOWS REARMED FOR

HYBRID ASSAULT
Windows is back on ARM architecture, but can
Microsoft get it right at the second attempt?
M
icrosoft will rekindle its
attempts to use ARM-based
chips for Windows devices
following a deal with Qualcomm that it
says will enable cellular PCs to run a
full range of Windows software.
Microsofts previous attempts to
engage with ARM have proved little
more than disastrous. Windows
RT was widely shunned by
manufacturers, after consumers were
left bewildered by early devices inability
to run x86 software. ARM-based phones
also power Windows Mobile, but its
market share has dwindled to the brink
of non-existence.
Seemingly learning from past failures,
Microsoft is pushing the fact that its
latest ARM venture will embrace legacy last time you bought a phone or tablet? If powered by Snapdragon, PCs could support x86
Win32 and Universal apps
Windows software. For the rst time, Microsoft did rebuild its own Office
customers will be able to experience apps for Windows RT, but that wasnt an emulator, there are concerns that the
the Windows they know with the apps, enough to win over customers before applications will struggle to run smoothly
peripherals and enterprise capabilities RT versions of the Surface tablet were on the mobile-orientated processors,
they require, on a truly mobile, power- quietly dropped with the launch of the even on the powerful Snapdragon 835
efficient, always-connected cellular PC, third-generation devices in 2014. chips expected in devices. Emulation of
the company said in a statement. Windows Apps hasnt been particularly
PCs powered by Snapdragon could EMULATION OVERHEADS successful, said Cherry. Windows has a
be designed to support x86 Win32 and As x86 software will need to run through HAL [hardware abstraction layer], which
Universal Windows apps, including
Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Office and
Windows 10 gaming titles.
However, experts believe that the HAVENT WE BEEN HERE BEFORE?
world has already moved on from When Windows RT was announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2011, then-CEO
Microsofts legacy apps, which may make Steve Ballmer promised that the operating system would be everywhere, on every kind of
the chief selling point redundant. Im not device, without compromise. Alas, it turned out to be on virtually no devices and with plenty
convinced this is as desirable as people of compromises.
think, said Michael Cherry, lead analyst Soon after RT devices went on sale in late 2012, reports emerged of high return rates at
for Windows and mobile at research rm retailers, as customers not only struggled to get to grips with the new Modern interface, but
Directions on Microsoft. How useful is failed to realise that their new Windows tablet couldnt run traditional Windows software.
running Photoshop on a small, touch- Microsoft promised its own store staff an average of 15 hours of training prior to the launch
enabled device? Maybe when docked of Windows 8 and RT to ensure that they could help customers understand the difference
and using Continuum this might be between the two. If it took that long to explain it to staff, little wonder customers were left
useful, but its all theoretical at this point. confused
The real question is, outside of the Since Windows 10, RT has been left to drift. Elements of the Windows 10 Start menu
Office suite, how many x86 Win32 apps were ported to Windows RT, but it hasnt received any big updates in the past 18 months.
are you still using today? Did you even Now we know why.
consider a devices ability to do this the

TECHDESK NEWS
While we wont know for sure whether Windows must have a wide variety of
these fears are justied until devices products on offer, not just the Surface
appear, Qualcomm says the chips and a few convertibles.
designed for Windows will boast low- The rst PCs running Windows 10
power consumption, LTE connectivity, based on Snapdragon processors are
advanced multimedia support and thin, expected to go on sale in 2017.
fanless designs.
NEW FORM FACTORS

The plans could lead to new form factors, CORRECTION
as Microsoft seeks partners to make We reviewed Fractals lovely new Define C
PCs more like phones. Partners will be case in PC&TA 230, but mistakenly ran a
able to build always-connected devices picture of an older Fractal case. Bad on us.
without hindering form-factor design, Heres the right picture. The reviewer also
said Microsoft. Specically, partners gave the Define C a Recommended award
can take advantage of eSIM technology but that wasnt shown on the review page.
to build devices without an exposed More bad. Sorry readers! Sorry Fractal!
The plans could lead SIM slot, making it easier for people to
to new form factors activate a data plan right on their device.
That may ease some of the pain for
as Microsoft seeks Microsoft as people move away from
partners to make PCs traditional PCs. It will be important for
the diversifying categories of post-PC
more like phones devices, said Caroline Gabriel, research
director at the Rethink Technology
has allowed it to be ported to DEC Alpha, Research. These are taking on many of
PowerPC, MIPs and ARM chips. Many of the roles of the traditional PC, as that
these used emulation to support legacy enters its long, slow decline, and so
apps. How many are in use today? theyre often still reliant on core Windows
Emulation essentially means the apps such as Office.
OS will pretend to be something else in The unexpected success of
order to run applications. There will be Microsofts more recent Surface model
incompatibilities that will take processing shows that Windows still has an
power to push through. It will likely only embedded advantage in many markets,
ever be sort of as good as running the particularly enterprise ones. But to
apps natively. [Its] never likely to be secure itself mobile success at long last,
better than native. at least on larger-screened devices,
FOUR STORIES NOT TO MISS

1 CORTANA TO GET previously called Brillo. It should enable
AN OVERHAUL developers to build smart devices using
Microsoft is set to push its Cortana Android APIs and Google Services, with
digital assistant into more devices. Cortana support for Intels Edison, the Raspberry Pi 3
will be used to power Amazon Echo-like and NXP Pico. It also aims to resolve some
speaker systems, and could be rolled out in of the glaring IoT security issues.
embedded applications such as customer-
facing sales systems. A revamped Cortana
could also be voice-activated on sleeping
hardware.
2 FITBIT PICKS UP
BEACHED PEBBLE
Parts of smartwatch firm Pebble have
been sold to Fitbit for around US$40m. The
company has stopped shipping hardware,
cancelled warranties and may end 4 FACEBOOK EYES CHINA WITH
support for existing hardware, angering its CENSORING SOFTWARE
Kickstarter backers. Facebook has developed a tool that could
be used to pre-filter content in China.
3 GOOGLE TAKES Facebook, which said it was unable to filter
WRAPS OFF IOT OS fake news during the US election, would
Google has announced Android Things, be able to suppress content that would
a version of the OS designed for low- otherwise see it blocked by Chinas Great
end hardware upgrading a project Firewall.
NEWS TECHDESK
GAMING NEWS
Just for the fun of it
CLONE
WARS
Cheap Chinese VR is coming. Ben Mansill
balances reward with frustration
A
t last years Computex, VR was Thats happening now, and while there track edges you need.
the be all and end all. It was are only two HMDs of the dozens on The Pimax screens deliver 3840 x
everywhere, and VR Ready sale that support Steam VR, one of 2160 res, but at 60Hz, compared to 90Hz
danglers hung off everything from these warranted further investigation. for Vive and Rift. After hour four, when
graphics cards (to be expected), to NAS Thus, I have in front of me a Pimax 4K I was nally successful getting a game
products (whaa?). But at the heart of it UHD HMD. It only arrived yesterday and running, that may not be a problem. I
all was Oculus and Vive. A few exhibitors I spent close to ve hours last night need to do further experimentation but
had lesser players on display we saw having a play - and by that, I mean having a much higher resolution screen is
a couple of OSVR prototypes, and not struggling to get it working. Ill have a a reasonable payoff for the lower refresh.
much else. Clearly with VR the potential full review in the next issue of PCTA and That wont hold true of all games, but for
is huge for sales, so it was no surprise cockpit games where your viewpoint is
to hear from industry people that when relatively stationary it doesnt initially
China surges into VR everything will a huge advantage over at least appear to be a problem. But, to
change.
And it has, and here it is, now. Prowling
the Vive and Rift and get to that res and refresh some cheats
are required, namely supersampling the
through the VR product pages of thats not the 4K. Its res via Nvidia or AMD controls because
Gearbest a Chinese company that the Pimax 4k uses an HDMI 1.4 cable for
sells PC gear and consumer electronics
the price. $505 connectivity, which limits the refresh rate
on behalf of local brands, as well as to a wholly unacceptable 30Hz when
its own not dissimilar to Alibabas I sure am looking forward to getting it running true 4K.
model there are dozens of VR HMDs working properly because the potential The Pimax lacks positional tracking
(Head Mounted Displays) on offer. is great. and hand wands, so at this stage is
However, almost all are not compatible As you can tell by the product name, useless as a Vive clone its better for
with Oculus, Vive or Steam VR. They are its 4k. This is the big thing. If youve sitting down games, and those which
intended for movie watching. A browse ever used a Vive or Rift the resolution is dont need you to move your head
through the online movie store for one immediately apparent as the big issue. around. View is, of course, still tracked.
brand revealed exactly what sort While Full HD resolution is enough to So its technically interesting
of movies. Of around 150 movies create presence in a virtual world, and a good rst step, but despite
available from this shop, 149 were you can see big lumpy pixels, which its shortcomings still has one huge
Japanese girls dancing, and one of isnt nice for reading small text or advantage over the Vive and Rift and
a young man working out in a gym. seeing crisp detail in the distance. I thats not the 4K. Its the price. $505.
Yep. No comment here on that is like racing sims, but as cool Thats well under half the price of the
necessary. as Oculus and mainstream HMDs. Yes, the software is
But moving Vive are for this crude, and theres currently no way to
past that, kind of gaming, center the view in game (though after
if we can, is looking ahead an email I sent to the company they
the expected to oncoming promised to include that in the next
emergence corners software version!). Testing this thing
of Chinese presents looks to be quite a project. But when
VR HMDs that a mush of China gets the game compatibility right
are actually fuzz not the it will herald a new era in VR. Full review
game-capable. sharp clear next issue!

NEWS TECHDESK
CHIP NEWS
With the cost of Fiji being so cheap AMD is going all in on Vegas, meanwhile Pentium gives
us a reason to care again.Mark Williams looks at whats new in the world of chip news
CPU
PENTIUM GETS certainly gets the blood pumping, but at come with hyperthreading, putting
EXCITING AGAIN the cost of $270 it still isnt cheap. them into i3 territory. So, if budget or
With the seventh Intel core series having Instead, consider the new Pentium TDP is of concern in your next build dont
launched some might consider the i3 G4560 or G4620. Why would I possibly be afraid to check out the new Pentium
7350K to be the shiny new star in Intels consider those I hear you scoff? Well, line-up.
line-up. An i3 thats nally unlocked? It both cost less than $100 and both now
GPU
PRO DUO DROPPED directly on the card along with some game changer and kind of ruins the
ON PURPOSE extraneous circuitry which was need for AMDs very own SSG range of
AMDs current prosumer product; the explained as a connector for engineers professional cards it launched not long
dual Fiji GPU Radeon Pro Duo, with no to access special measurements and ago (the ones with an SSD piggybacked
forewarning or notice from AMD has readouts on the prototype Vega card for onto the card).
dropped in price from its launch price of diagnostics. AMD also revealed that is has
US$1500 down to just US$800. As for what AMD disclosed at the reworked the geometry pipeline, giving it
With Vega so close to launching event, it was all very high level hand double the performance. Much needed
(current word is itll happen at the wavy stuff with not many hard numbers, as AMD has always lagged behind Nvidia
upcoming Game Developers Conference) but intriguing none the less. on the geometry front, particularly when
it seems clear AMD it trying to either The biggest feature AMD were it comes to tessellation.
clear out stock for the new offerings or touting is the High Bandwidth Cache The compute units (CUs) have also
because of relative performances needs Controller (HBCC). The best way to had a complete rework and renamed
to lower the price of this product to think of this is how IGPs or entry level NCUs (Next-gen CUs). The new NCUs
match the capabilities of what it can do graphics cards work with memory, i.e. can operate at higher clock speeds and
versus the upcoming Vega line-up. they basically rely solely on system RAM have higher IPC throughputs relative to
for their pool of memory as they have the current gen CUs. The NCUs double
AMDS GOING TO VEGAS no or very little dedicated VRAM. AMDs precision rates will also be congurable,
At CES AMD released some more HBCC takes this to the next level but ranging from 512 8-bit ops per clock
information about Vega and the all new for top end cards too, allowing Vega to through to 128 32-bit ops per clock.
architecture its based un, plus we also not only use VRAM and system RAM The last thing of note architecturally is
got our rst glimpse of what the Vega for graphics data sets but even also that the ROPs will now be direct clients
GPU physically looks like including the allowing access to mass storage like of the L2 cache which in particular will
on board HBM2 memory chips. There SSDs or network storage with the total boost performance in games that use
was also a Vega card in a demonstration combined addressable allocation space deferred shading.
system which someone managed to reaching 512TB! The last bit of Vega news is slightly old
convince AMD to take the side panel off Sure, games wont need that kind of but wasnt leaked until recently. Leaked
from revealing a bland looking Radeon memory space any time soon but in roadmaps from September last year
card that was clearly just a prototype the professional sector where FirePros have given us a peak at what AMDs GPU
as it unusually had a USB3 port and Quadros thrive, this could be a future holds. Apparently, Polaris (aka
RX460/480) isnt long for this world with
The Vega GPU (with two HBM2 stacks) AMDs prototype Vega card in a demo PC at CES
Vega 11 replacement cards due this year,
and beyond that Navi 11 in 2019.
The second half of this year will also
see a dual GPU Vega card, presumably
to replace the Radeon Pro Duo.
2018 is when things get interesting
PHOTOS: cdn.videocardz.com
again with allegedly Vega 20 due in

that time frame sporting a GPU made
on a 7nm process, PCIe 4.0, double
the amount of HBM2 stacks and some
new tech for Crossre GPU to GPU
communications.

GEARED WITH LATEST
7th GEN. INTEL CORETM i7 PROCESSOR &
GEFORCE GTX 10 SERIES GRAPHICS
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MOST WANTED
Get your gear on
Dr Zaber SENTRY Console-sized PC

We love super-compact PCs that can still take a proper GPU. Most go for a cube
shape or look like a NAS of some kind. The Sentry mimics a games console,
and is deliberately designed to slot effortlessly into an existing home theatre
setup.
MOST WANTED: The Sentry will take a full-sized (double-slot) mid-

range GPU and a power supply big enough to power it. The interior layout is
extremely compact, but also straightforward to work inside, making upgrades
easy. Cleverly, the GPU is separated from the mini-ITX motherboard, which
help with heat management.
NOT WANTED: The compact size means the CPU will need a low-profile
active cooler, which will make the system relatively noisy. In horizontal
configuration, the Sentry needs a blower-style GPU cooler too. But if
positioned vertically, the position of the GPU make it virtually an open case
design, so a three-fan cooler will be much quieter. Despite a self-supporting
frame design, noise from fans is likely to be the Sentrys biggest flaw.
Hardlight VR Suit
The extremely valid complaint that a VR headset aint all that great unless you
also get hand controls is well understood. But is even having hand controls
enough? The Hardlight Suit (vest and sleeves, really) provides both location-
specific haptic feedback and position tracking for the upper body. Its compatible
with the major VR headsets and has its own API for developers.
MOST WANTED: A headset-only VR system can at times feel like not

much more than playing games on a really, really big screen (while wearing a
snorkelling mask). The ability to look in one direction, shoot in another and feel
hits or environmental effects from a third would do much to boost immersion.
NOT WANTED: Be honest: it looks a bit laser-tag. The relatively bulky design
is likely to cause fatigue after extended sessions, and the sleeves look prone to
twisting and tangling. It also needs developers to build compatibility for it in
their games, which is a big ask.

TECHDESK MOST WANTED
Daplie Cloud
Most of us put all our documents and photos up on the cloud
without a second thought. But maybe a second thought is
warranted; after all, Google could pull the plug on Photos any
time it wants. Then what? Daplies The Cloud is a compact home
server that comes with a personal domain and plug and play
simplicity. To expand storage, just add more servers.
MOST WANTED: The Cloud comes in 1TB or 4TB units and links
to other Clouds to expand space. Similarly, it can link to a Cloud in
a different location to provide a backup.
NOT WANTED: Your files are vulnerable to the failure of the

unit and theres a yearly fee to pay for a personal domain - ie
the web address that lets you access the Cloud when youre
out of the house. Of course, this does mean your files are
truly private, unlike the free web access that comes with
some NAS products, which is still ultimately controlled by the
manufacturer.
Compower Compact
AC Power Bank
Face it: you need a good quality power pack for your devices. Its not
up for debate. This is the world now, and a bang full of electricity is
just a necessity. The problem? Device-specific powerbanks mean
carrying multiple batteries. The solution? A 22,000 mAh power
pack that can charge anything and everything. And we mean
everything.
MOST WANTED: The range of outputs on the Compower is

impressive. DC, AC (up to 100W), four USB3.0 ports with different
amperages, a USB3.0 port, a dedicated plug to attach jumper cables
to start a car, even wireless charging. Its all here, and can all be
monitored on the LCD display.
NOT WANTED: It is a bit of a brick at 950g, but thats the reality of

22,000mAh of power. Obviously recharging it will take a while, and
there are four 5500mAh in the cell, so it relies heavily on proper cell
management to prevent failure.
Moodo
Feel like your Wi-Fi isnt being fully utilised? Worried your smart speakers and
smart LED bulbs and smart lock and smart AC arent enough? Then you need
Moodo! Its a Wi-Fi enabled, app controlled ambient scent generator! Thats right,
pop in little perfume capsules and make your house smell like... things. Theres
science that says ambient scent affects your mood, so why not see if thats
true?
MOST WANTED: In a way thats vaguely reminiscent of Nestls pod-based

coffee system, Moodo uses pods with names like Divine Rose and Midnight
Thrill which are grouped into scent themes like Gardens of Isphahan (no,
really) and Oriental Delight and Beach Party and Fresh Vibrations. And
imagine explaining this thing to guests!
NO WANTED: Imagine having to explain this thing to guests! Moodo is a good

example of the app-ification of something that already exists in a simple, cheap
and easy-to-access form, ie scented oil burners and incense sticks.

System news SHOP TALK
MARK WILLIAMS PONDERS SOME OF THE LATEST TECH TO COME OUT OF CES What new products or technologies
got you excited from this years
CES show?
W
ith CES having just wrapped 12K!) viewing experience with two side
up I wanted to cover some of monitors that automatically deploy and
the products and technologies retract back behind the central screen. It John, TI Computers:
that caught my attention. Interestingly is a site to behold. This would have to be the new
it all seemed to revolve around displays The Sony A1 series Bravia TV was also gaming displays. Not only they
for me, and it seems all the new screen something that caught my attention. have the dramatic breakthrough
tech also got John from TI computers And not because of the amazing bezel- to enter 144Hz refreshment rate
excited. Well have some more less OLED panel or the fact that it has on the 4K UHD displays, the
complete coverage of CES for you to two separate processors, one dedicated development of VR gears has also
drool over next issue. to running the Android OS and the gone wireless and even up to the
First cab off the rank is Razer. Its been other for simply driving the display massive 8K combined resolution.
known to embark on some crazy and which adapts to (as every panel out of Denitely something gamers will
whacky product ideas in the past and the factory has slight variances) and be very excited about. Display
this year was no different. corrects the output image per its panels technology wise, we have noticed
Project Ariana is a projector that detected output. No, it was the fact that the new FreeSync 2 Technology
Razer has developed as the next step it has no speakers! Well I lie, it has a by AMD that brings better HDR
in their Chroma (synchronised RGB subwoofer in the stand, but aside from experience and smoother tearing-
lighting) technology. In a nutshell, your bass sounds, all the audio comes free gaming experience even with
using your regular monitor as your through the glass of the TV screen a more mainstream GPU. Last
central viewport, the Ariana projector itself. It manages this by using two and not the least is of course
effectively expands your viewing real sets of vibrating actuators (for stereo) the synchronized AURA RGB
estate onto the walls and general behind the panel to vibrate the panel to effects from all vendors. These
surroundings turning your effective produce sound you can hear. new technologies give us more
screen real-estate into a whole wall. By no means is this new technology, exibility to prepare our gaming
But with the monitor in the centre you I have previously bought a family systems to our hardcore gamer
still get the ne granular details with member a gift that was basically a customers. I can foresee 2017 to be
the projection all around it giving you a cylinder you put on any surface you a very good year for the desktop PC
handy peripheral vision advantage. liked; wood, metal, glass, tile, and
Razers other cool toy was so popular using vibrations would play your music
that someone managed to steal both using that surface as the speaker, with Lastly theres the Asus ROG Swift
prototypes from under Razers noses different materials giving the music PG258Q, which along with the Benq we
on the show oor and were both found differing timbres. But seeing it applied are reviewing on page 50, hits 240Hz
in China two days later up for action in a TV is a rather neat idea as the refresh rates. Sure, its only a TN panel,
to the tune of $22,000! Im talking of whole glass panel becomes the speaker and only 1080p resolution, but that
course about Razers Project Valerie allowing Sony to completely remove the buttery smoothness even with G-sync
which is the worlds rst triple screen sound bar where the speakers normally off stands in a class of its own, well
laptop. Offering up a triple 4K (yes, hide (for a totally bezel-less design). above your standard variable refresh
rate 144MHz gaming screens.
Like the look of this? Someone really did, and

stole this, and another triple-screen prototype
gaming laptop from the Razer stand at CES
SYSTEM NEWS
Market snapshot
A SAMPLING OF PC SYSTEMS AVAILABLE THIS MONTH
Decent home box Solid
PLE Computers NetPlus Micro Computers

Home Premium Custom PC GExpert Pro Computer Package
$1,199 http://tinyurl.com/zlyp3vk $2,249 http://tinyurl.com/zvy3wld
During the Skylake to Kabylake transition period youll see This is a complete system package which aside from the
some previous gen systems still offered along with the system box includes a 24-inch monitor plus a wireless
newest generation. This is one of those cases. While PLE keyboard and mouse combo. The system box has some
offer a similar system to this but with a new Kabylake i3 7100 respectable specs to get your gaming on too, we recommend
CPU, this system looks to be the slightly better deal. Sure, choosing the i5 6600K CPU option, just as
the i3 7100 is 5% faster but youll pay $50 more fast as the non-K i7 6700 but has unlocked
for it and end up with a system that has half multipliers to push it to higher speeds than
the SSD capacity. On the other hand, the the i7 6700.
motherboard on PLEs Kabylake offering RAM and the HDD are sized ok for the
might set you up better for the long term. price however the SSD for the operating
Either way both are closely matched and a system at 128GB is a little anaemic,
good option for use as the family computer games would pretty much have to live on
or light gaming.With CPU and GPU well the HDD. Aside from that one limiter this
matched the only outlier is mass storage. is an otherwise solid system.
KEY SPECS
CPU: Intel i3 6100 Cooler: OEM Motherboard: Asus H110M-E Graphics: ASUS KEY SPECS
GeForce GTX1050 2GB Memory: 8GB DDR4 Kingston ValueRAM 2133MHz Storage: CPU: Intel i5 6600K Cooler: OEM Motherboard: Z170 based Graphics: Nvidia GTX
Samsung 850 EVO 250GB SSD, Western Digital Blue 1TB HDD Power Supply: FSP 1060 3GB Memory: 16GB DDR4 2133MHz Storage: 120GB SSD, 1TB HDD Power
Raider Edition 450W Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 Supply: CoolerMaster B700 v2 700W Case: CoolerMaster
A balanced build To innity!
TI Computers Scorptec
Deluxe Gaming 7700K Infinity 1080 Gaming PC
$1,999 http://tinyurl.com/zx6a8ol $3,349 http://tinyurl.com/zgt58qh
One of the rst PCs to roll out with a Kabylake generation I. Love. This. Case. The semitransparent mirror thing going
CPU, and comes pre-overclocked to boot! This is a very solid on at the front with the LEDs is simply mesmerising. If you
system as a base to build up upon over time. Although the can tear yourself away from the hypnotic front end, the guts
GPU isnt the highest end, for 1080p gaming itll rock your of this thing are equally mesmerising. Sporting the new top
socks easily. And that motherboard, Optane end i7 7700K and a Z270 motherboard that supports Intels
ready and even has a DVI port out the rear IO upcoming Optane SSD tech youll be set for a long time
panel, you dont see that too often despite to come. It also comes with RAM that has a bit of
being probably the most used connector overclocking overhead if youre so inclined.
around still, good thinking Asus. The SSD while great can be temperamental
Well-proportioned memory and due to the small SLC cache it needs to
storage round out this very competitive push everything through which will show
system. if you do large writes often. Apart from
that minor detail, with water cooling and a
GTX 1080 for butter smooth frame rates
you cant ask for much more.
KEY SPECS
KEY SPECS CPU: Intel i7 7700K Cooler: Corsair H115i Motherboard: MSI Z270 KRAIT GAMING
CPU: Intel i7 7700K @ 4.6GHz OC Cooler: Noctua D15 Motherboard: Asus Prime Z270-P Graphics: MSI GeForce GTX 1080 SEA HAWK X, 8GB Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX
Graphics: Asus GeForce GTX 1060 Memory: 16GB DDR4 2133Mhz Storage: 256GB Intel 16GB 2666MHz DDR4 Storage: Intel 600P Series 512GB SSD Power Supply: In Win
SSD, 1TB HDD 7200rpm Power Supply: Cooler Master 750W Case: Cooler Master CM693 Classic 750W Case: In Win 805 Innity Black
L E A R N M O R E AT S E A G AT E . C O M
INVESTIGATOR TECHDESK
SOFTWARE
LICENSING
AND FORCED
UPGRADES
A PCTA readers discovers that the software
he bought is not what the developers want
him to use
H
ave you been caught using The full price for LiveCode which is now thought. Some years ago, I gave them
a version of a favourite at version 9, to independent developers, permission to enter my computer to help
application and found, when is US$999 per year. me set up a training course they were
you needed some technical support, Requests to simply be allowed to running. When I nished it I thought that
that your software was no longer install version 5.5.5 were ignored. they were now blocked out. So, I resorted
supported or that you were pushed into However, versions going back as far as to my laptop and the version there. It had
an upgrade? 4.5, through to developer previews of worked well for years but now I found
One of our readers, David, hit some of version 9 are available from LiveCodes that programmes I had written and got
these issues recently. David is a retired website. What makes this even working well, would no longer work, said
specialist adult educator who still more annoying is that since version David.
works with people who have acquired 6, LiveCode is also available as free He says LiveCodes developers have
or congenital brain injury. He gives his and open source software. So, an destroyed some of his work. He even
programs to clients for free. upgrade could be free and not require saw some this happen before his eyes
as variables were blocked and other
INSTALLING AN OLD VERSION features hed developed changed right in
David purchased a programming LiveCodes developers front of him.
language called LiveCode some time. have destroyed some My advice regarding backups stands
After some initial issues, he settled and Id be very wary of granting anyone
on version 5.5.5 which overcame the of his work. He saw this access to my computer remotely.
bugs he found in the original version he We all become attached to specic
purchased.
happen before his eyes versions of software or applications.
When version 6 was introduced, he Progress marches on and developers
installed a trial version but as he didnt any payment for David as he gives his cajole or thrust us onwards to newer
need the new features he removed it software away for free. versions so they arent caught supported
only to nd his version 5.5.5 installation It would have been nice if LiveCodes legacy software.
had vanished. After some effort, the support people had made David aware The good news is virtualisation
LiveCode developers provided him of this option. software is relatively inexpensive these
with a password that would allow him With critical applications, my advice is days so its possible to create a virtual
to reinstall the version he had already to make sure you have a robust backup machine to run a specic program.
purchased. and recovery process in place. In my Virtual machines can also be transferred
A few months Later, Davids hard view, that means taking system images from computer to computer easily so
drive failed and he needed to reinstall at regular intervals so you can reinstate hardware upgrades can be less painful.
LiveCode but the password he had an entire system quickly or, in some Davids closing words: My advice to
would not work. He emailed them and cases, work from a bootable external businesses, individuals, schools and
asked them for a new one explaining drive. universities is dont have anything to do
that he did not need the more recent My suspicion is a block-level image of with LiveCode. Im now looking around
version. Instead they sent him an email the original hard drive, restored to the for another language to use.
charging $500.00 for the latest version new disk when it was installed, would
and offering to make it a lifelong offer. have overcome the poor service given by
LiveCodes support.
But thats of little consolation to David. NEED HELP? EVER HAD AN
Anthony Caruana
has worked for almost every major
ISSUE AS A CONSUMER?
IT GETS WORSE INVESTIGATOR CAN HELP.
masthead in the Australian IT press. As
an experienced IT professional having When David installed version 5.5.5 he
worked as the lead IT executive in had it on both his main computer and a If youve had an issue or had something
several businesses, he brings a unique laptop. Fortunately, he still had a working happen and you think investigator
insight to his reporting of IT for both installation to fall back on. Or so he could help, email your problem to
businesses and consumers.
investigator@pcandtechauthority.com.au

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ACS TECHDESK
Reimagination 2016 in full swing
My new favourite
business acronym, it
stands for Highest Paid
Persons Opinion
products including Intels own Nervana

platform providing libraries to stimulate
AI development, while the barrier to
entry is so low now that anyone with a
credit card can tap into cloud-based AI
computing resources to develop their
own products.
They keynote by Andrew McAfee,
co-director of the MIT Initiative on the
Digital Economy and principal research
scientist at MITs Sloan School of
Management, struck a chord when he
talked about the impact of technological
REIMAGINEERING
change on society, particularly with
automation, and that the big job losses
have been in the middle and were seeing
a real expression of dissatisfaction by
Ashton Mills on the trends Reimagination revealed people feeling marginalised and left
out. This presents a real challenge for a
R
ecently at Reimagination 2016, the best, exemplied by IBM and the healthy and democratic society and its
held in Sydney in December, eCensus failure late last year. a trend we need to be worried about.
it was refreshing to hear Articial intelligence was a hot topic, He also introduced the term HIPPO,
from a range of experts in topics with Professor Michael Blumenstein, observing that in most organisations, a
such as entrepreneurship, innovation, UTSs head of the school of software in lot of the decisions are made by HIPPOs.
articial intelligence, and the role of the Faculty of Engineering and IT, stating This is actually my new favourite
government in the development and that AI will be able to provide business business acronym. It stands for Highest
adoption of new technologies. and government with something that Paid Persons Opinion. And it is honestly
Panellists including Pip Marlow, they have not had before: very accurate how most business decisions get made.
Managing Director of Microsoft insights into the future referring to the HIPPOs, he explained, considered
Australia; Karen Stocks, Former ability to process vast amounts of data, research and numbers and then made
Managing Director of Twitter; and Dr and making it possible to spot trends a decision based on this combined with
Ian Oppermann, CEO and Chief Data and make predictions that havent experience, gut, and deep intuition. But,
Scientist at NSW Data Analytics Centre been possible until now. Blumenstein he continued, the HIPPO has a mortal
spoke alongside pollies including the noted that the rapid development enemy in the business world. Its the
Hon Victor Dominello MP, Minister for of AI technologies will catch many geek. One thing about geeks, they go
Innovation and Better Regulation; the organisations by surprise but by turns, where the evidence takes them. The
Hon. Philip Dalidakis, Victorian Minister early adopters stand to gain a signicant hard homework for a geek is to get their
for Small Business, Innovation and advantage. personal judgement, intuition, beliefs
Trade; and the Hon Stephen Conroy, Kate Burleigh, Managing Director and biases out of the equation and just
Former Minister for Broadband -- Intel Australia/NZ, talked about the try very hard to listen to the data, and to
who, it must be said, provided one democratisation of AI with various go where the data is taking them.
of the more interesting insights into This, McAfee said, created less
Andrew McAfee Geeks go where the evidence
government when he spoke about hierarchical and more egalitarian
takes them
the sometimes risk-averse culture of organisations when geeks were at the
government silos, a mindset that we helm, taking bold chances based on
need to overcome and that going evidence and data and bringing people
with the safe option isnt necessarily along for the ride, something exemplied
by the Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Elon
Ashton Mills Musks of this world.
has been writing about technology for So dont give up hope fellow geeks, we
20 years and still gets excited for the
latest techy gear. Hes also the Outreach will inherit the earth, eventually.
Manager for the Australian Computer You can read more about
Society (www.acs.org.au), you can email Reimagination at reimagination16.acs.
him on ashton.mills@acs.org.au. org.au, and look out for this years event
this November.

UPGRADE AUSTRALIA
ASUS
ROG XG
STATION 2
Empower laptops with ultimate gaming grunt!
Asus design and
engineering is
superb
L
aptop gamers rejoice! Thanks to the Thunderbolt 3 GPU. With support for the
huge bandwidth in Thunderbolt 3 latest GPUs, things like 4K gaming at 60
you can now have desktop class GPU frames per second, or deep immersive
performance without having to invest virtual reality become possible -
in a separate desktop PC. With the Asus something difficult to achieve in a power
ROG XG Station 2, which implements this and heat constrained laptop chassis alone.
technology, you can have the thin laptop A 600W 80 Plus Gold PSU provides
you need to travel between home, work or plenty of juice for even the beefiest GPU
school and the GPU firepower necessary to and the Asus ROG XG Station 2 even
play the latest games and enjoy VR gaming supports putting the GPU to sleep when
with no lag. the Thunderbolt cable is disconnected
Just like the familiar process of plugging from the computer, saving energy when
in an external hard drive, you can now your laptop isnt there.
connect an external GPU for when you
need it, instead of carrying it around TOO EASY
with you all the time, taking up space and Installation is a piece of cake. Just slide
weight in your laptop. open the Asus ROG XG Station 2, remove I/O
With looks like this, who wouldnt want this
plate, pop the graphics card in, connect VGA
powerhouse sitting on their desk?
THUNDERBOLT 3 IS GO! power, close the lid and plug it to a power
The huge bandwidth in Thunderbolt 3 socket and your laptops Thunderbolt 3 If youre interested in a laptop that
makes this possible, with over 40Gbps port. Done. You dont even need to connect supports the Asus ROG XG Station 2, Asus
available to transfer the vast amount power to your notebook. PC. has you covered, too. Ideally Intel Kaby
of data between your GPU and the rest You can also choose to use Lake based systems
of computer. The Asus ROG XG Station 2 your laptop display if you dont with Thunderbolt 3
supports the latest Nvidia GTX 1000-series have a separate monitor - it can support manufactured
cards, even the mighty GTX 1080, as well also output directly onto your from 2017 onwards
as AMDs latest GPUs, to turn your PCI laptops internal monitor if it will be compliant to XG
Express GPU of choice into an external utilizes either Nvidia Optimus Station 2. For backward
or Intel graphics. compatibility, two very
Asus Aura Sync compatibility makes for a
spectacular appearance portable Transformer
ASUS AURA SYNC Book the T303UA and
Got a machine that has Asus T305CA, also receive
Aura Sync? The Asus ROG XG updates to support the
Station 2 supports it! Modify the Asus ROG XG Station 2.
colour of the LEDs on your GPU In fact, you can also use
with a wide array of dazzling it to upgrade the GPU
effects, just as you would on an for gaming notebooks
internal GPU. On the front of the as well. Quite amazing.
ASUS ROG XG Station 2 theres a
gnarly looking Plasma Tube that
crackles with electricity, letting All the ports on your
everyone know theres loads of graphics card are easily
gaming horsepower within. accessible
AUSTRALIAS PREMIER PC TECH EVENT
RETURNS TO MELBOURNE WITH
AUSTRALIA 5.0
BUILD, PLAY AND CREATE AT THE CAULFIELD CAMPUS OF MONASH UNIVERSITY
PC & Tech Authority, PC PowerPlay, Atomic and Hyper in the field, witness live demonstrations, feast on
are joining forces once again to bring you another free food and drink and stand a pretty good chance of
spectacular night of cutting edge PC technology, the walking away with freebies.
latest advances in gaming and the coolest new gear We know you cant wait to get your hands on the
around. The last Upgrade Australia event was hosted in latest and greatest PC gear so jump on the website and
Sydney, so now were heading back to Melbourne with register right away!
an all new show with new partners and gear. Get ready Register at:
to experience the latest PC hardware, talk to experts www.pcauthority.com.au/upgradeaustralia
WHERE: Melbourne s Monash University, Caulfield Go hands-on with the hottest and most cutting edge
Campus computer tech
WHEN: May the 3rd, 6pm onwards See some of the greatest case mods in Australia
WHAT: Upgrade Australia 5.0, a unique PC event that Be the first to see demonstrations of tech that hasnt
sees the best hardware vendors showing off hit the market
their latest and greatest technology as well Experience VR in all new ways
as free food and drink Eat, drink and socialise with like-minded PC
COST: FREE FOR ALL! enthusiasts
Win prizes!
Visit www.pcauthority.com.au/UpgradeAustralia
for more information, and hear more about the exciting attractions coming to this big event!
UPGRADE AUSTRALIA
CLEAN WINDOWS
Stop the
PC
invaders
STUART ANDREWS
REVEALS HOW TO
KEEP PERSISTENT
PC PESTS AT BAY
A
uto-playing adverts, intrusive feedback
requests, messages that prompt you to update
unwanted software it can often feel like your
PC is under siege.
In theory, were supposed to have more control
of our systems and privacy than ever before, but
in practice all those control panels and opt-out
options count for nothing when software developers
and web advertisers keep finding new ways to
circumvent them. In fact, some of the biggest names
in PC manufacturing, security and software even
Microsoft itself seem hell-bent on running roughshod
over our preferences and invading our PC screens.
Its time to take our PCs back. On the following
pages, youll find not only details of the most intrusive
PC invaders but also simple, practical advice on how
to stop them. We go far beyond the usual responses
to offer effective counter-measures for todays
irritations and the means to take back control of your
beloved PC.

STOP PC INVADERS FEATURE
AXE AUTO- STOP POP-UPS

PLAYING ADS AND OVERLAYS
Pop-ups are another persistent menace that should have gone
Is there anything less life-enriching than a video ad that the way of Netscape. In fact, all the major browsers now have
autoplays the moment a web page loads? After all, if you wanted options to prevent them from appearing.
a movie trailer or a speculative report on what might be in the In Chrome, go to Settings | Advanced Settings and click the
iPhone 8, youd have probably searched for it specifically. Content settings button under Privacy. Scroll down to Pop-
In the good old days, autoplay ads were relatively easy to ups and ensure that Do not allow any site to show pop-ups
disable. If you had a browser extension that blocked Flash is selected. In Firefox, click the hamburger button (three short,
content, you had no more ads, or you could set how plugin content parallel lines), Options and select Content in the left-hand panel.
ran in your browser. Select Block pop-up windows. In Edge, go to Settings | View
Its still possible to keep such irritations at bay. In Chrome, click Advanced Settings and make sure Block pop-ups is turned on.
the options button, then Settings. Scroll down to Show advanced Once again, web developers have found a workaround in the
settings and click the link. Now scroll down to the Privacy overlay. These annoying ads appear over the web page youre
settings and click the Content settings button. Finally, scroll to trying to read, often obscuring the
Plugins and select Let me choose when to run plugin content. content until actively closed if
Overlays can render whole
In Firefox, type about:config into the address bar and press you can even find the close button. sites unusable. A solution
Enter. Agree to the warning before typing autoplay into the Since browsers read the overlay as is BehindTheOverlay in
Search box. One of the results will be a preference called media. just another HTML5 element, they Chrome and Firefox, which
autoplay.enabled, which will be set to True. Double-click to escape detection and can make sites gets rid of them with a
change it to False. all but unusable. single click
In Edge, click the Options button, select Settings and scroll
down to Advanced Settings. Click View advanced settings, then
switch Use Adobe Flash Player to Off. Be warned: this will prevent
all Flash content from playing.
Alternatively, Chrome and Firefox users can use a Flash blocker
extension to keep the fiendish videos at bay. The advantage is
that you can use whitelists and blacklists to selectively block
and unblock Flash content for pages or websites. On Chrome, the
Flashcontrol extension provides a solid level of control. On Firefox,
try the similarly named, but unrelated, Flash Control.
Unfortunately, web advertisers and other purveyors of
annoying autoplay ads have become smart. Flash is now out
of favour and theyre embedding HTML5 video ads within the
page. Being HTML5, these are tougher to outlaw, requiring an
extension to tackle autoplay of HTML5 video specifically. Luckily,
the Firefox Flash Control extension has it covered, enabling you
to block or enable autoplay at a click, or you can use the dedicated
Toggle HTML5 Video extension. On
Chrome, Disable HTML5 Autoplay Old-school Flash-blockers
does the same thing, with a toggle will stop Flash videos
auto-playing, but not
to enable and disable autoplay then Extensions are again the answer. One way to tackle the overlay
HTML5 video. Thats
reload the current page, plus logs problem is to use Adblock Plus in concert with the Element Hiding
where extensions such as
of attempts at media playback from Chromes Disable HTML5 Helper extension. Install both, then click on the arrow next to the
the page. Autoplay come in Adblock Plus icon and choose Select an element to hide. Now click
on the overlay and it should be hidden in future although, with
several types of overlays out there, you may need to find a few
before you banish them all.
The downside of this technique is that you block all the
advertising content on the web and youre arguably starving
the sites you use of advertising income. Instead, think about
a more specialised extension. Chrome and Firefox have the
BehindTheOverlay extension, which removes the despised page
element with a single click. Chrome also has the Auto Overlay
Remover extension, which disables them automatically. In the
event that it disables one thats useful, you can click the button
to add it to a whitelist or a Delayed start overlay list, where the
overlay will appear but only after a timed delay.
In Edge, you can use Adblock Plus but theres no Element
Hiding Helper extension and the beta hasnt received great
reviews. If you want real control of your browser, switch to Firefox
or Chrome.

CUT THE
YOUTUBE CLUTTER
AVOID
UNWANTED
AUDIO
While generally a by-product of autoplay
video, unwanted audio is a menace in
its own right, with web ads, clips and
teasers all hitting you with online noise
pollution, or actively drowning out the
active tab. In both Firefox and Chrome,
muting this stuff is easy simply right-
click on the speaker icon in the noisy tab
and select Mute Tab but surely theres a
more automated way?
Your first option is Smart Tab Mute: a Get a cleaner, leaner
YouTube free of
Chrome extension that has since been
clutter with the handy
adapted for Firefox. This automatically MagicActions for YouTube.
mutes background tabs when you have You can disable ads and
an active tab playing media content comments, not to mention
and has a whitelist feature to ensure recommendations
that some domains used for important
communications are never muted.
A rival extension, prosaically titled
Auto Mute Tab When Multiple Tabs Open,
ensures that only one tab stays audible
at a time. It also provides keyboard
shortcuts to mute all tabs (Ctrl + Shift +
0), unmute all tabs (Ctrl + Shift + 9) and
toggle the mute status of the active tab
(Ctrl + Shift + 8).
Perhaps the strongest option is
MuteTab, which provides greater control
over how tabs with sound, are handled.
This includes blacklist and whitelist
features to enable or disable sites
from playing sound and customisable
keyboard shortcuts to mute and unmute
all tabs or background tabs. Firefoxs
MuteTab extension isnt so rich in options,
but has the facility to auto-mute new You visit YouTube to watch a video, not to have it spoilt by ads
tabs or silence tabs with a single click. that cover half of the picture; nor comments, recommendations or
other forms of YouTube clutter. This is where another extension,
MagicActions for YouTube, comes in. Versions are available for Chrome,
Firefox and Opera, and through a simple checkbox-powered control
panel you can block ads and annotations, stop autoplay and hide a
range of other page elements, including the ever-annoying Related
videos overlay.
As a bonus, MagicActions can be set to automatically show videos
in a more focused, highly configurable Cinema view and play them at
a specific resolution, including 1080p and 2160p. Just watch out for
the installers deplorable attempt to install the Click&Clean privacy
extension during setup.
KEEP SPYWARE
AND ADWARE AT BAY
UNTICK THE No malware should be welcome on your PC, but spyware is particularly
insidious, lurking on
WRONG BOXES
You know how it is. You invite a friend to a house
your system while
feeding personal and
business data not to
party, then they turn up with someone who mention information
drinks too much, eats all the nibbles, tells jokes on your activities
that would have made Graham Kennedy blush, back to persons
and breaks the wing mirror off your car as they both unknown and
stagger down the path. Well, some software unauthorised. Adware
installation routines do roughly the same thing isnt as malicious but
for your PC, pre-ticking optional checkboxes can still be troubling,
to change file associations, search engine displaying unwanted
preferences, your browsers homepage, or even ads, collecting data
your default browser. Its a habit known in the about you and the
trade as potentially unwanted modifications websites you visit,
(PUMs). Others might install extra apps, utilities and even changing
and browser toolbars, or even games. We call the results when you
these potentially unwanted programs (PUPs). perform a search.
Luckily, while you probably wont hire a Needless to say,
doorman for your party, you can keep all these installing anti-
unwanted guests from your PC using Unchecky. malware software
This helpful app automatically unchecks the or using Windows
boxes for unrelated offers and warns you when 10s built-in tools will
youre about to allow an additional program to help. Go to Settings
install. You can still install the extra program if you | Update & Security
choose, but Unchecky acts as an extra pair of eyes | Windows Defender
to ensure you dont blithely leave boxes ticked and ensure that
in your haste to install software. Whats more, Real-time protection
Unchecky is regularly updated to cover more apps and Cloud-based
and installers, so it should keep these unwelcome protection are turned
PC partycrashers out in future. on. However, its worth
Other utilities also detect unwanted programs maintaining a second Scan with Malwarebytes
Anti-Malware regularly
and undesired modifications. For instance, line of protection, even if you dont suspect youre
and you have a great
Malwarebytes (see right) checks for potentially being troubled by the devilish duo. second line of defence
unwanted programs and modifications during Your first port of call is Microsofts own Malicious against spyware and
scans. Software Removal Tool. If you subscribe to adware
automatic updates through the Windows Update
program you dont really have a choice in
Windows 10 this downloads and runs in the background automatically after
the first Tuesday of each month. You can also download it on demand from
tinyurl.com/pz23aoa and run a quick or full scan manually. The tool checks
your computer for infection by specific forms of malware, then removes it
if discovered. Its a useful line of protection as its designed to counter the
newest, most virulent, or hardest to stop malware.
For a really thorough check, however, install the free
version of Malwarebytes from www.malwarebytes.com/
mwb-download/. This scans for malware on top of any
existing antivirus product you have installed, detecting and
cleaning infections that Windows Defender and other antivirus
products miss. It updates itself regularly and is worth running
periodically, even if you have real-time protection from another
party. On installation it will update its malware database,
Fed up with annoying after which you should click the Scan button at the top of the
programs that change window and run a Threat Scan or Custom Scan. Just be aware
your settings, or even that, by default, it will enable a free trial of the Anti-Malware
add unwanted programs Premium product during installation. If youre not already using
while theyre supposed to
Unchecky (see left), youll have to turn this off yourself.
be installing? Unchecky
unchecks the checkboxes
for you and lets you know

BATTLE DROP SUGGESTIONS
You buy or upgrade Windows because you need to get things done, not because
NOISY you want to throw more money at Microsoft. Why, then, put up with nonsense
such as the Get Office 365 app and its notifications or suggested apps in the
BLOATWARE Windows Start menu? Why sit through tips on how to use Cortana when youd
rather have a simple search?
You can easily change how and
Bloatware not only fills your hard disk, when you receive notifications
it also sends out intrusive notifications through the Notifications & Actions
and update requests. Whats more, some control panel under Settings |
manufacturers reinstall bloatware youve System. Turn off Get tips, tricks and
deleted, or re-enable unwanted options or suggestions as you use Windows.
services that youve disabled. Go to Settings | Personalisation |
Uninstall apps by right-clicking on Start, and you can set Occasionally
them in the Start menu or Apps List and show suggestions in Start to off as
clicking Uninstall. Desktop applications well.
can be removed by visiting Settings | To rid those annoying Office
System | Apps & Features, clicking on a messages, simply ditch the Get
bloatware app and clicking Uninstall. We Do you really need an app Office app. Click the Start button,
also recommend pressing Ctrl + Alt + Del that pushes you into signing scroll through the Apps List, right-click on the app
while on the desktop, launching the Task up for Office 365? No. To and hit Uninstall. Meanwhile, if Cortanas taskbar
Manager, clicking the More details arrow get rid of Get Office 365, titbits are annoying you, youll find an option to
simply right-click on the
and then hitting the Startup tab. See if any silence her by clicking in the Search bar, then on
apps Start menu tile and
solution centre applets or processes are the Settings icon. Slide the Taskbar titbits switch
then select Uninstall
launching when your PC boots. If so, click to off.
on the app then click Disable.
The problem can be differentiating
between manufacturer tools and utilities
you dont need and those that are
necessary to make hardware such as a
webcam or audio system work correctly.
Typing names into a search engine
can help, but specialist utilities are also
available.
COVER YOUR WEBCAM
Whether the culprits are Russian cybercriminals, hacker collectives or the good old
Arguably the best is Should I Remove NSA, fears of webcam hacking dont seem to be abating. How can you maintain control
It? (shouldiremoveit.com), which combines of what your webcam sees and sends when it isnt in active use? There are obvious
a tool that cleans your PC of unwanted physical measures, such as unplugging your USB webcam if you use a desktop PC,
programs with detailed resources that or taping over your laptops webcam the measure recommended last April by James
help you decide whether or not a program Comey, director of the FBI. But are there less drastic, more convenient measures to keep
should be uninstalled. Just let it run its the spies from peeking in?
initial scan, then click on each identified Beyond following basic good security practices such as running antivirus software,
program. You can click the What is it? maintaining strong password security, avoiding suspect emails, attachments, apps
button for details, or and links there are some more specific steps you can take. One is to use Windows 10s
the Uninstall button Should I Remove privacy controls. Go to Settings | Privacy | Camera and turn your Camera on or off, or
to simply remove it. It? offers the tools set which specific apps can access the camera. While youre at it, you can do the same for
Be warned that and knowledge you your microphone through Settings | Privacy | Microphone.
the download and need to rid your You may, however, be looking for a more substantial measure such as disabling the
thank you pages PC of the space- camera altogether. In Windows 10, type Device Manager into the Cortana search bar
hogging bloatware
for the program then tap Return. When the Device Manager loads, scroll down until you find Imaging
and intrusive built-
contains numerous in manufacturer
devices, then click the arrow to open up the category if necessary. Now right-click on
links to unrelated utility apps that your webcam and select Disable. Youll need to repeat the process and Enable it the next
utilities. Ironic, all loiter on your hard time you need to use it, but youve made it a lot harder for others to access. If you dont
things considered. drive ever use it, you could uninstall it. Both steps can also work for your microphone, usually
found under Audio inputs and outputs.
Some laptops also allow you to disable webcams from within the BIOS. The method
will differ from manufacturer to manufacturer, although its usually a case of tapping
Del or F2 during your laptops initial startup then checking through the different BIOS
screens to see whether theres an option. Just remember that youll need to return to the
BIOS and re-enable your webcam if you want to use it later.
Finally, its worth deleting any apps that use the webcam if you dont use them
regularly. Many manufacturers install them in a PC bloatware suite, but an underused,
poorly updated app with access to your webcam is a security vulnerability. If you havent
already uninstalled it manually, or purged your PC with Should I Remove It? (see left), do
so now.
CUTTING EDGE SUDDEN RESTARTS

We all understand why Microsoft enforces updates for Windows 10.
OUT OF THE People say they want control, then leave their PCs unpatched and
insecure, hostage to every script-kiddie and budding botnet-builder on
PICTURE
So, you dont like Microsofts built-in browser. Would you
the web. At the same time, its infuriating when you need to get some
work done but Windows has decided that youll have to update first.
We go into great detail on how to deal with this in our separate feature
rather use something else? Well, Windows 10 isnt going on fixing Windows Update (see p30). For extra power, however, Windows
to make things easy for you. Not only will you have to 10 Professional and Enterprise
install Chrome or Firefox manually, youll have to change users can tap into the Group
your default browser from Edge to your choice and endure Policy Editor. Type gpedit
Microsofts urging not to do so along the way. into the Cortana search box
In theory, changing the default browser is easy. Go to to launch it, then expand
Settings | System then click Default apps on the left- Administrative Templates
hand side. Click on Microsoft Edge under Web browser, under Computer Configuration
select your preferred browser, then click Switch anyway in the left-hand pane. Now
to tell Microsoft that, no, you really dont want to stick expand Windows Components
with Edge. and open the Windows Update
Sadly, youll soon discover that Edge might not be done folder. Double-click Configure
quite yet. In fact, it will remain the default option to open Automatic Updates then click Windows 10 Pro
some file types, including PDF. If so, click on the Set the Enabled radio button. You can now use the owners can use
default apps by file type link at the bottom of the page, Configure automatic updating dropdown to pick Group Policy Editor
then scroll down the list until you see the PDF file type. between Auto-download and notify for install, to control how
Click on Microsoft Edge then select your preferred option. Notify for download and notify for install or Auto- and when the OS
You can also reset any other defaults the built-in apps download and schedule for install. updates
have hijacked. After all, do you really want Films & TV
handling all your video formats, or Groove Music all your
music files?
FALL OF THE
FIREWALL?
There used to be two rock-solid at Kaspersky Lab. [A firewall]
recommendations for Windows blocks unauthorised network
security: install a good connections to a computer,
antivirus package and couple thereby reducing the risk
it with a solid third-party of infection, and blocks
firewall. These days, youll find unauthorised activity of
people arguing that Defender programs on the computer.
provides adequate antivirus Its a point shared by Gareth
Microsoft will plead to Lockwood, EMEA consumer
capabilities, but where does
stop you from switching
that leave the firewall? product specialist at Norton.
away from its browser, but
remember to also change On the one hand, Windows Honestly, theyre more
your file associations (to Firewall does a good job of relevant today than ever, he
stop, for example, PDF files blocking incoming connections said, explaining that in a world
opening in Edge by default) and can be configured to where successful malware
if you really want to see the control outgoing connections attacks exploit vulnerabilities
back of Edge too. Thats why many PC in OSes and browsers, using
security suites skip the firewall advanced network security
component altogether. is crucial. Blocking incoming
However, some experts connections and cloaking open
argue that malware ports will take you so far, but to
continually attacks the same be effective the firewall must
FIX THE two unblockable ports, and

that when it comes to client-
act as an intrusion prevention
system (IPS), screening
FEEDBACK
You might like Windows 10, but do you really want to
side attacks those aimed at
individual client computers,
network traffic for patterns of
behaviour that might signify
their browsers and their apps an attack. The cloud can help
spend time reporting back on its pros and cons? If the firewalls are mostly impotent. here too, sharing data from
answer is no then you can do without the Windows So is it time to ditch them? millions of users to find these
Feedback Tool. To stop its harassment, go to Settings Not yet, says David Emm, patterns quickly when a new
| Privacy | Feedback & Diagnostics. Set the Windows principal security researcher threat emerges.
should ask for my feedback option to Never.

Take control of
WINDOWS
WINDOWS
SPECIAL 10 UPDATE
ITS VITAL TO KEEP YOUR
PC UP TO DATE BUT IN
A WAY THAT WORKS FOR
YOU. NIK RAWLINSON
EXPLORES HOW TO
TAILOR WINDOWS
UPDATE TO YOUR
REQUIREMENTS
W
indows Update has a
reputation for choosing
the worst possible
time to interrupt your work. And
in Windows 10 its become far
less flexible than it used to be. In
a world where threats are both
more serious and common than
they once were, its arguably
become necessary to take a hard-
line approach to security patches.
All the same, you may have
good reason to treat updates with
caution. Some users, for example,
found that autumn 2016s
Anniversary Update disabled
their computers webcams. It The THE WINDOWS UPDATE SCHEDULE
schedule
may make sense to wait and The first step in managing Windows Update is understanding what its sending
for updates
see what effect a patch has on can be you, and when. On a regular PC with a direct connection to the internet,
other users machines before relentless Windows 10 will download updates as soon as theyre available. Microsoft
you roll it out onto your own. If its time to usually rolls out a cumulative update on the second Tuesday of each month,
you like to control exactly whats take control colloquially known as Patch Tuesday or Update Tuesday.
downloaded and when its If a serious hazard is discovered, an out of band patch may be issued: if
time to take control of Windows you keep an eye on Microsofts Download Center (microsoft.com/en-gb/
Update. download) you can get a head start on the masses, as such updates tend to
Before we go any further, show up there first. You may also find details about them on the Microsoft
though, we must emphasise that Knowledge Base (support.microsoft.com) or on TechNet (technet.microsoft.com).
keeping Windows patched and Minor updates are issued every other month, starting in January, with
up to date is important. It isnt major ones coming down the line in alternate months. (The Windows Defender
hyperbole: running an outdated malware database is an exception, and is typically updated every day.)
operating system leaves you Windows Update uses Microsofts Background Intelligent Transfer Service
vulnerable to data loss and (BITS) to download updates in the background. Its designed to use your
identity theft. Therefore, when connection only when its idle, so you shouldnt notice impact on your working
making any changes to Windows or browsing speed. Nonetheless, when theres a lot to download, Windows
default settings, you should Update can hit your broadband connection hard over the course of a month. If
weigh any gains in convenience you have a low data cap with your ISP, Update could gobble up a big proportion of
against the potential dangers. it, without you having any control of what comes down the line and when.

WINDOWS UPDATE FEATURE
MINIMISING THE DOWNLOAD BUNDLE

To help reduce the load on businesses, choose what gets downloaded each
Windows 10 introduced a system whereby month, but if youre using a Professional,
computers on a network fetch copies of Enterprise or Education edition of Windows
updates from their neighbours where 10, you can strip the payload down to
possible, rather than retrieving their own its basics by postponing new features.
copy over the internet. System admins This option is chiefly intended to allow
running Windows Server 2003 and later can businesses time to test and update
also deploy updates across the local network applications and training procedures,
from a central location with Windows Server but theres no reason why you cant do
Update Service (microsoft.com/wsus). the same on your own desktop. To apply
At home, you can configure your PC this setting, open Settings, go to Update
to fetch updates from other PCs on the & Security and pick Advanced Options.
internet, rather than solely from Microsoft. Tick the box next to Defer upgrades, and
This wont reduce your bandwidth new Windows features will be held back,
consumption, but you may see updates sometimes for months, while security
arrive more quickly when a wider range of patches continue.
nearby sources is available. The trade-off Its also worth noting that if you dont get
is that this allows remote users around the along with a particular update, its often
world to use your upstream bandwidth possible to uninstall and roll back. Youll find
to retrieve updates from your machine the option under Control Panel | Programs |
which is probably why the option is Programs and Features | Installed Updates.
disabled by default. To change this, open If you leave your settings the same, You can extend Tricking your PC
Windows Update to into thinking your
Settings | Update & Security | Advanced however, dont be surprised if the exact
download updates Ethernet connection
Options | Choose how updates are delivered. same update comes back down the line a from other PCs across is metered requires a
It isnt generally possible to pick and few days later. the internet Registry edit

MANUAL CONFIGURATION
You wont find many update options in your hands.
in Settings but in Windows 10 Its also a good idea to authorise
Professional and Enterprise, you can Windows to log back in after
access additional controls via the rebooting: this allows it to complete
Local Group Policy Editor. To open it, the installation process in your
launch gpedit.msc from the search absence, so you wont be waiting
box, navigate through Computer around once you come back to your
Configuration | Administrative PC. Enable this through Settings
Templates | Windows Components | | Update & Security | Advanced
Windows Update, and double-click Options: youll be automatically
on the setting entitled Configure logged out once updates have been
Automatic Updates. applied, to keep your account safe in
Select Enabled at the top of the your absence.
window and youll see several If youre using Windows 10
dropdown menus become available Home then your best option is to
in the Options window below. tell Windows that youre using a
Choose 2. Notify for download and metered connection (see below).
notify for install and control of This will halt Windows Update until
Windows Update will once more be you disable the option.
SETTING A METERED CONNECTION

For wireless networks, its easy TrustedInstaller.
to configure your connection as Enter the name of your Windows
metered. Head to Settings | Network user account in the Enter the object
& Internet | Wi-Fi. Click Manage name to select box, click Check
known networks, select the network Names, click OK to close the window,
and click Properties, then hit the and then OK again on the previous
Metered connection switch. dialog to return to Permissions for
To set a wired Ethernet connection DefaultMediaCost.
as metered, you must change the Now give yourself permission to
Registry. Open Registry Editor, then edit the Registry key you need to
navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ tweak by clicking Users in the Group
SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows or user names box and ticking the
NT\CurrentVersion\NetworkList\ box beneath Allow on the Full
DefaultMediaCost. Control row below. Close the window
First, authorise yourself to and return to the Registry Editor.
edit these Registry settings. In Finally, double-click Ethernet in
the left-hand pane, right-click the right-hand pane and change the
DefaultMediaCost and pick setting in the Value data box to 2 to
he Windows Insider programme delivers pre-release builds of the Permissions from the menu, followed set the wired connection as metered.
operating system for advanced users
by Advanced; then, in the new You can download a script to perform
window, the Change link beside this action from tinyurl.com/zkssac9.
UUP: THE FUTURE OF WINDOWS UPDATE

While it may not be obvious, at the download stream rather END OF
Microsoft is currently rolling
out a major upgrade to the
than gulping huge quantities
of data once or twice a month. THE ROAD FOR
Windows Update system. The
Unified Update Platform (UUP)
has been pushed to mobile
Microsoft estimates that this
will reduce the download size of
major updates by 35%.
OLDER WINDOWS
No developer can be expected to continue supporting old releases
devices and PCs signed up to the The selecting and bundling forever, and each version of Windows comes with a cut-off date for
Windows 10 Insider Programme, of the required components is support. The current timetable for Windows 10 promises mainstream
and will be coming to the rest of handled by Microsofts servers, support which may include new and upgraded features through
us soon. so your computer will also have to October 2020. After that its extended support only, which
The big idea behind UUP less work to do when it comes means security updates will continue but all other development will
is to reduce the size of each to unpacking and installing stop. After 2025, any support you need will be at a charge. Based
update payload by installing updates, which should yield a on Microsofts past behaviour, we can assume that the next major
differential download reduction in battery usage too. update to the OS will extend those dates, but weve no official word
packages, which contain only Whether the improvement will on that.
the changes that have been really be noticeable remains to For Windows 8.1, mainstream support expires in January 2018 and
made to the OS since the last be seen, however. Microsofts extended support continues until 2023. If youre running Windows
update. So, if you regularly keep aim is to make the switch to 7, youre already into extended support: security updates will end
your machine patched then it UUP entirely transparent, so that in 2020, so you should, perhaps, start thinking about an upgrade
will, in effect, only be sipping it appears nothing has changed. strategy.

WINDOWS UPDATE FEATURE
HOW TO SUPPRESS AUTOMATIC REBOOTS

Security updates often affect key operating system components, these are, open Windows Update Settings, click Change active
so Windows usually needs to reboot when installing an update. hours and set the start and end times. Sadly, theres no option to
If youre sitting at your computer when an update arrives, you choose specific days, so you cant for example install updates
can easily suppress the restart until a more convenient time, but if only at weekends.
youve left something running such as a Bitcoin miner or a video- You may therefore prefer to disable automatic reboots
rendering task you may return to find your PC sitting at the login altogether. This isnt something Microsoft officially supports, but
screen waiting for you to enter your credentials. Very frustrating. its easy to implement by creating a scheduled task that runs in
You can reduce the danger of this by setting Windows Update to the background every hour and automatically cancels any pending
install updates only outside of your active hours. To specify what reboots. Heres how.
1
Open the Task Scheduler desktop app and create a new task by clicking
2
Windows needs to know when to run the task: switch to the Triggers tab and
Action | Create Task Give it a name such as Cancel auto reboot and click the click New. Tasks can be fired when certain things happen (such as when you
box beside Run with highest privileges to give it Administrator access. We log on) or to a timed schedule, as configured on the Begin the task menu. We
recommend hitting the Hidden checkbox, too, so it doesnt open a command want our task to run at regular intervals, so leave this set to On a schedule.
prompt window.
3 4
Windows Update is a single-minded beast, and will continually try to On the Actions tab, click New, and in the Program/script: box, enter
instigate a reboot, so you need your task to launch at regular intervals. Tick the powershell. In the Add arguments box, type -command Disable-
box beside Repeat task every: and make sure the interval is set to 1 hour. ScheduledTask \Microsoft\Windows\UpdateOrchestrator\Reboot. Dont
Then change the option beside for a duration of: from 1 day to Indefinitely and include the quote marks in either instance. Click OK, then OK again to close the
click OK. Create Task dialog. Job done.

Why
SD cards
refuse
to op STEWART MITCHELL INVESTIGATES WHY SD CARDS CONTINUE
TO SURVIVE, DESPITE REPEATED ATTEMPTS TO KILL THEM OFF
T
heyve been banished from phones, tablets and which only tells half the story. Slower cards mean poor
MacBooks, and they cause consumers no end performance if access rates cant keep up with app or
of confusion with myriad formats. Yet, the SD media demands. Its very confusing for consumers,
card continues to shrug off the repeated threats to its said Ben Wood, head of research at analyst CCS Insight.
existence, with manufacturers such as Samsung having There are so many different classes and variables.
to eat humble pie and reintroduce SD card slots in their The SD Association (SDA) downplays the confusion,
flagship phones. patronisingly suggesting that: Before you buy a pair of
Now, yet another new format is set to make SD cards shoes, you need to know your shoe size, so why would
even more pivotal in smartphone storage (see boxout). you buy an SD memory card without knowing what the
Why can nobody kill off these tiny chunks of storage? various speed classes mean and the best uses for each
class?
Over the years, SD
CHAOTIC EVOLUTION cards have increased
The SDA breaks down cards into three classes: Video
Understandably for a 16-year-old technology, SD cards in capacity and shrunk Speed Class (V), UHS Speed Class and SD Speed Class, but
have changed significantly since they first arrived at in size each of these is further stratified. The SD Speed Class
the turn of the millennium. Capacity has obviously includes C2, C4, C6 and C10 classes; the UHS Speed Class
increased significantly as storage density Apple would never has U1 and U3 options; while the Video Speed Class is
has improved, while card sizes have countenance external broken down into V6, V10, V30, V60 and V90 subclasses.
shrunk to the size of a toddlers storage for its It isnt exactly comparable to buying a pair of size 10
fingernail. The initial SD card iPhones shoes from Clarks.
standard supported cards of up to
2GB, which was increased to 32GB HARDWARE RESTRICTIONS
with SDHC and then pushed up to The cards themselves arent the only variable, because
2TB with the SDXC, although all of controllers within handsets may also
them are largely referred to as SD restrict data throughput or prove
cards in top-level marketing. unable to support high-density cards,
The situation is further although such details are often buried
complicated by a change in the in product manuals. Although these
underlying file formats used for new high-speed cards are available,
writing information, making various you need to have a handset that
cards and readers incompatible. supports them, said Wood.
SDXC memory cards use the newer That can either be from the cards
exFAT file system thats more controller, in terms of being able to
efficient for SDXCs large capacities, read and write at the correct speed,
while SD and SDHC memory cards but also being able to cope with the
use the FAT32, states card maker higher-capacity cards. So cards might
Lexar. This is the reason the go up to huge densities but the reality
new SDXC format isnt backwards is that not all phones will support
compatible with host devices that those.
only take SD (128MB to 2GB) or SDHC It should be flagged on the memory
(4GB to 32GB) cards. cards, saying: You need to carefully
This is made even more check the devices youre going to use
complicated by the fact that this on as to whether its capable of
manufacturers and retailers supporting it.
continue to headline with capacity,

SD CARDS FEATURE
WAVERING SUPPORT
On top of the regular iterations of the format, Android
handset makers and Google have also flitted between
supporting expandable SD card storage and scrapping it
in favour of faster, simpler on-board capacity. Android,
for example, allowed apps to access the external
storage, then it didnt, then it allowed consumers to
adopt external cards as internal memory with the
Manufacturers have
argued that supporting
cards adds another layer
of complication that can
lead to dissatisfaction
Marshmallow update.
The cards have always been available for people to
store and enjoy their music, pictures, documents, and
Androids changes make it more clear about how microSD
memory cards can be used to store and run apps, the
SDA told PC & Tech Authority. Samsung received Manufacturers have also argued that supporting
Handset and tablet manufacturers have further positive feedback when cards adds another layer of complication that can
it brought back the
complicated the SD ecosystem by temporarily removing lead to consumer dissatisfaction. The downside with
microSD slot with its
card slots. Samsung dropped external storage and Galaxy S7 phone
removable storage is that it adds complexity to the
then tiered its prices based on the amount of internal device and means that users who arent savvy may do
storage on the device, said Ian Fogg, director of things that cause the phone to behave unexpectedly,
mobile at research firm IHS Markit. With the S7, the said Fogg. They may not realise where theyve stored
company revived the microSD slot and that was very things, or remove the SD card at the wrong time; [they
much based on feedback it received it was a feature might] put it into another device and find the phone
that was important to users and would help Samsung doesnt work.
differentiate.
The SDA claims that nine out of ten phones contain an DEATH ON THE DESKTOP?
SD card slot, but there is of course one firm that would It isnt only mobile phone designers that have upset
never countenance support for external storage. Apple users by excluding SD card slots. Apple recently angered
is the notable exception and the general view is that its its customers by removing the SD card slot from the
largely driven by commercial reasons, said Wood. It new MacBook Pro, despite the laptops popularity with
prices the iPhone largely on the memory configuration photographers. Apple said the decision was in part
that people have and thats a very effective way for it to because SD was a bit of a cumbersome slot youve
maximise its margin on the devices. got this thing sticking halfway out, but the current
If it allowed people to use removable storage, all of alternatives and adapters hardly add elegance.
a sudden people could get a lower-capacity iPhone and Rival PC makers also disagree with Apples stance
then top it up with an extra memory card, said Wood. on slots. A major part of our business is photo-editing
If you buy a 32GB iPhone and look at the difference workstations, which we ship with SD card readers as
between that and a 128GB one, and how much an SD standard, said Ben Miles, sales director at PC builder
card would cost to make up the difference, its an order Chillblast. We wouldnt dream of taking an SD card
of magnitude. reader out of a photo-editing workstation; its an
essential bit of kit for that market.
In PCs, however, manufacturers can use card readers
APP-CLASS CARDS that overcome many of the compatibility issues
with multiformat readers. Everybody has their own
Some of the confusion over SD cards can handle the read-write speeds to standards microSD and Memory Stick Duo and Duo
in mobiles and tablets could soon be make apps run smoothly from external Pro, and all these other formats, said Miles. We ship
removed by a new class yes, another memory. our systems with an all-in-one card reader that covers
one dedicated to Android apps. Its positive news for people with everything, so that regardless of what technology
According to the SDA, Specification an Android phone, said CCS Insight
the customer has, they can hopefully read anything.
5.1, or App Performance Class, should analyst Ben Wood. It will also tell
Occasionally, there will be one that isnt compatible
eliminate buyers frustration with you if the card youre using doesnt
with this new media. Its frustrating that they dont
identifying app-running compatibility have the necessary performance, so
consolidate the forms into a single medium, but the SD
on their Android devices and microSD it works well for manufacturers since
card is becoming more and more standardised.
memory cards. they wont have people using SD cards
The A1 symbol will be printed on and having a disappointing experience. If measures such as the new Application brand (see
packaging for both handsets and Im surprised it hasnt happened App-class cards, left) and clearer marketing at the point
media, and show phones and cards sooner. of sale can simplify this process, then the SD card might
well have another 16 years in front of it.

IN THE LABS
You wont find better reviews anywhere in Australia!
The thing about GPUs

BEN MANSILL ON THE ORDER OF THINGS, DECISIONY THINGS
All graphics cards are not created equal. other than impatience? It certainly wasnt and they think that M.2 is the new
But as we all know, theyre equal enough for the cooling benefits of that shroud amazing thing. Again, it is not. But what it
make the initial phase of the buying When we do standalone reviews of is, is complicated, so I have no issue with
process driven by GPU, not brand. You say graphics cards its because something has people making this simple mistake.
to your mates. caught our eye that needs closer attention. Confounding things a bit more is the
Its all about the GPU. We know that. So interface. Which, in the case of these
thats why with our Labs group test the M.2 SSDS ARE THE BEST lovely new NVMe SSDs, is PCI Express Gen
whole idea was to get one of each of the No, theyre not. M.2 is a form factor, not a 3 x4. And you are welcome to also refer
main GPUs. We werent driven by brand, protocol. Far too often I hear people talking to speedy new SSDs as PCI Express Gen 3
which is why not every main player is about getting an M.2 SSD to make their PC x4. But that is a cumbersome set of letters
included. But just because, say, MSI dont amazing. It is not M.2 that you should be and numbers, which is why we like NVMe
feature cards here means nothing in terms referring to. M.2 has been around for many better. But not M.2, which is tidier yet, but
of our respect for the products it makes. years, and the vast majority on sale today not specific enough.
Which is why as tech fans we all look are based on the SATA protocol as in, Additional and unwelcome confusion
to the news from AMD and Nvidia first, relatively slow and old but of course are comes into play with the NVMe SSDs that
and then to which individual card offers still much faster than a hard drive. use PCI Express add-in cards as a form
the extras we like most. These could The NVMe protocol is whats the best, factor in addition to the PCI Express
be factory overclocks, maybe a game and is the term that should be used when interface. In this instance, they are cards
bundle, or interesting features like extra describing utterly kickarse new SSD drives. that go into a PCIe slot, as opposed to M.2,
connectivity for VR or outputs that suit Lets all try and remember that. The new which is a little card the size of your finger
your particular rig. Good cooling plays a Samsung 960 Evo and Pro, as well as Intels that goes into a dedicated plug on your
big role, too, as we all know reference 750 (which has a U.2 interface) and OCZs motherboard.
cards are nice for those who just cant wait, RD400 are NVMe. Most also happen to be So, there you have it. It is confusing, I
but did anyone ever really buy an Nvidia M.2 which is why so many people are know. By the way its pronounced m dot
Founders Edition 1080 for any reason equating M.2 with next gen performance, 2. I know... crazy.
ASUS BANG & OLUFSEN SAMSUNG

ZENBOOK 3 BEOSOUND 1 960 EVO
44 58 56
EDITORlAL & PRODUCT SUBMISSION: PC & Tech Authority welcomes all information on new and upgraded products and services for possible coverage within the news or reviews pages. However, we respectfully point out that the magazine is not
obliged to either review or return unsolicited products. Products not picked up within six months of submission will be used or donated to charity. The Editor is always pleased to receive ideas for articles, preferably sent in outline form, with details of authors
background, and where available samples of previously published work. We cannot, however, accept responsibility for unsolicited copy and would like to stress that it may take time for a reply to be sent out.
WHAT OUR A-LIST MEANS WHAT OUR AWARDS MEAN WHAT OUR RATINGS MEAN
Our A-List award is PC & Tech Authoritys VERY POOR
reserved for the best comprehensive Real World
products in each category testing sorts out the best POOR
we review. With a winner products from the pack. Any ORDINARY
and an alternative pick in product recommended by PC
each, thats 92 products & Tech Authority is well above
VERY GOOD
you know are first class. average for features, value for OUTSTANDING
money and performance. 0 1 2 3 4 5

INTRO REVIEWS
REVIEWS GROUP TEST:

HOW WE TEST GRAPHICS
CARDS 66
Our benchmarking tests are the best in the
business. Read on to find how they work
2D TESTS
Desktop PCs and laptops are tested using our own custom
bench testing suite, which has been carefully designed to
test all aspects of a system and rate them in a way thats
useful to you.
Our benchtesting cover three main tests: a typical video
editing test, a demanding 4K video editing test and a
multitasking test that stresses all aspects of the system.
We look at the time it takes for each test to run, which
is then compared to our reference PC to produce a
normalised result. This score is shown on a graph, and to
help you understand just where the PC were reviewing
sits in the grand scheme of things, we will often include
other systems scores.
The median score of 100 is based on our reference
system:
Q PCS & LAPTOPS Q SOFTWARE
PC & TA REFERENCE PC. SCORE: 100 Acer Spin 7...................................... 40 Free Agent .......................................62
Intel Core i5-4670K CPU; 8GB of DDR3 RAM; Asus Transformer T102HA ..........41 Quick Books Online Plus.............62
AMD Radeon R7 260X graphics card
Lenovo Y710 Cube ........................42 Sage One Accounting.................. 73
On occasion we will run publically available bench testing Asus Zenbook 3 .............................44 Wave Apps ...................................... 73
software, predominantly PCMark 8 from Futuremark. Panasonic Toughpad ...................45
This is run in the Home setting, in Accelerated mode. You
can get PCMark 8 as well as 3DMark (below) from www.
Shuttle DX30 ..................................45 Q LABS:
Kano Kit PC ......................................51
GRAPHICS CARDS
futuremark.com
Nvidia GeForce GT 710 ................ 74
3D TESTS Q HANDHELDS Nvidia GeForce GT 730 ............... 74
For video cards, as well as Integrated Graphics Processing
OnePlus 3T .....................................52 AMD Radeon R7 240 ................... 74
Units, we use:
3DMark Firestrike HTC Evo 10 ......................................54 AMD Radeon R7 250 ................... 74
Shadow of Mordor AMD Radeon RX 460 .................. 74
GRID Autosport Q PERIPHERALS Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050..........76
3DMark is designed specically to test video cards, and Wacom Intuos Pro ....................... 48 Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti .......76
you can download and run the same tool as us to help you Bang & Olufsen BeoSound 1 .....55 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti .....76
gauge where your own GPU ranks compared to what we
Xiaomi Mi router ............................58 AMD Radeon RX 470...................76
are reviewing.
The two games were selected because they are Cisco RV134W VDSL2 router ... 60 AMD Radeon R9 380X ...............78
relatively well balanced in performance between AMD Seagate Backup Plus...................64 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060..........78
and Nvidia, favouring neither. Both feature a wide range of
Asus ROG Spatha mouse ..........64 AMD Radeon RX 480 ..................78
DirectX 11 shaders. GRID Autosport is fairly easy on GPUs,
while Shadow of Mordor is quite demanding, so each TP Link Smart Wi-Fi LED bulb..64 AMD Radeon R9 Fury ..................78
provides a helpful gauge for you showing what to expect Asus ROG Centurion ....................64 AMD Radeon R9 Nano............... 80
from a GPU in your favourite games. We will update these
to cover DX12 once that API gains traction. AMD Radeon R9 Fury X ............. 80
Tests are run using three resolution ranges, depending
Q COMPONENTS
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080......... 80
on where the GPU sits in the market: Samsung 960 Evo........................56
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 ......... 80
Asrock Fatal1ty H270 ...................59
Entry level: 1920 x 1080
Mid-range: 1920 x 1080 2560 x 1440
High-end: 2560 x 4K Q GAMES
Ghost Recon: Wildlands ............ 90
BATTERY TESTS
War Hammer 40K: Space Hulk
Screen brightness is set to 120cd/m2, playing a 720p video
Death Wing ......................................81
on loop until the device runs out of power.

REVIEWS LAPTOPS & PCS
an extra 200 grams. This is connected

via one of the two USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports
itd be nice if the industry adopted
a standard way of declaring the speed
of each port, as some companies claim
USB 3.1 is 10Mbps. In this case, the Gen
1 tag declares that theyre only actually
capable of 5Gbps which is still a darned
sight faster than USB 2.0.
Acer has made a bit of a big deal about
the Dolby-certied audio, but to be frank
we found the twin stereo speakers rather
prone to distortion at higher volume
levels. Its not that surprising though, as
this thing is incredibly thin. Measuring
just 10.98mm in height makes it the
slimmest convertible on the market (for
now weve seen another 2-in-1 that is
even thinner due to launch very soon),
which doesnt leave a
lot of depth for quality
speaker drivers.
A single 720p front facing
camera is mounted above the display for
Acer Spin 7
THE WORLDS THINNEST CONVERTIBLE.
video conferencing, which does the job,
but wed really like to see laptop makers
move over to 1080p to match the displays
that these videos are usually pumped
out on. The integrated microphone is
T
hanks to Intels latest CPUs needing a 14-inch narrow bezel screen on a fully compatible with Microsofts Cortana
less power than ever, were seeing 13-inch chassis. Using a trusty ruler, we assistant, though as many Aussies will
an ultraportable market awash measured the diagonal size at 35cm, but know, Cortana isnt exactly the best voice
with spectacularly thin laptops that still the edgeless design makes it look even recognition software around.
deliver excellent performance at a price bigger. Its a 1920 x 1080 IPS panel that Powering it all is Intels CoreTM i7-7Y75
point that wont demolish your bank pumps out exceptionally vivid colours CPU, which boosts up to 3.6GHz when
account. Between Dells XPS 13, Razers and a healthy dose of brightness. To do necessary. Its only dual core, but the
Blade Stealth and even Apples latest so they, Acer has resorted to a glossy addition of Hyper-Threading, alongside
Macbook, weve been spoilt for choice nish, which many of you will know a healthy 8GB of DDR3L memory and
when it comes to laptops that are barely doesnt play well outdoors or in extra- a 256GB SSD (237GB usable) delivers
thicker than your average magazine. bright environments. Thats the trade-off excellent performance. Our overall
The latest to join this range is Acers for such an exceptional image quality PCMark 8 Home Accelerated score of
Spin 7, but unlike the rest its also fully though. Its also fully 10-point touch 3046 puts it slightly below par with other
convertible, with a screen that is attached compatible, and the touch-accuracy laptops in this weight/size range, but not
via dual 360-degree hinges. is superb. Theres also no sign of the by a huge margin, likely because its using
This means it can operate in four grid-like lines that covered old-school a SATA 6 SSD instead of M.2. Battery
modes laptop, tablet, display or tent, touch-screens, though thats also true of life was not successfully tested as the
making it far more exible than many of the competition these days machine crashed on each of the three
the other ultraportables on the market. As expected, Cornings Gorilla Glass day-long runs we attempted.
Unlike its competitors though, Acer has has been used to ensure itll handle a few We cant deny how lightweight and
gone for a rather plain design, lacking the knocks and bruises, while the chassis congurable this convertible is and yet
slick laser cut edges or bronze chassis appears to be fully aluminium. As a result, its not quite as spiff y nor good value as
of the others. Theres a nice silver edge its a real lightweight, measuring in at some of the competition. However, the
around the glossy touchpad, but thats just 1.2kg. Sure, that makes it about 220 fact that its able to operate in several
about as stylish as thing gets its grams heavier than some of the most modes means you get a lot more options
denitely not going to become a status portable laptops around, but its still for the higher price.
symbol that others will notice. light enough that youll barely Bennett Ring
Its also a little bigger than notice it in your handbag or
the competition when briefcase. Theres an KEY SPECS
it comes to screen external power $1999 www.acer.com.au
size. According pack, but its not 14-inch IPS 1080p display Intel CoreTM i7-7Y75 CPU (twin-
to Acer, it a behemoth, core, Hyper-Threading, 3.6GHz Turbo speed) 8GB DDR3L
sports weighing memory 256GB SATA 6 SSD
OVERALL
Tent mode: perfect for media viewing on a cramped

economy class tray table 0 1 2 3 4 5

LAPTOPS & PCS REVIEWS
Asus
Transformer
Mini T102HA
THIS COMPACT 2-IN-1 HAS THE SURFACE 3
IN ITS SIGHTS, BUT HAS A FEW TOO MANY
IRRITATIONS TO DEFEAT IT
L
aptop makers are lining up to shoot
Asus bundles both a
down Microsofts Surface tablets,
keyboard and stylus pen,
with the Asus Transformer Mini pick up my left hand as a touch-input
but cant match the
locking the Surface 3 in its targets, right rather than a left-click action. Surface 3 for build
down to its 1.44GHz quad-core Atom On the right-hand side of the keyboard, quality
processor. youll nd a small fabric loop that holds Does that
Its littered with ports. Youll nd the bundled stylus pen in place. It works kickstand design
micro-USB for charging the device, well, too. The pen comes with two look familiar to
mini-HDMI, USB 3, microSD ports and a customisable buttons and has a stylish you?
3.5mm headphone jack all you need for brushed aluminium design.
everyday usage. Around the rear, a circular
Around the back, a Surface-style ngerprint sensor lets you log in
kickstand converts the tablet into a using biometrics convenient on such as shown in our benchmarks: an
laptop. Id have liked to see rubber edges a portable device. The front hosts a overall score of 12 is irrefutably low. Its
around the kickstand, to prevent it from 2-megapixel camera, which is useful multitasking that dragged it down the
sliding around, but had no issues using it for video calls, but the biggest surprise Atom processor isnt helped by 4GB of
either on my lap or on a wooden desk. was how much power the stereo RAM with a photo-editing score of 22
Where it suffers compared to the speakers provided. indicating that apps running on their own
Surface is build quality: it feels imsy. Despite arriving long after the will be smooth. Indeed, in general use
Then again, and unlike the Surface, Surface 3, the Transformer Minis Windows 10 ran well. Notably, though, the
the Transformer Mini has a keyboard display has a low 1,280 x 800 Surface 3 released way back in March
and trackpad included in the price. resolution acceptable, rather than 2015 was a smidgen faster with a score
This connects using a magnetic strip good, for a 10.1in screen. The same of 15 in our benchmarks, and it lasted for
at the bottom of the tablet. Through could be said of the IPS displays equally as long in our battery tests.
ingenious design, the laptops quality. With a 782:1 contrast ratio, With the Surface 3 also boasting a
keyboard hoists itself up to the main a black level of 0.61cd/m2 and a superior screen and better all-round
body of the device, giving it a slant. low 73.7% sRGB coverage, its a build quality, it retains an edge over the
This typing position feels more poor performer compared to its Transformer Mini and once you factor
natural, but it is possible to lie the competitors (the Surface 3 has in the price of the keyboard, the 128GB
keyboard at. a 888:1 contrast ratio, 0.46cd/ models are almost identically priced.
Heavy-sted typists wont like m2 black levels and 97.6% sRGB Nathan Spendelow
the amount of keyboard ex when coverage). On the plus side, it can
bashing keys, and with a plastic reach a bright 481cd/m2. This allows
construction, compact design and you to use the Mini outdoors in direct KEY SPECS
plenty of rattle when you type, the sunlight, although the glossy panel is $699 www.asus.com/au
Quad-core 1.44GHz Intel Atom x5-Z8350 processor Intel
keyboard isnt the Transformer Minis highly reective.
HD Graphics 400 4GB RAM 10.1in, 1,280 x 800 resolution
nest feature. I found the touchpad Theres another bright side to this
IPS display 64GB eMMC storage microSD slot 2MP
temperamental due to its poor laptop, too: phenomenal battery webcam 802.11ac Wi-Fi Bluetooth 4 USB 3 micro-USB
implementation of a multitouch input life. It lasted more than 11 hours in micro-HDMI Windows 10 Home 8,500mAh battery 259
and cheap-feeling left/right-click our video rundown test. Combined x 170 x 14mm (WDH) 790g (with keyboard) 1yr RTB
buttons. In use, the cursor would with a weight of 790g, and compact warranty
disappear, then the trackpad would dimensions of 259 x 170 x 14mm
OVERALL
(WDH), this is a truly portable
The stereo speakers are a highlight of the laptop.
Transformer Mini The trade-off is a lack of speed, 0 1 2 3 4 5

BENCHMARKS
GRID AUTOSPORT MINIMUM AVERAGE
1920 X 1080 100FPS 137FPS
3840 X 2160 86FPS 104FPS
0 30 60 90 120 150
SHADOW OF MORDOR MINIMUM AVERAGE

1920 X 1080 54FPS 149FPS
3840 X 2160 48FPS 61FPS
0 30 60 90 120 150
3DMARK FIRESTRIKE SCORES:

4K - 9129 1080p - 15852
reviewed came in at a price of $2,999. For

this you get Intels 6th Gen Core i7-6700
CPU, and thats the only option for the
CPU. Given the recent release of the 7th
Gen CPU wed expect to see an updated
model in the near future; currently this
machine is limited to the 4GHz Turbo of
this quad-cored, Hyper-threaded chip,
which is more than enough for todays
games. Alongside this is 16GB of 2133MHz
DDR4 memory.
The main horsepower however is
delivered via Nvidias GeForce GTX 1080,
which appears to be a basic Nvidia-
branded model. As we all know, this
delivers oodles of performance, and
makes up a good third of the price of the
review unit. If thats overkill, you can opt
for a Radeon R9-370X or Nvidia GeForce
Lenovo Y710 Cube

SMALL, SEXY, AND SUPER-FAST BUT NO SSD AS STANDARD?
GTX 1070 instead, which will shave a big
chunk of change off the price. Our machine
game with a single 2TB mechanical hard
drive for your long-term storage needs, yet
there wasnt any sign of an SSD, which is
L
enovo might be better known for 2x2 antennae conguration. In addition to an optional extra. At this price even a small
its office and productivity PCs, but this are the video outputs offered by the 256GB SSD should be a given, and we
its being making a go of the gaming graphics card, which consist of a single really noticed the performance difference
market in recent times. Their latest shot HDMI 2.0b, DVI-I and triple DisplayPort when it came to desktop operation and
at gaming greatness is the Y710 Cube, an 1.3/4 ready. game loading times.
almost-mini-PC that packs some decent Removing the side panel reveals an Given the fact that the case sides are all
hardware into a very small box. Its not extremely cramped interior theres very basically giant grills, we were pleasantly
quite small enough to tuck away behind little room to move if you want to do any surprised by the lack of fan noise, which
your TV, but its a far-cry from the tall major customisation. The motherboard came in at 44dB. However, there is a
towers most gamers are used to. appears to be a Mini-ITX board, and its slightly high whine emitted by one of the
As you can see, its certainly a stylish based on Intels H170 chipset. As expected, cooling fans. Given the level of hardware
creation, with the angular lines and the machine is available in a huge variety within, the performance was top-notch,
accented LED lighting systems that set of congurations, and the model we even delivering playable 4K performance
gaming rigs apart from boring black in Shadow of Mordor.
towers. Yet its not over the top in our The compact size makes it easily portable at the Theres no denying that there are slightly
expense of room to easily upgrade inside
humble opinion you wont mistake your better value systems on the market, but
gaming room for a nightclub when all theyre substantially bigger and louder
of the LEDs are illuminated. The actual than the Y710. If you value a smaller
dimensions are 393mm by 315mm by gaming system that is easy to lug around,
252mm, but that also includes the 625W and doesnt sound like a hair-dryer, Lenovo
PSU; theres no need for a separate power has delivered the goods, although the lack
brick. At the top of the case is a handle of an SSD is a bummer.
that makes lugging it around to LAN Bennett Ring
events a breeze.
A couple of high-speed USB ports KEY SPECS
and mic-in/headphone out adorn the $2,999 www.lenovo.com
top of the front, while the rear has Intel 6th Gen Core i7-6700 CPU 16GB 2133MHz DDR4
many more connection options. These memory 2TB HDD Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080
consist of four USB 3.0, twin USB 2.0,
OVERALL
VGA, HDMI, Ethernet and a single PS/2
connection. Theres also Killer Wireless
AC 1535 802.11ac Wi-Fi built in, using a 0 1 2 3 4 5

USB Hub... but not as you know it!
Asus ZenBook 3
NOT QUITE AS SLICK AS THE MACBOOK IN ITS SIGHTS,
BUT STILL A TEMPTING WINDOWS 10 ULTRAPORTABLE
T
he Asus ZenBook range has
always been lets put it
politely a homage to Apples
MacBook Air. Nowadays, though, that
brand is no longer a byword for thin-and-
light portability, so the new ZenBook 3 achieved only 31fps in
takes its inspiration instead from the 12in the same test.
MacBook. pixel pitch of 176ppi far lower
If the MacBook is the target, the SLIM PICKINGS than the 227ppi of the MacBooks Retina
ZenBook 3 certainly hits the mark. Look Before you get your wallet out, there are display. As a result, the Asus ZenBook
past the brushed swirl on its aluminium- drawbacks of which you should be aware. 3 doesnt quite achieve the pristine
alloy lid and you could almost get the two First, like the MacBook, the ZenBooks smoothness of Apples screen. Its by no
laptops mixed up. Even the colour options only connector is a single USB Type-C means blocky, though. Unless you put the
are eerily familiar. Alongside the distinctive port, a consequence of that super-thin two laptops side by side, youre unlikely to
Royal Blue trim, as pictured above, the design. A dangly adapter is included in the nd any cause for complaint.
ZenBook 3 can be ordered in a pale Quartz box, allowing you to hook up USB-A, USB I should also mention that this isnt
Grey or the ever more popular Rose Gold. Type-C and HDMI cables, but without this a touchscreen. This is for the best
The ZenBook 3 isnt a precise duplicate, you cant connect a peripheral and charge considering how light the whole unit is: try
though. Measuring 11.9mm deep, its the device at the same time. That could to prod the display and the entire chassis
very slightly slimmer overall than the be an issue, because battery life isnt rocks backwards. Not that I can complain
MacBook. At 910g its 10g lighter, too, and great. In our tests, the ZenBook 3 lasted about a laptop that weighs 910g.
while the chassis is a very similar size, the 6hrs 52mins away from the mains, which
overall shape is a little more stretched, is a long way behind the 10hrs 12mins FINAL CHAPTER
to accommodate a 12.5in 16:9 display (as achieved by the MacBook. That probably If youre in the market for an ultraportable
distinct from the MacBooks 16:10 panel). has much to do with the active internal then youll no doubt have eyed up the
cooling system demanded by the Core i5 12in MacBook. However, you may well
SPEED BOOST processor: the MacBooks Core m3 gets by have been unsure whether the Core M
While the ZenBook 3 resembles the with passive cooling. processor will meet your needs or,
MacBook outwardly, its internals are The keyboard has nice big keys, with an indeed, unsure about switching to macOS.
more ambitious. In place of a Core m3 impressive 0.8mm of travel, but Im not The ZenBook 3 makes a very interesting
CPU, Asus has gone for a Kaby Lake a fan of the slanted yellow labels on the alternative. Its just as compact and
dual-core Core i5-7200U, which is what Royal Blue test unit Asus sent in, which almost as beautiful; it runs Windows, and
weve reviewed here. A more powerful to my eyes cheapen the overall design. It it offers signicantly better performance.
i7-7500U is also available. While this isnt also has more give in the middle than Im There are trade-offs, for sure. One of the
as powerful as a desktop Core i5, its a comfortable with, and lacks a positive MacBooks killer features is its exceptional
decent performer, and its impressive to clicking action. battery life, and the ZenBook 3 doesnt
see it crammed into such a tiny frame. Finally, lets talk about the screen on the come close. The keyboard and trackpad
Partnering this is 8GB of RAM and Asus ZenBook 3. Mostly, the news here is dont have such a premium feel, and the
a 512GB SATA SSD as standard. This good: we measured its peak brightness single USB Type-C port feels like a missed
drive isnt as speedy as the MacBooks at 360cd/m, effectively on a par with opportunity, even with the adapter in
PCI-E storage, but its fast enough to the MacBooks 367cd/m, and the 1,000:1 the box. If youre not sold on the Apple
keep everything feeling responsive. It all contrast ratio gives superb solidity to text MacBook Air, the ZenBook 3 provides
adds up to a laptop thats more capable and pictures. Colour reproduction isnt bad a variation on the theme that could be
than its size would suggest. The Core i5 at85% of the sRGB gamut, although the exactly what youre looking for.
model achieved an overall score of 43 MacBook is ahead on 92.6%. Darien Graham-Smith
in our benchmarks a big performance Its resolution, however, is a bog-
advantage over Apples Core m3-based standard 1080p, giving the ZenBook 3 a
MacBook, which managed only 24. KEY SPECS
The Royal Blue finish is the most distinctive of Asus $2,299 (i5); $2,699 (i7) www.asus.com/au
Theres even a moderate degree of
colour choices but it wont be for everyone Dual-core 2.5GHz Intel Core i5-7200U or 2.7GHz i7-7500U
graphical power on hand, thanks to Intels processor Intel HD Graphics 620 8GB RAM 12.5in, 1,920 x
seventh-generation HD Graphics 620 1,080 resolution LED display 512GB SATA SSD VGA
GPU. You wont be playing Doom with all webcam 802.11ac Wi-Fi Bluetooth 4 USB Type-C
the bells and whistles enabled on this Windows 10 Home 40Whr battery 296 x 191 x 11.9mm
little laptop, but an average of 52fps (WDH) 910g 1yr RTB warranty
in the GFXBench 1080p Manhattan
OVERALL
benchmark indicates theres plenty of juice
for casual games such as Minecraft or
The Sims. For comparison, the MacBook 0 1 2 3 4 5

HANDHELDS REVIEWS
life of up to 9 hours, but our PCMark

Android battery test pegged it at 260
minutes. Built into this CPU is Intels
HD Graphics 400, so dont expect it to
churn through especially demanding 3D
applications. The 4GB of memory might
sound slight by PC standards, but is
pretty average for this sized tablet. One
area that is lacking though is the built in
storage, with just 32GB of eMMC storage.
Thankfully this can easily be expanded
via the Micro SD SDXC Memory Card slot.
The Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating
system makes it compatible with a
huge range of applications. Our PCMark
Android Work 2.0 benchmark clocked
in at 4641, which is very respectable
compared to other 10.1-inch tablets,
Panasonic
and places it in the same ballpark as a
Samsung Galaxy Tab S2.
Every port comes with a cover to
keep the nasties out, and there are the
Toughpad FZ-A2MK1 requisite connections to do the basics.

A single HDMI output delivers video,
while there are two USB ports. One is
the standard USB 3.0 Type-A, while
TOUGHER THAN A BRICK DUNNY the other is USB 3.1 Type-C. A single
headphone connector is your only audio
T
heres a reason why Panasonics parachute drops into the middle of the option, though the tablet does also
Toughbook range of ruggedized wareld. Its also got a dust resistance include integrated speakers that are
PCs are used by some of the rating of IP-6X, the highest possible, surprisingly loud and clear.
worlds most elite special forces. When making it impenetrable to the ne The version we reviewed, which costs
it comes to surviving a life less travelled, grit found on mining sites. As for drop $2199, lacked a few of the optional
be it in tropical jungles, dusty deserts or testing, the rating of 120cm might not extras. Theres a 4G/LTE mobile
icy-cold climates, nothing comes close sound that impressive, but we reckon broadband with 12 channel GPS module,
to the reliability of these devices. The itll probably handle even higher drops, or you can opt for a more affordable
Toughpad FZ-A2MK1 takes Panasonics as Panasonic is known to be fairly singular GPS module. Theres also a
experience with indestructible conservative with its protection ratings. hot-swappable battery operation for
construction and brings it to the Android Despite all of the added protection, its those longer eld missions, as well
tablet market. This is without doubt still relatively light, weighing in at a mere as a desktop dock that delivers extra
the toughest 10.1-inch Android tablet 880 grams. connectivity. If you want Ethernet, youre
around, but the result is a price that is The rest of the system hasnt going to have pay extra for that most
exponentially higher than standard 10.1- suffered as a result of the ruggedized users will be happy with the integrated
inch tablets. construction. The 10.1-inch touch-screen 802.11ac Wi-Fi, though theres no
When it comes to the conditions is a Full HD 1920 x 1080 screen, and information on what kind of antennae
this thing can handle, its been tested is extremely bright, measuring up to conguration it uses, which leads us to
to a variety of specications. It carries 800cd/m2. Combined with the matte believe its likely a 2x2 setup.
IP-X5 water resistance, which means nished screen, and its easy to read this Theres no denying this tablet is
it can handle being sprayed with water under the harshest blazing sky. Intels damned expensive, but if its durability
projected from a 6.3mm nozzle with Atom x5-Z8550 processor handles the means you dont need to keep replacing
no harmful effects. It can operate in hard work; this little quad-cored beast broken tablets every few months, that
temperatures between -10C and 50C, or cranks up to 2.4GHGz, yet only sips a cost will be easy to justify. Its overkill for
stored in conditions varying from -20C mere 2W under most workloads. This most of us, but those who need a tablet
to 60C, perfect for those high altitude results in a claimed real-world battery that can take a beating should take a
Hard hat: check! High-vis work wear: check! Panasonic Toughpad: CHECK! close look at this brute.
Bennett Ring
KEY SPECS
$2199 www.panasonic.com
Intel Atom x5-Z8550 Processor (quad-core, 2.4GHz)
4GB RAM 10.1-inch Full HD multi-touch screen 32GB
eMMC main storage
OVERALL
0 1 2 3 4 5

Shuttle DX30
Barebones mini-PC
A PLEASANT LITTLE 4K SURPRISE
W
hen we rst received the pitch 500 (Gen 9) graphics, which have been handle a 2.5-inch drive, while theres also
email about this product, overhauled since the last version; Intel an M.2 slot for speed demons. The good
we were quick to dismiss it. claims a 45% performance upgrade over news is that utilising the M.2 port doesnt
Positioned as a mini-PC designed to the previous generation. The two video require you to remove the integrated
power retail displays, it seemed to be outputs come in the form of HDMI 1.4 802.11b/g/n card, which has its own
rather irrelevant to our audience were and DisplayPort 1.2. The good news is it dedicated port. An external power pack
pretty sure that specic audience reads that even this aging DisplayPort 1.2 port is included, but its tiny, so you wont need
Point of Sale Monthly. However, after can handle a single 4K stream at 60fps, to worry about hiding it. In fact, the entire
taking a quick glance at the specs, we though the HDMI 1.4 is limited to 4K at box is small enough to t onto the back
realised wed found a hidden nugget 24Hz. Unfortunately theres no support of most TVs, provided they come with a
of gold that would actually work for HEVC Main10 with this CPU, unlike compatible VESA mount.
pretty damn well as a media PC, for an Kaby Lake, which means it wont be able If theres one issue with using this as
incredibly low price. Lets explain why to handle Netixs 4K streaming service, a media player, its the Realtek ALC662
this mini-PC is actually much more thanks to its stringent security. sound chipset. According to Shuttle,
capable than something designed to The other outputs on the rear of this this is only capable of 2-channel high
deliver images to large displays in the tiny box (194mm long by 160mm wide denition audio, but heading to the
middle of a shopping centre. by 43mm tall) consist of four USB 2.0 Realtek website reveals that its actually
At the heart of this tiny box is Intels outputs, a PS/2 port for your keyboard, ready for 5.1 channels. Again, it seems
new Apollo Lake architecture, in the Gigabit Ethernet, and twin RS232 somebody needs to update their
form of a J3355 CPU Processor. This was outputs (one of which also handles website
released in the tail-end of 2016, making RS422 and RS485). On the front side With a total cost of ownership of
far less of a splash than the new Kaby are twin USB 3.0 Type A connections, about $400, this is a nice little jewel that
Lake processors, and it falls under the perfect for hooking up your remote weve uncovered. Its totally silent, very
Celeron brand. Now, according to Intels control dongle. Thanks to the chips small, and ready for 4K playback, making
very own website, all Celeron processors extremely low power usage, it uses it an ideal media player to stream your
shouldnt be capable of delivering 4K a fanless cooling system, so theres 4K content over your home network.
video. However, the SoC Celeron chip in absolutely no noise from the system Bennett Ring
the DX30 does indeed support hardware when its in operation.
acceleration of a wide-range of video Like most Shuttle boxes, youre going
KEY SPECS
codecs; H.264, VC-1, WMV9, HEVC and to need to add a few extras to get it off $279 www.global1.shuttle.com
VP9. It seems that the Intel website the ground. Firstly, theres no memory, Intel Celeron J3355 CPU Processor (2.5GHz Burst Frequency,
might need an update with twin DDR3L SO-DIMM slots ready to 10W TDP) 1 x HDMI 1 x DisplayPort Requires DDR3L SO-
Compared to most desktop CPUs, handle memory speeds of up to 1866MHz DIMM memory (twin channels, maximum capacity 8GB at
this chip looks like a very underpowered with a maximum capacity of 8GB. So 1866MHz) and hard drive (2.5-inch SATA 6Gbps or M.2).
critter. With a Turbo frequency of just thats another $80 or so to the equation.
OVERALL
2.5GHz and a maximum TDP of a mere Theres also no hard drive, and youve
10W, this is no i5-killer. But the secret got two options for fullling this need. A
ingredient here is Intels integrated HD standard SATA 6Gbps connection will 0 1 2 3 4 5

REVIEWS PERIPHERALS
Wacom Intuos Pro

Paper Edition
NICE HARDWARE, NOT SO MUCH THE SOFTWARE
F
or artists and designers used to drawing space on those
drawing directly onto paper, the older tablets!).
Wacom Intuos Pro (Paper Edition) Plus the edition comes
must appear to be an attractive entry with a whole suite of new toys. The
level digital illustration tool. But the package is divided up into two halves.
traditional scan a drafted sketch then The left half contains all the materials
paint it digitally approach using standard associated with the paper ink drawing
affordable drawing tablets has generally functions of this tablet and the right side
satised those creatives who prefer the of the packaging supplies all the tools you purpose of drawing directly onto paper
feel of a pen scratching on paper. would usually nd included in the standard and having that drawing transfer across
So what exactly does the Wacom Intuos suite of Wacom drawing tablets. If you digitally, youll need to install Wacoms
Pro Paper Edition offer beyond what a were hoping to nd some documentation Inkspace App, either during initial setup or
standard tablet and a decent scanner has explaining how the paper transfer works after a bit of Googling. And this is where I
already been doing for us? Admittedly or what you need to do to start working have to question the logic behind such an
the product idea is appealing. I can draw effectively quickly... you wont nd it in expensive device that effectively operates
directly onto paper and this special this box. What is provided is a tiny foldout just to replace the scanner in the sketch
Wacom ink pen automagically transmits of illustrated instructions (Ikea style) a page and paint the page digitally
that sketch directly to my computer. How that provides little more than a plug this equation. Because Inkspace is a horrible
cool! Only...it isnt nearly that easy, straight into that; in this order; then logon to this program. For one, you will be stuck in a
forward or satisfying. First the good stuff website for reasons diagram. loop of tutorial screens that you cant
though, the hardware is really cool. If all goes well, plugging your new close, cannot minimise and will only be
The Paper Edition of the Intuos Pro Intuos Pro Paper Edition directly into your able to get rid of once youve gured out
improves on Wacoms standard tablet laptop or computer should result in all how to create your rst drawing.
design. There seems to be very little necessary software getting downloaded Apparently Inkspace performs some
wasted surface area and the ratio of automatically. Otherwise Google Wacom kind of check to see whether or not it
drawing space to plastic expanse of tablet Intuos Pro Paper Edition Drives and should lock you up in tutorial screen limbo:
is nally entering the realms of sanity (so Wacom Inkspace Application. is there a drawing le created? Yes?
many inches of wasted plastic and so little In order to use this tablet for its intended Then this user is wise and does not need
our nely crafted tutorial presentation
Because I keep banging on about how this particular tool provides very little that a sketchpad and scanner or is there a drawing le created? No?
doesnt, heres an example of what the same sketch looks like from one transferred into Wacoms Inkspace via
Then surely this user has never touched
the Paper Edition drawing tablet and from scanning that same sketch in at 300dpi on a colour scanner
the program before and we must educate
them continuously!
Its possible to get out of this loop,
but before you can use your new digital
drawing you have to export it from
Inkspace and then open it in your drawing
program of choice to be able to edit and
work with it. You know, exactly as you
would if you had just scanned the sketch.
This tablet would have scored even
lower for the reasons listed above except
for the potential for this to be a great mid-
tier tool for artists who want to capture
that drawing on paper feeling, but cant
yet afford the Mobile Studio Pro or Cintiq
Companion tablets.
Ethan Strange
KEY SPECS
$549 www.wacom.com
338 x 219 x 8 mm 8 ExpressKeys Built-in Bluetooth
connectivity
OVERALL
0 1 2 3 4 5

REVIEWS PERIPHERALS
been based on IPS technology, and the

difference in colour quality and contrast is
night and day.
We used the LCD tests at www.lagom.
nl to check these out and noticed several
immediate issues. Firstly, the contrast
test shows that brighter blues and greens
tend to meld together, lacking the clear
differentiation found on IPS panels.
Colours in general are also not as vivid or
punchy as competing IPS displays. While
Benqs new XL2540

blows other monitors out
of the ballpark with one
figure in particular the
astonishing refresh rate
the white level test showed this display
can handle subtle changes in brightness,
it didnt fare as well in the black level
tests, with darker blocks of colour all
merging into one. Turning the displays
Benq Zowie XL2540

Black eQualizer feature on relieves this
symptom, but at the cost of making the
rest of the image appear slightly washed
out.
e-Sports monitor As with Benqs last gaming monitor,

a small hub is included that sits on your
desk, called the S-Switch. This makes it
easy to change various pre-programmed
ONLY FOR THE SERIOUS SPORTS GAMER proles on the y with the click of a
button. We only wish the On-screen
A
huge component of marketing PC people in the crowd ahead. The stand Display was a little more intuitive to use,
hardware is the numbers game. itself is fully height and angle adjustable, based on old-school tactile buttons
The bigger the number, the better making it easy to position in the exact which change in purpose depending on
the product. Benqs new XL2540 blows ideal position. which part of the menu youre using.
other monitors out of the ballpark with As with Benqs prior high-speed At $699, this is one of the most
one gure in particular the astonishing monitors, it uses Blur Reduction expensive 24-inch displays on the market,
refresh rate. This speed-demon cranks out technology, but is now referred to as but its targeted at an extremely specic
the frames at an incredible 240Hz, which Dynamic Accuracy technology. We used audience those who need the ultimate
the fastest weve yet seen. The question is the benchmarks at www.blurbusters. in twitch gameplay. Whether or not the
whether or not such a high-speed is really com to see how well this worked. It difference between 144Hz and 240Hz will
necessary, even in the hyper competitive turns out that this technology is highly make a real world difference is debatable
world of e-Sports? reliant upon being served 240 frames but for those who are playing for tens
Measuring 24.5-inches across the per second by your GPU. Any lower and of thousands of dollars its worth trying
diagonal, its not an exceptionally large blurring becomes extremely apparent. out the difference. However, youre going
monitor, though the 1080p resolution Unfortunately it seems that Benq has to need to maintain a consistent 240
means its not too hard to spot the pixel removed the ability to lower the strobing frames per second, and the drop in colour
structure. A matte nish matches the of the backlight, unlike past models, quality means its not suitable for general
relatively plain yet attractive stand and which means this blur is here to stay if you gaming.
bezel design. Unlike many of todays cant hit 240 fps. Bennett Ring
monitors, it doesnt utilise an edge-to- The panel in use is a TN panel, picked
edge screen, with a rather thick 12mm solely for its ability to hit a 1ms grey to KEY SPECS
bezel around the edges. A pair of plastic grey response time. While other monitor $699 www.benq.com.au
aps are included that can be attached to technologies are getting close to this, 24.5-inch 1920 x 1080 display; 240Hz refresh rate; 1000:1
each side, so your competitor cant glance theyre still not up to the necessary speed contrast ratio; 1ms gtg response time
over at your screen mid-match. Its also required to hit 240Hz. Unfortunately the
OVERALL
a handy way of obscuring any annoying use of a TN panel also brings several
light sources that might be at the venue, drawbacks with it. Nearly every display
or take your mind off the hundreds of weve tested in the last 12 months has 0 1 2 3 4 5

LAPTOPS & PCS REVIEWS
Kano
Computer
Kit Bundle
THE BUILD IT YOURSELF BILLING MAY NOT
BE 100% ACCURATE, BUT THESE KITS ARE
REDEEMED BY EXCELLENT SOFTWARE
K
ano, an education-focused
company, had a huge hit on
Kickstarter with its original
Computer Kit, promising to provide
everything you could need to build your
computer bit-by-bit.
The truth is somewhat different. Inside
this, Kanos second Computer Kit Bundle,
youll nd that the computer youre
building is actually a fully assembled hook-and-loop tape, connect a linking works around the bugs of the Alpha-
Raspberry Pi 3 single-board computer, wire, then snap your cased Kano to the status Minecraft Pi Edition to allow users
with only power and its microSD card rear before connecting USB power and a to easily build their own programmatic
required to get it up and running. short HDMI cable. creations within its blocky world.
The bundled full-colour manual Initially, then, the Kano experience is The jewel in the crown is Kanos
which Kano dubs a storybook in keeping underwhelming, even allowing for the Story Mode. An extended version of the
with its desire to engage children walks accessible nature of the storybooks and RPG from the initial boot introduction,
you through the building process using their occasional divergence into theory this guides the player through various
simple terms and clear illustrations. and foundational knowledge. Thankfully, computing concepts in a way thats
Insert the microSD card, snap together this feeling is soon swept away when both endearing and engaging. Theres
the two halves of the included case, and you power up the kit and are greeted by an equivalent for the command line, too,
then the most daunting step: connect Kano OS, in what looks like an EGA DOS dubbed Terminal Quest.
the power cables for a small speaker and prompt from the 1980s. Sadly, all this and the bundled
amplier thats set into the lid of the case For younger users, this part will require stickers for customising your Kano cases
onto the 5V and ground pins of the Pis adult supervision: the rst boot walks fails to justify the cost of the kit. At
general-purpose input-output (GPIO) the user through basic Linux terminal US$299 for the bundle, or $149 each if the
header. After that its simply a case of concepts, changing directories and Computer Kit and Screen Kit are bought
inserting the bundled wireless keyboards running a program, using a Matrix-themed individually, the Kano kit is considerably
USB dongle into a free slot, plugging the hook. When the program is executed more expensive than a Raspberry Pi 3,
speaker into the 3.5mm audio-visual jack, correctly, the terminal is replaced by a official touchscreen and accessories
and connecting power and a display. top-down 8-bit-style roleplaying game and lacks their touch capability.
Its the need to provide your own HDMI- reminiscent of Nintendos nest, in which Kanos decision to release the Kano OS,
compatible display that Kano addresses the player must progress towards the built on Debian Linux, as a free download
with the second half of its bundle: the goal to load Kano OS proper. that can be installed onto any Raspberry
Screen Kit. Emblazoned with the promise Following this, and directly on Pi means that, for less than half the price
that youll make an HD screen, its more subsequent boots, the Kano OS interface of the Kano kit bundle, you can have a
accurate to say youll snap the pre- appears. Available in an icon-heavy touch-enabled version lacking only the
assembled screen into a plastic stand, default and more traditional desktop storybooks, stickers and built-in speaker.
fasten a PCB with buttons onto the rear environment avours that are switchable That makes it tough to recommend.
of the case using the supplied sticky at will, this provides quick access to the Gareth Halfacree
bundled software as well as a means of
Theres no getting away from the fact that this is
managing a user account. This can be tied
essentially a rebadged Raspberry Pi 3 KEY SPECS
into Kanos cloud servers for achievement
US$299 www.kano.me
tracking and software sharing.
Raspberry Pi 3 (quad-core 1.2GHz Broadcom BCM2837
The bundled software is heavily processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB storage) 10.1in 1,920 x 1,080
slanted towards coding. Many of the screen 8GB SD card HDMI cable custom case and
default apps are prexed with make display chassis DIY speaker wireless keyboard and
to emphasise this practicality, using a trackpad Storybook manuals and stickers Kano OS 1yr
Scratch-inspired drag-and-drop interface RTB warranty
suitable for younger programmers. Make
OVERALL
Art, as the name implies, offers a turtle-
style artistic experience; Make Apps
is more open-ended; Make Minecraft 0 1 2 3 4 5

OnePlus 3T
DESPITE A HIGHER PRICE THAN THE
ONEPLUS 3, AND A DEARTH OF NEW
FEATURES, THE 3T IS STILL A GEM OF
A PHONE
T
he OnePlus 3 set a new standard
for reasonably priced smartphones
when it was launched in June 2016.
Offering an incredible combination of
premium specications and a $500 price,
it carved out a whole new category; it was
so good it had no close rivals.
Now, however, the OnePlus is ending
the honeymoon with the OnePlus 3T, a
replacement agship smartphone with a
faster processor, a bigger battery and, on
paper, a vastly improved front camera
but also a much higher price.
So whats new? From a physical
perspective, hardly anything. Like the
S versions of Apples iPhones, all the
important improvements have taken the bottom hosts a six-pinprick speaker Can you spot the difference between the 3 and the
place beneath the surface. Thats ne grille, the phones USB Type-C port and a 3T? Other than the price, that is
by me: I liked the design of the OnePlus 3.5mm headphone jack (thankfully, not
3 when I rst saw it, and Im still a fan. jettisoned for the sake of modernity). Dont expect a big speed leap over
The OnePlus 3T is almost identical to its its predecessor. Qualcomm says by
forebear, available in the same range of BOOSTED SPEC offloading more of the HDR+ processing
colours, with an attractive anodised metal Not that a huge amount has changed from the CPU to its Hexagon DSP, the
chassis with grippy, chiselled edges. inside, either. A 2.35GHz Qualcomm camera should capture HDR images more
This is an area where the OnePlus 3T Snapdragon 821 processor replaces the quickly but thats about it. In use, both
forges ahead of even more expensive 2.15GHz Snapdragon 820, but theres still phones feel equally responsive and can
phones such as the Google Pixel XL and 6GB of RAM and Adreno 530 graphics. play any modern mobile game without
the iPhone 7 Plus (although perhaps not That isnt much for a $200 price boost, breaking a sweat.
the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge). although the new 128GB storage option In benchmarks, theres a difference
Those chamfered sides create more is tempting if you can stretch to $720. Is it between the 3T and its predecessor, but
friction between the skin on your palms worth the extra over the original? Well, no, overall its still a good distance behind
and ngers and the phones aluminium but this will soon be a moot point. Stocks the Samsung Galaxy S7 and its octa-core
shell, meaning youre less likely to drop it. of the OnePlus 3 are already running out. Exynos 8890 chip. The picture improves
The one external difference between And, judged on its own merits, this is if you factor in price, of course. The graph
the OnePlus 3T and the original is its still an extremely generous specication displaying Geekbench 4 points per pound
slightly attened rear panel, and a tougher for the money. Theres no other shows just how far the OnePlus 3Ts price
sapphire crystal lens cover for the camera. smartphone at this price that comes shifts the balance.
Otherwise, its as you were: a dual-SIM close. We like the Lenovo Moto Z Play Here, the soon-to-be-no-more OnePlus
tray resides on the right-hand side, just for its superlative battery life and clever 3 leads the pack, the OnePlus 3T is a clear
above the power button; on the left edge modular accessories, but it cant match second, with the Samsung Galaxy S7 a
lives the phones three-way, do-not- the OnePlus 3T for power (see the graphs, distant third. As for graphics performance,
disturb switch and volume rocker; and opposite). the two OnePlus phones are almost
identical, which is hardly surprising
Its good to see the 3.5mm headphone jack is retained for this mini-update
given that they both use the Adreno 530
graphics chip. The Samsung Galaxy falls
behind in the onscreen test because its
2,560 x 1,440 display requires much more
graphics grunt to drive.
BATTERY OF TESTS
Battery life is a touch better in the 3T than

HANDHELDS REVIEWS
Geekbench 4, multi-core compatible with any other system, such Taking a sele indoors, the front
Samsung Galaxy S7 5,295
as Qualcomms Quick Charge. To get camera had trouble balancing areas of
OnePlus 3T 4,274 these rates of charge youll have to use light and dark within the frame. Even in
Google Pixel 4,101 the power adapter and cable supplied in more favourable conditions, the images it
OnePlus 3 4,026
HTC 10 Evo
the box. produces are often overexposed, afflicted
3,122
Lenovo Moto Z Play 2,559
by wonky colour balance and, on close
REFINED DISPLAY examination, a touch soft as well. Im not
Geekbench 4 weighted by price, multi-core
I wasnt particularly keen on the screen on impressed.
the OnePlus 3, at least not to start with. For comparison, the Pixel XL produces
OnePlus 3 12.2
OnePlus 3T 10.7 The colours were too lurid and unrealistic seles that are much more competently
Samsung Galaxy S7 10 for my liking, and certainly far from ac- exposed (although sometimes a little
HTC 10 Evo 7.8 curate. dark), and with colours that are more true
Lenovo Moto Z Play 7
OnePlus xed that with a software to life. It just goes to show that a higher
Google Pixel 6.8
update, adding the option to select an pixel count doesnt always mean superior
sRGB colour mode in Developer options, image quality.
GFXBench Manhattan , off-screen (1080p)
and the OnePlus 3T takes things a step Thats a shame, because as
iPhone 7 Plus 48
further by introducing a new Screen mentioned above the rear camera
OnePlus 3 47
Google Pixel 45 Calibration section in the phones Display is pretty darned good, and capable
Samsung Galaxy S7 41 settings. Users can now choose from of producing realistic, well-balanced
HTC 10 Evo 13 Default (a slightly less lurid version of the images that capture the moment rather
Lenovo Moto Z Play 10
OnePlus 3s original colour prole), sRGB effectively.
and Customise options.
Battery life (video-rundown test)
Its good to have those options, but A RELUCTANT WINNER
Lenovo Moto Z Play 23h 45m the displays vital statistics remain The OnePlus 3T is a smartphone that
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge 18h 42m 9fps
unchanged. Youre getting a 1,920 x feels a little unnecessary to me. It isnt
OnePlus 3 16h 56m
Google Pixel 16h 23m
1,080 AMOLED screen with a maximum a major upgrade on the OnePlus 3, with
OnePlus 3T 13h 22m brightness of 421cd/m2 and perfect the only improvements of note being
HTC 10 Evo 11h 8m contrast, and its an excellent display in the front-facing camera and increased
any of these modes. Its crisp, colours are battery capacity. Even if the battery life
the 3, with a larger 3,400mAh battery vibrant, and its new sRGB mode delivers does prove to be a small step forward,
in place, but this is one area where the a decent 93.2% coverage of the colour it isnt an awful lot of upgrade for your
benchmarks are misleading. The OnePlus space. additional cash.
3T actually returned less impressive The only slight disappointment for There isnt even the temptation of
results than its predecessor, lasting 13hrs those thinking of investing in a VR headset Android 7 Nougat right now (which I nd
22mins to the OnePlus 3s 16hrs 56mins, is that the 1080p resolution (401ppi) baffling), although the OnePlus 3T will be
but this anomaly wasnt backed up in wont look anywhere near as sharp up upgraded to Googles latest OS before
everyday usage. Here, I consistently found close to the eye as a phone with a higher long, the company promises.
the 3T lasted a couple of hours longer. resolution such as the Google Pixel XL. For Does this mean I wont be
One indisputable fact is that, once the everyone else, though, the OnePlus 3Ts recommending OnePlus agship
battery runs dry, the OnePlus 3T charges display is as sharp as you need it to be. smartphone anymore? No, and the reason
fast. OnePlus claims the phone will is simple: the OnePlus 3 was such a
deliver a days charge in half an hour STRIKE A POSE great buy that the company would have
when connected to the mains, which I wont go into the rear camera much had to almost double the price before
sounds impressive until you here other than to say its decent. diminishing its appeal.
examine it closely. Exactly Its basically the same as So, as it stands, the OnePlus 3T is still a
how long a given amount of the OnePlus 3, with an f/2.0 great buy. It isnt quite the outright bargain
charge is likely to last you will aperture, phase-detect the OnePlus 3 was, but the OnePlus 3Ts
depend on how you use the autofocus and optical image speed, screen quality, decent camera
phone, where you use it, what stabilisation ticking most of and practical design mean its set to take
the network conditions are the key boxes for features. over as our favourite reasonably priced
and so on. The only thing it lacks is laser smartphone just as soon as the OnePlus 3
However, I can report that autofocus for the very best is no longer available.
its impressive. Starting with performance in low light, Jonathan Bray
a capacity of 49%, half an but generally its a good
hour connected to the mains performer.
ramped up the charge to The big news is this: the KEY SPECS
$699 (64GB) www.oneplus.net
92%, with the phone hitting front camera is exactly the
Quad-core 2.35GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor
100% capacity 24 minutes same resolution as the one
64/128GB RAM Adreno 530 graphics 5.5in, 1,920 x 1,080
later. So, thats almost at the rear; 16-megapixel resolution AMOLED screen 64/128GB storage
half the battery in half an seles can now be yours, as 16MP/16MP rear/front cameras 802.11ac Wi-Fi Bluetooth
hour; pretty darn good, but long as you dont mind your 4.2 NFC USB Type-C OxygenOS based on Android 6
probably only a days use if imperfections being captured 3,400mAh battery 75 x 7.4 x 153mm (WDH) 158g 1yr
youre really careful with it. in painfully sharp detail. Do RTB warranty
Its also worth bearing in you really need all of those
OVERALL
mind that the Dash Charge pixels, though? Id rather have
system the OnePlus 3 a camera that took better
uses is proprietary and not photos. 0 1 2 3 4 5

REVIEWS HANDHELDS
processor. There was a time when the 810

was a decent mobile chip class-leading,
in fact. Trouble is, that time was around
2014. With 3GB of RAM, the evo struggles
to match current top-end phones.
Then we come to the HTC 10 evos
HTC 10 evo
stamina. Its no Lenovo Moto Z Play, thats
for sure. At 11hrs 8mins in our standard
test (a looped 720p video played in
airplane mode with the screen set to
THIS 5.5IN PHONE MAKES TOO MANY a brightness of 170cd/m2), its an hour
SACRIFICES FOR THE SAKE OF COST, weaker than the original HTC 10 and half
WITH ONLY ITS CLEVER EARBUDS AS that of the Play.
CONSOLATION For a $710 phone, the camera
disappoints. And again, on paper, it
L
et me save you some time: unless looks good: 16 megapixels, optical
you love listening to music on your image stabilisation and an aperture of
phone, theres little to commend f/2.0. Colours emerged well balanced
the HTC 10 evo over the otherwise far and bright, and the camera app is fast
superior HTC 10. Even then, you might to load and easy for beginners to tinker
resent retiring your regular headphones, with, while theres a myriad of advanced
because theres no 3.5mm jack here: features for pros. But the results lack the
instead, HTC relies on the single USB sharp detail and focus of great cameras,
Type-C connector, declaring the bundled with shots appearing murky unless you
earbuds are the worlds rst dual manage to stay unnaturally still.
adaptive earphones that tailor sound to As a consolation prize, the front-facing
your ears unique structure. camera takes good seles and is great for
When you congure the earbuds, video calls, with a healthy resolution of 8
they send small sound waves into the megapixels.
ear canal, and then measure how these Evo is supposed to stand for evolution
noises are reected through the built-in but while this phone is demonstrably
microphone. This allows music and sound different from the HTC 10, its almost
effects to be tailored to your ears shape always through strides backwards. Its
via a prole stored on the phone. Clever. slower, less comfortable to hold, and has
Once congured, the sound does a weaker screen and battery. It actually
genuinely improve, with more detail has more in common with 2015s HTC
immediately noticeable. Better still, while the HTC 10 was a 5.2in handset, One M9 than the HTC 10, and that was
whenever youre playing audio, a the evo swells to 5.5in. Sadly and I a agship we struggled to recommend
notication sits at the top of the phone: like a phablet it isnt a pleasure to at the time. It also loses the useful
tap it, and it will recalibrate for your hold, feeling too wide and angular to sit headphone jack, but without any of the
environment, meaning your audio comfortably in the hand. design panache that would make such a
experience will be tailored to your ears, On paper, the 2,560 x 1,440 IPS panel sacrice worthwhile.
wherever you are. should be as great as the HTC 10s, and The HTC 10 evo isnt awful, and the
The other advantage this phone has its certainly brighter, reaching 521cd/m2 earbuds are effective, but at $710 it
over its sibling is dust-, water- and splash- compared with the HTC 10s 449cd/m2. offers poor value for money. If thats your
resistance to the IP57 standard. Thats a But while the HTC 10s display delivered budget, buy the similarly priced OnePlus
big improvement, bringing the handset a 1,793:1 contrast and covered 99.8% of 3T instead or alternatively, nd a good
in line with the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the sRGB space, the HTC 10 evo drops to deal on the HTC 10.
iPhone 7, among others. Theres also a 1,040:1 and a mediocre 78.4%. The result Alan Martin
microSD slot, with support for cards up to is a duller, less vibrant onscreen image.
2TB, to complement the 32GB of storage. At this price, you can do better, as the
What follows, however, isnt so OnePlus 3T shows. BATTERY LIFE
Looping video
positive. Yes, the evo shares many design Things get worse when you start using 12hrs 08mins
cues with the agship phone, including the handset. No fresh install of Android
a ngerprint scanner on the bottom should lag on the intro screens, or slow KEY SPECS
$710 www.htc.com
edge, and thats to its credit. But down when using the built-in keyboard.
Octa-core 2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor
The evo does both.
3GB RAM Adreno 430 graphics 5.5in, 2,560 x 1,440
Looking at the specications, resolution IPS display 32GB storage microSD slot
the culprit becomes clear: 16MP/8MP rear/front cameras 802.11ac Wi-Fi Bluetooth
a 2GHz Qualcomm 4.1 NFC USB Type-C IP57 certication Android 7
Snapdragon 810 3,200mAh battery 77 x 8.1 x 154mm (WDH) 174g 1yr RTB
warranty
The evo shares many OVERALL
of the same design
cues as the stylish
HTC 10 0 1 2 3 4 5

PERIPHERALS REVIEWS
Bang & Olufsen

BeoSound 1
THE FINEST SOUNDING AND LOOKING BLUETOOTH SPEAKER
YOULL EVER LAY EARS ON, AND SO IT SHOULD BE AT THIS PRICE
M
ention the name Bang & Olufsen a room, without any sense that the sound
and the rst thing that springs to is coming from one particular point.
mind are those achingly expensive Theres also an integrated rechargeable
lifestyle systems from the 1980s battery capable of delivering a claimed
vertically wall-mounted CD players, 16 hours of playback at moderate volume
all nished in piano black and brushed (four hours at maximum), and since it
aluminium, with smoothly motor-driven has an integrated power supply, you can
tempered glass doors. This was the high- hook it up to the mains with any standard
end audio system of choice, and a long gure-of-eight mains cable.
way out of reach for the cash-strapped Setup is simple if youre an iPhone or
teenager I then was. iPad user simply run through the usual
Step forward 30-odd years and Bang process for AirPlay speakers and pairing
& Olufsen is still ploughing the same via Bluetooth is effortless. The BeoMusic
esoteric furrow. The days of the vertical app is nicely designed and easy to use,
CD player are long gone, however, and the but it doesnt work well in landscape
companys trademark product is now the orientation, so is better installed on an
exotic, cone-shaped 360-degree speaker; iPhone than an iPad Pro.
the BeoSound 1 brings that technology to If you have no iOS devices, however,
the realm of portable wireless speakers. youre out of luck. Although the BeoMusic
So, what do you get for your thousand app is available on the Google Play Store,
pounds? Visually, a very attractive, lean its actually still a beta release and
and minimalist piece of audio furniture. is due to stay so until March 2017. This
If your kitchen is casually scattered with goes some way towards explaining why
Alessi accoutrements, youll feel right I couldnt get it to recognise the speaker The BeoSound 1 isnt only a Bluetooth speaker; its a
at home. The BeoSound 1 is space-age, on either the OnePlus 3T or Huawei P9 talking point
sophisticated and stylish all in one, and with which I tested it. Still, with Google
the way its top portion appears to almost Cast and Spotify Connect both available might indicate. With the BeoSound 1 such
oat, suspended above the larger base, to Android devices (which worked well on considerations are moot to the point of
lends it an almost magical allure. test), that should prove a problem only if being ridiculous.
If its minimalist in form, its far from youre planning on streaming tracks from a A price of $1,600 for any Bluetooth
short on features. On the speakers network DLNA source. speaker no matter how good is beyond
at black top sits a featureless circular Once youve queued up a few of your the pale. While its the nicest portable
touchpad, used to pause, skip and play favourite tracks, the BeoSound 1 is a joy speaker Ive ever listened to, more
your music; surrounding it, forming a part to listen to. Just like its appearance, it has traditional setups will deliver greater scale
of the outer metal casing, is a heavily a rareed sound that seems to almost and superior clarity for less money.
damped volume-control ring; and hidden add detail to music. Theres more space, If you do have the cash to spare,
within, theres support for the full gamut of atmosphere, separation and soundstage however perhaps you need a speaker
streaming services and standards. than any portable Bluetooth speaker for room 16 at your third home in the Gold
Just as youd hope, Apple AirPlay, Ive heard. Brad Mehldaus solo piano Coast it makes one heck of a statement;
Spotify Connect and Google Cast are all rendition of Blackbird is reproduced a gloriously ostentatious Bluetooth
supported, plus its possible to pair directly with such subtlety and texture that you speaker from the doyenne of lifestyle
via Bluetooth for casual listening. The almost feel you can reach out and rub the speaker systems. I want one.
speaker can be added to Bang & Olufsens soundwaves between your ngers. Bass- Jonathan Bray
multiroom speaker system, and you can heavy electronica gets your foot tapping,
control it via the rms BeoMusic app as and theres such a wonderful warmth and
well, where theres integrated control over personality to vocals that to close your KEY SPECS
$1,600 www.bang-olufsen.com
Spotify, Deezer QPlay and TuneIn, and the eyes is to put yourself right in the studio
Bluetooth speaker 35 to 24,300Hz MP3, WMA, AAC,
ability to stream from DLNA-networked with the singer. ALAC, FLAC, WAV, AIFF supports AirPlay, Bluetooth Audio
music sources. Bass has weight, authority and control, Streaming, Google Cast, DLNA, Spotify Connect Deezer,
Inside, a pair of drivers produces your and yet it too displays impressive depth Spotify and TuneIn integrated lithium-ion battery 802.11n
audio one 1.5in full-range driver in the and richness. The BeoSound 1 might be Wi-Fi 10/100 Ethernet Bluetooth 4 162 x 162 x 327mm
top part of the speaker ring down at a expensive, but it sure does caress the ears. (WDH) 3.5kg 1yr warranty
360-degree deector plate, and a 4in bass This is normally the part where I agonise
OVERALL
driver at the very bottom. The pair deliver over whether a product is good value for
a frequency response of 35Hz to 24.3kHz, money, whether it justies a premium
and the 360-degree drivers work well to ll price, or is better than its budget price 0 1 2 3 4 5

of the Pro drives, and have a three-year
warranty rather than the Pro drives ve-
year warranty. Also, while the increased
data density makes for a cheaper drive, it
reduces write speed.
To mitigate this, the Evo drives employ
SLC caching to increase short-term
write speed. So while the 1TB drive can
With prices of SSDs

bouncing around, its
worth making a shortlist
of your chosen drives
and striking when the
price is right
hit a claimed maximum 1,900MB/
sec sequential write speeds, it drops to
1,200MB/sec after the 42GB of SLC cache
is lled. Thats for the 500GB version. The
250GB model maxes out at 1,500MB/sec
write and drops precipitously to 300MB/
sec after 13GB has been written.
This has a knock-on effect when
it comes to random read and write
performance. The 500GB drive manages
330K IOPS for a few seconds, but quickly
Samsung 960 Evo SSD

dropped to an average of 100K IOPS in
our Iometer test. Thats still mighty fast,
mind. Otherwise, in all our tests, the 960
Evo lived up to expectations, hitting the
A MORE SENSIBLE BALANCE OF PERFORMANCE AND PRICE speeds Samsung claims and only trailing
THAN THE 960 PRO, BUT WATCH OUT FOR VOLATILE PRICES slightly behind the 960 Pro.
Now, during testing we encountered
I
n the December issue (see issue 229, $449 when we went to press last month. an oddity a pleasingly surprising oddity.
p44) we reviewed Samsungs new Compare that to $329 for the 500GB Evo. While Samsung claim a top sequential
960 Pro drives and concluded they And remember theres no 256GB model, read speed of around 1,900MB/sec for
were amazingly fast, but overkill for most so $449 is your price of entry into the the 1TB 960 Evo, we recorded an average
people, especially for the price. Well, 960 Pro family. By comparison, you can of 3,400MB/ sec. Thats just shy of the
Samsungs 960 Evo has now arrived to buy the 250GB version of the 960 Evo for 960 Pros maximum speed of 3,500MB/
provide a similar level of performance for around $179. Where the Evo range cant sec! Furthermore, write speeds also well
a far more sensible price and we can match its sibling is top capacity: a 1GB exceeded claimed speeds, consistently
forestall any speculation by saying its a 960 Evo is the most you can hope for, recording 1,900MB/s, compared to a
winning combination. With a few caveats. which is half the Pros 2GB. claimed maximum of 1,500MB/s. This
Like the 960 Pro family, the 960 Evo As with previous Samsung Evo SSDs, was on a testbed based on a Skylake
drives use the M.2 NVMe specication. the 960 Evo family is distinguished from i7 on a Z170 motherboard. Testing with
Theyre once again small, black and the Pro range by the use of TLC NAND, default Microsoft Windows SSD drivers
covered by two smart-looking stickers where three bits of data are stored in and then Samsungs own drivers yielded
(the latter arent just there for show; they each memory cell rather than two as in the same results.
help with thermal performance too). You the 960 Pro. Consequently, the Evo drives Even stranger, in this same testbed
also benet from the same 256-bit AES are rated to write only half the total data sits the supposedly superior 960 Pro,
encryption you can portion off a section
of the drive to be password-protected
and hidden from the OS, for instance
and the Samsung Magician tool that lets
you check the drives health and upgrade
rmware.
Where the two families start to diverge
is price, although this remains volatile,
if youll excuse the pun. The cheapest
960 Pro drive the 512GB version cost

COMPONENTS REVIEWS
which may in part be explained by the

similarity in read speeds between the
960 Pro and 960 Evo that we saw in our
testing, but mostly because the boot
bottlenecks lie elsewhere.
With prices of the drives bouncing
around, its well worth making a shortlist
of your chosen drives and striking when
and its results matched the 960 Evo As with the 960 Pro, the real-world you see the right combination of price
when we rst ran benchtests. That in impact of all that performance is minimal. and capacity for your needs. If you can
itself is less of a surprise as the 960 Pro In the app-loading test of PCMark, our nd the 960 Evo 500GB for around
was delivering numbers that matched manual game load tests and Windows $300, it strikes a near-perfect balance
the manufacturers claims, but a little boot tests all showed virtually no of performance and price, while still
later on in the testing process we cloned increase over SATA SSDs. As a result, its maintaining decent capacity. When it
the Windows OS to the 960 Pro and worth considering spending your money comes to sheer bang-per-buck, this is the
that caused its speeds to actually drop! on a slower drive with a larger capacity SSD to buy.
Now, the OS 960 Pro records just shy of if application performance is your top Edward Chester & Ben Mansill
2,900MB/sec, with the 960 Evo faster at priority.
3,400MB/sec read! We queried this with In particular, you may want to consider
Samsung and were told that cloning a the SATA version of the Samsung 850 KEY SPECS
SATA drive to an NVMe drive can cause Evo. It fell behind in any benchmark $649 (1TB); $329 (500GB); $179 (250GB)
www.samsung.com/au
this but we were cloning from an NVMe looking for consistent write speeds for
M.2 SLC NVMe SSD Samsung Polaris controller TRIM
SSD Samsungs earlier 950 Pro, no example, it hit 30.7MB/sec in PCMark 7s
support SMART support AES 256-bit user data
less. We cant explain these results, and import pictures benchmark, compared encryption, TCG Opal up to 3,200MB/sec sequential read
it may be a peculiarity of the testbed to 34.6MB/sec for the 960 Evo but up to 1,800MB/sec sequential write Samsung Magician
conguration but everything is stock you have to question whether such software 3yr warranty or 200 terabytes written 1.5 million
on that testbed so this little mystery differences will be noticed in real-world hours reliability (MTBF)
remains up in the air. Annoyingly, it means use. Likewise, its cold boot-time was
OVERALL
that we cant, then, assure you that you 18.3 seconds to 17.7 seconds, leaving 0.6
will see such oddities, or will simply see seconds of extra wait time. Boot times
advertised speeds with no issues. were almost identical with the 960 Pro, 0 1 2 3 4 5
www.pcandte
REVIEWS PERIPHERALS
Xiaomi Mi Wi-Fi
MORE THAN A MERE BUDGET ROUTER
I
t might be relatively new to the Aussie it had automatically detected interference can use the USB 2.0 port to attach an
market, but Xiaomi has been taking on the 5GHz channel. The speed jumped external drive for extra storage capacity.
the rest of the world by storm with its to a whopping 45Mbps down, while As mentioned previously, the free
innovative yet inexpensive products. The the upload speed increased to 7Mbps. Smartphone app is fantastic for
Mi Wi-Fi is the latest such gadget, and its Considering the huge range we tested this automatically optimising the performance
a rather impressive piece of kit to say the at, not to mention the number of concrete of this router, but also delivers the usual
least. Combining an 802.11ac router with walls it had to penetrate, this is fantastic controls for your router. Theres QoS
a 1TB hard drive, all at a ridiculously low performance. optimisation, Firewall maintenance
price, this thing is likely to y off shelves This is partially thanks to the Broadcom including blacklisting devices, scheduled
once word spreads. BCM4709 ARM Cortex -A9 dual-core CPU reboots and Wi-Fi sleep modes, and
Considering the large size of most inside, paired with 256MB of RAM. As an automatic photo backup.
Wi-Fi routers, the tiny dimensions of the 802.11ac router, its a dual band router, one We were expecting the software to be
Mi Wi-Fi is the rst thing youll notice, its on the 2.4GHz band, the other on the 5GHz a little rough around the edges but we
approximately 170mm tall by 120mm band. The former delivers up to 367Mbps were wrong. Not only does setup take
deep by 64mm wide. Its got an incredibly of bandwidth, while the latter delivers mere minutes, but both the web-based
simple design, with none of the huge up to 800Mbps, giving a total theoretical and smartphone interfaces are incredibly
external antennae normally associated maximum of 1167Mbps. easy to use. Its even possible to stream
with 802.11ac routers. Yet this doesnt On the outside youll nd a single USB content remotely to your device, without
seem to have hampered its ability to 2.0 port, twin Gigabit Ethernet ports and the need for any complicated settings,
broadcast at lightning fast speeds. Its a single WAN port. The USB port can be though performance does nose-dive, as it
packing a 2x2 antennae conguration that used to connect an external hard drive, doesnt appear to transcode the content in
wiped the oor with several routers weve printer or 3G modem. Residing within is a the process.
tested that are several hundreds of dollars 1TB hard drive, making this a handy little Given the excellent performance, tiny
more expensive. Our initial speed test media server. We were able to stream size and fantastic pricing, we simply
was run at a distance of approximately three HD video streams simultaneously cant help but give this the highest score
15 metres, with several concrete walls in from this device wirelessly to both a possible. Xiaomi may not be a household
the way. We used speedtest.net to see smartphone and laptop, as well as name in Australia yet, but if it keeps
if it could max out our NBN bre a wired connection to a releasing innovative products like this, it
to the home connection, and PC, and there was nary soon will be.
measured an impressive 18Mbps a stutter or glitch on any Bennett Ring
down, 3Mbps up. However, theres device. To put it bluntly,
an optimisation tool that is part of we were astonished at the
KEY SPECS
the free Smartphone application performance considering $179 www.xiaomi-mi.com
(available for both Android and the range it also exhibited. Broadcom BCM4709 Dual-core CPU (1GHz ARM Cortex-A9)
iOS) available for the router. We wish there was a 2x2 internal antennae 802.11ac/n/g/b/a 3 x Gigabit
Running this caused the 4TB version, as 1TB will Ethernet (1 dedicated to WAN) 1 x USB 2.0 connector
device to search for be rather easy to ll, but
OVERALL
the best channel and thats likely a limitation of
protocol, switching to the 2.5-inch hard drives
the 2.4GHz network as form factor. At least you 0 1 2 3 4 5

COMPONENTS REVIEWS
gaming motherboard. Weve

already covered the physical PCIe
slots, but what about storage
options? ASRock has stuck with
the default number of SATA 6Gbps
slots, with six in total. However, theyve
generously delivered twin Ultra M.2 slots,
while video outputs are taken care of by
HDMI, DVI-D and D-sub.
The LED lighting system isnt overly
complex, with lights on the power
circuitry heatsink, PCH heatsink, and the
audio system shield. Speaking of audio,
the Realtek ALC1220 is beefed up with
high-end capacitors and a dedicated TI
NE5532 headset amplier, all of which
is controlled by Creatives SoundBlaster
Cinema 3 software. Intels I219V Ethernet
controller delivers network connectivity.
As mentioned earlier, ASRock has
enabled overclocking of K-class CPUs on
this motherboard, and it also supports
ASRock Fatal1ty
2400MHz memory, which should put
its performance right in line with more
expensive Z270 boards. Given that Intel
wasnt too happy about manufacturers
H270 Performance enabling overclocking on the H170

chipset, its a pleasant surprise to see
that ASRock doesnt seem too fussed
motherboard
about including it on the successor.
Triple USB 2.0 ports reside next to
another two USB 3.0 Type A connectors
and a single USB 3.0 Type-C connector.
ASROCK PUSHES THE H270 TO THE LIMIT This doesnt appear to be Thunderbolt
enabled; to get this, youll need to attach
W
hen Kaby Lake launched, we twin full length PCIe lanes, one of which an optional Thunderbolt AIC to one of
werent exactly blown away runs in x16 mode while the other runs in x4 two connectors on the board.
by its raw CPU performance, mode. This means theres no support for As usual, ASRock has over-delivered
nor its overclocking abilities. While its Nvidias SLI, but AMDs CrossFire will work when compared to the competition,
media engine received a nice upgrade, ne. Four more x1 slots are included for and has even pushed the edge when
the CPU cores themselves didnt seem your less demanding peripherals. it comes to features like overclocking.
to have made much ground. What was Theres also no official support for Unfortunately we werent able to
more exciting was the release of the Z270 overclocking on the H270 chipset, yet benchmark this motherboard due to
chipset, which offered up many more PCIe ASrock has enabled overclocking on this a lack of a CPU at the time, but were
lanes and widespread support for USB board. The total number of USB 2.0 ports condent itll keep up with higher-priced
3.0 Type C and high-speed M.2 drives. supported by the H270 is identical to the Z270 boards given our experience with
This month sees our rst review of the Z270, at fourteen, yet the number of USB ASRock products in the past and the
next chipset in the Kaby Lake arsenal, the 3.0 ports has dropped slightly, down to factory memory overclock. If youre
H270. Aimed at a slightly more affordable, eight from ten. They also both support a looking for a new gaming board but dont
mainstream market, what has Intel taken maximum of six SATA 6Gbps ports. Other want to spend more than $200, you really
away from the Z270 to save on costs? than that, its all much of a muchness. cant go wrong with this home for your
When it comes to High Speed IO lanes, Both support the same amount of CPU.
both chipsets are identical, with 30 memory, though the H270 defaults to Bennett Ring
each. However, as wed anticipated, the 2133MHz instead of the 2400MHz of
number of PCIe 3.0 lanes has dropped the Z270. This is an extremely minor KEY SPECS
a little. The Z270 shipped with 24, while drop though, so performance should be $190 www.asrock.com
the H270 trims this back to 20. In reality, basically identical to the Z270, as there H270 chipset 6 x SATA 6Gbps; 2 x Ultra M.2
this means it can support one less M.2 are no other changes. SoundBlaster Cinema 3 Audio Intel Gigabit Ethernet.
PCIe 3.0 x4 SSD, which isnt a huge deal. Now that weve dug deeper into the
OVERALL
What is more concerning is the lack of minor differences between the two
congurations for the PCIe 3.0 lanes. The chipsets, lets see how ASRock has
motherboard were reviewing comes with implemented the H270 into an affordable 0 1 2 3 4 5

Cisco RV134W
VDSL2 Wireless-AC
VPN Router
A BASIC, BUT SOLID, SMALL BUSINESS FOCUSSED VDSL2 MODEM
FROM ONE OF THE MOST WELL-KNOWN NETWORKING BRANDS
A
s the NBN rolls out around space than horizontal space
Australia, more of us are available. Also in the box is a
becoming familiar with VDSL2 slim power adapter, 1m RJ45
- the technology used by NBN in Fibre to Ethernet cable and a 1.5m RJ11
the Node (FTTN) installs. This means cable, along with a quick start
homes and businesses in an area guide and warranty info.
switching over to the FTTN NBN, need a Speaking of warranty, the
new modem. Because of this, Cisco has RV134W says it has a limited
released the RV134W VDSL2 Wireless-AC lifetime warranty. Sounds
VPN Router. great, doesnt it? But its not
Cisco, if youre unaware, are the a lifetime warranty at all.
800-pound gorilla of computer Reading the ne print, the
networking. Their switches, routers, warranty is actually for 5 years
security gateways and Wi-Fi equipment after Cisco decides to stop
is used by ISPs, governments and large selling the RV134W. Still an
corporations around the world. Ciscos excellent warranty, far beyond
gear literally powers the core of the the competition, but for Cisco
Internet. The RV134W is a little slice of to say the RV134W has a
that, designed for use by demanding lifetime warranty is a little
home users or small businesses. misleading.
Specs wise, the RV134W contains Four Wi-Fi antennas are built-in
2.4GHz and 5GHz, 2x2:2 802.11ac to the unit, meaning no external or
wireless radio, a 4 port Gigabit Ethernet removable antenna sockets, unlike Asus Ethernet available though, youre out
switch, an Ethernet WAN port and a and Netgears top end models. The of luck - thats the only way to set it up.
VDSL2 WAN port. All typical fare for a unit is sleeker and more compact as a Unlike most similar priced consumer
Wi-Fi modem router these days. Whats result, but at the expense of possible routers, theres no smartphone app for
not typical about the RV134W is its Wi-Fi signal strength. Not that theres a monitoring of conguration.
restrained and modest exterior design. particular issue with signal strength on For the pro users, the RV134W
No creepy spider looking UFO things, the RV134W its ne, but an external also supports conguration from the
just a sleek matte black rectangle. antenna that can be replaced allows for command line, acting very much like any
Theres a stand in the box thatll let you more choice in the antenna suitable for other Cisco IOS device (despite not using
keep it upright if you have more vertical the environment. IOS itself). If you have any familiarity
Installed is a relatively small 256MB of with Ciscos switches and routers,
Is your area NBN-ready? If you dont have NBN yet,
RAM, compared to the 512MB on higher you can bypass the web interface all
and your area is FTTN then a modem like this is what
youll be needing end consumer routers from ASUS and together or turn it off completely and
Netgear. Not much of an issue for most congure the RV134W just from the
people, but if youre making heavy use of command line. Theres even a console
rewall rules, port forwarding and QoS, cable connection, if youve somehow
then the amount of RAM matters and managed to lock yourself out of the
the RV134W may struggle. router.
Setting up the RV134W is extremely The VDSL2 portion of the RV134W is
easy. Just plug it in to an Ethernet very robust. Compared to the Draytek
port on your computer, set your IP Vigor2860Vac, connected to the same
to 192.168.1.2 and log in to the web copper line, VDSL sync speeds were
interface on 192.168.1.1, where the approximately 10% higher on average,
quick start wizard will get you going. compared to the RV134W. Take this
If you dont have a computer with anecdote with a grain of salt though,

PERIPHERALS REVIEWS
as everyones copper line situation is support OpenVPN and PPTP as a

different and so much can inuence client, right out of the box. Surprisingly,
what speeds can be achieved. If at some the RV134W does not support Ciscos
point you upgrade from VDSL to bre, own VPN protocol, AnyConnect,
the VDSL modem can be disabled and which is extremely popular with large
the gigabit Ethernet WAN port utilised corporations. Not including Ciscos own
instead. VPN on its own hardware, even if it is a
The RV134W supports all the usual relatively entry level unit, is an unusual
stuff you expect a router of this calibre oversight. One would assume theyd like
to support, such as a stateful packet to drive adoption of their own protocol?
inspecting rewall, port forwarding, At least VPN pass-through is supported,
quality of service bandwidth allowing an outbound VPN connection
management, dynamic DNS (noip to connect unhindered, even if NAT port
and DynDNS) and VLANs. Unlike most forwarding is enabled.
consumer level routers however, it adds As a server though, VPN support on
a bit of extra depth to those features. the RV134W is solid and easy to set up.
The rewall on the RV134W is Itll work as a PPTP server and users
extremely exible, which can be can authenticate with a username and
congured via access rules and password. Its not very advanced, but
have those rules applied to specic it gets the job done and is relatively
computers on your secure. Again, it
network - not just The deep packet would have been
nice to see basic
the network as a
whole. Access rules inspection includes AnyConnect server
can be activated support too, seeing
to operate at
blocking Java, ActiveX, as its Ciscos own
specic dates and proxies and cookies protocol.
times, allowing The Cisco
the internet to effectively turn itself off, RV134W VDSL2 Wireless-AC VPN
say, at night, when an office is empty, Router has a lot of competition in this
or to block email being sent at night for price range. For the roughly $400 street
example. The deep packet inspection price, you could also buy a Draytek
features of the rewall include blocking Vigor2860ac, Netgear D7800, Asus
Java, ActiveX, proxies and cookies, DSL-AC68U, Linksys XAC1900, TP-Link
network wide, before they infect or Archer VR2600 and probably a dozen
damage computers. others. Why should you spend the extra
The USB port on the RV134W can be cash on the RV134W compared to those
used to connect a 3G or 4G modem, other units?
providing either redundant Internet Unless youve already got an existing
access if the VDSL2 or Ethernet WAN Cisco infrastructure setup, or need
connection is disrupted or used as the the long 5-year warranty, there isnt
primary Internet connection. In a quick anything special or compelling about the
test, a rather old, but still functional, RV134W to justify it over more featured
Vodafone/Huawei K4605 3G modem or cheaper VDSL2 Wi-Fi routers.
was not recognised by the RV134W. That doesnt mean the RV134W is a
An Optus/Huawei E3276s 4G modem bad router, its just middle of the pack. It
however, was detected and worked well. gets the job done quietly, with little fuss,
Unfortunately, Cisco does not publish but also with no frills. The RV134 works
a list of USB modems compatible with ne, but lacks some of the ease of use
the RV134W, unlike other manufacturers and features found in other models, has
such as TP-Link. You would think a a 2x2:2 802.11ac Wi-Fi radio compared
company as large as Cisco would be to the 3x3:3 radios in the competition
able to provide this information up front, and is priced relatively high versus
so an appropriate USB modem can be other models. Youd need to be a Cisco
purchased. Alas, they do not. diehard to buy the RV134W.
VPN support was also disappointing, Anthony Agius
with the RV134W not having the ability
to connect to a PPTP/IPSec VPN or
KEY SPECS
OpenVPN server as a client. The only
$399 http://au.ingrammicro.com
client mode VPN supported, is site-to- VDSL2 connectivity, built-in four-port Gigabit Ethernet
site IPsec VPN with a pre-shared key switch 2x2 802.11ac Wi-Fi USB 3G/4G/LTE, internal
and manual remote and local IP address antennas IPsec VPN security 5-year warranty.
setup. Not much use if you want to
OVERALL
connect to the very common OpenVPN
or PPTP type of VPN server.
Asus high end routers for example, 0 1 2 3 4 5
Accounting software
FreeAgent QuickBooks Online Plus

Limited Company
Q
uickBooks Online Plus is Intuits top-of-the range cloud-
nance package for small businesses, costing $24.50 per
F
reeAgent is a cloud-based bookkeeping package designed month for ve user accounts. With it, you can track your
to make accounting simple for small businesses. We nances, work out tax and manage bills and other expenses.
reviewed the Limited Company edition at $20 a month, You enter transactions as they occur and QuickBooks adds
which covers your whole company with no limit on the number of them to your accounts as you go. The main dashboard provides
users. a one-screen summary of your nances, including how much
Setup was as easy as promised. With the help of a wizard- money youre owed and how much is overdue (its always handy
based routine to input all the necessary company details, we to identify the culprits at a glance).
were up and running within about 30 minutes. We uploaded our You can view your chart of accounts from the settings, but
historical transactions and our contacts as CSV les with no unless youre a bookkeeping geek, its easier to use a combination
problem at all. of your dashboard and your bank records. These records are
The only snag was uploading a bank statement as a CSV, with updated automatically as you enter sales and expenses. You
the initial le rejected due to formatting. In the end, we opened it then reconcile them manually, by cross-referencing with a bank
up in Notepad and formatted it manually. Once uploaded, though, statement, or automatically by connecting to your online bank
reconciliation was made easy, with FreeAgent identifying most account. It works and its easy.
transactions from our statement. QuickBooks is particularly good at customer-facing parts
You can manually enter transactions into your chart of of nance. You can generate invoices in seconds, send them
accounts, but its easier to use FreeAgent to record your business instantly, and issue reminders with a single click. The whole
activities. Create a project, add an estimate, turn the estimate workow from estimate to invoice to receipt of sales is simple.
into an invoice, mark the invoice as paid and hey presto, the Like some of the best cloud CRMs, QuickBooks also has its own
transaction appears in your chart of accounts. You can enter third-party app store. Its underpopulated, but we were really
expenses as you incur them, or set up recurring debits. excited to see a PayPal processing app in there, only to nd it isnt
When you create an estimate or an invoice, you can enter yet available here.
amounts manually or track units sold (products or time). The Payroll costs extra in QuickBooks, but its only $4 per active
program even includes a timer: once youve nished a task, stop employee per month, so hardly a big deal if you employ only a
the timer and add the time worked to the relevant project. few people. If you employ more than ten, the fees will rack up. But
How FreeAgent handles taxes depends on the version used. QuickBooks not only automatically runs your payroll, updating
The Sole Trader version calculates how much income tax and your chart of accounts, it also updates the ATO with your data
BAS you can expect to pay by pulling through your self-employed every month. The program also calculates your GST, if youre GST
income and expenses from your accounts. The Partnership registered, tracking the GST you collect and then generating the
version does the same, but it calculates the prots for each data required for your return. However, QuickBooks doesnt help
partner based on their tax allowances, personal income, and you prepare your ATO self-assessment only the QuickBooks Self
other factors. In the Limited Company version, FreeAgent Employed version does that and it still leaves you to submit the
calculates your personal self-assessment, corporation tax, and return manually.
your PAYG and BAS obligations. QuickBooks is excellent at what it does. But with its unlimited
FreeAgent is the easiest of the programs to use. For small users, as well as payroll and self-assessment built in, FreeAgent is
companies that want pain-free bookkeeping, it does the job well. currently the better deal.
OVERALL OVERALL
KEY SPECS KEY SPECS
$20 per month, $24.50 per month,
0 1 2 3 4 5 from freeagent.com 0 1 2 3 4 5 from intuit.com.au

WEARABLES REVIEWS
shootout KARL WRIGHT DRAWS UP A LEDGER OF POSITIVES AND

NEGATIVES FOR FOUR POPULAR ACCOUNTANCY PACKAGES
Sage One Accounting Wave Apps

S W
age One Accounting is the premium version of Sages ave Apps is a free bookkeeping package that lets you
small-business accounting software. You can produce record transactions. Like the others, it builds a set of
estimates and invoices, track sales and outstanding debts, ledgers based on nominal accounts all you need to
le your GST returns and record expenses. Like QuickBooks, do is tell it when you spend or earn money. But theres a catch
Sage also has an integrated third-party app store useful for Wave is a US app and although some features have been
adding industry-specic functions. localised, others havent. Payroll, for instance, is only set up to
As with the other bookkeeping programs, Sage One lets work for the US and Canada. This is also one of the two extras
you create estimates, log sales and send invoices. As jobs are that Wave charges for, but, aside from this and payments, the
generated, and estimates accepted by the client, theyre entered free price really is true.
into the ledgers. You can see a breakdown of your spending Happily, Wave has localised the currency options. You can enter
using the Trial Balance Report. The Sage One Dashboard offers transactions manually, or upload a bank statement. We tried both
at-a-glance snapshots to instantly see who your top customers and they worked without any problems. In fact, uploading a bank
are, who owes you money and a useful cash-ow forecast. statement was easier with Wave than with any of its competitors;
The Accounting version of Sage One lets you raise not only the program matched all columns correctly and the operation
invoices, but quotes and estimates too. And its easy to turn was done in seconds (we had to do reformatting with FreeAgent,
either a quote or an estimate into an invoice. You can also for instance).
customise all three document types with your logo and details. To keep your accounts up to date, all you have to do is work
To speed up this process, you can predene products in Wave Apps: create an estimate, turn it into an invoice and
setting both a sale and wholesale price. When you want to Wave enters the invoiced amount into your accounts. Wave also
create a quote, select which products to include with a click. integrates well with other services. Not only did we import our
Sage One doesnt include any inventory control, though; youll contacts from Google Apps, we used our Google Apps email to
need to buy a separate app for that. send invoices from within Wave.
But theres plenty more that Sage One can do. You can If we have one criticism, it would be that the program is more
connect it to your online bank account, making reconciliation difficult to nd your way around than some of its competitors.
easy. And you can use it to submit BAS returns directly to the For instance, to raise an estimate you need to go into the Invoices
ATO. Simply enter your ABN number and your year-end date screen. And customers are created in the settings menu of the
Sage One automatically crunches the numbers. You can then Accounting screen. Its an odd organisational scheme.
save as a draft or submit directly to the ATO from within the Wave isnt set up specically to handle GST, but its exible
software. enough for you to simply create your own sales tax rate. Just add
Sage One wont do your self-assessment or corporate tax sales tax to applicable purchases or sales, and run the sales tax
returns, but will make your tax returns easier as all of the to nd out how much GST you owe. But there are no modules for
information required for your return will be accurately recorded. working out Au self-assessment, corporation tax, PAYE or BAS
If you have an accountant, you can give them access so contributions. Youll need to take the data in Wave and use it to
that they can do it for you. But you cant generate your self- work these out.
assessment and submit it from Sage One. Similarly, if you want There are many good things about Wave, but the primary one
payroll, youll have to subscribe to an additional Sage product. is its price. If youre a freelancer or a sole trader, then you may not
These extras push up the price, so work out exactly what you nd its limitations a problem.
need before pressing ahead.
OVERALL OVERALL
KEY SPECS KEY SPECS
$20 per month, $FREE,
0 1 2 3 4 5 from sageone.com.au 0 1 2 3 4 5 from waveapps.com

REVIEWS BRIEFS
Labs Briefs
Asus ROG Centurion Seagate Backup Plus
$469 www.asus.com/au
Portable Drive 5TB
T
he Centurion is Asus second stab
$299 www.seagate.com/au
at making a true 7.1 surround
S
headset, and the experience torage has come along in leaps and
shows. Although still very large and heavy bounds in the last couple of years. It
by necessity each earcup holds ve wasnt too long ago that large capacity
different drivers the comfortable padding portable drives were huge, slow and required
on the earcups and sprung headstrap external power. Thats denitely not the case
makes the Centurion comfortable over with the Backup Plus 5TB drive. It only meas-
long periods. Rather than plugging straight ures a slim 20.5x114.5x78mm and connects via
into the PC, the Centurion instead plugs a single USB3 connection. The drive is about
into a base station with built in amp as speedy as youd expect for a large capacity spinning platter
that allows users to control and tweak drive running on a USB3 connection, delivering read/write speeds
individual channels or choose from presets highlighting various of 133MB/s and 73MB/s respectively through our testing with
ranges so as to highlight footsteps, explosions, gunshots AS SSD. The drive comes pre-loaded with easy to use Seagate
and the like, as well as splitting input into discrete channels Dashboard backup software, allowing for quick backups of PC
for surround sound. Audio quality is good, and there is a nice le, mobile data and social media. The drive also comes with a
directionality to the surround sound but that quality comes with two year 200GB subscription to Microsoft OneDrive (though you
a very hefty price tag. The RRP for the Centurion is a massive will have to pay for subscription after the two years is up). The
$469, and even with an average street price that will probably Seagate Backup Plus is a good, affordable and fast external drive.
be around $100 cheaper its still a staggering amount to pay for The only thing standing against it is the lack of any built in security
a headset tethered to your PC. features and relatively short two year warranty.
Daniel Wilks Daniel Wilks
OVERALL OVERALL
0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5
Asus ROG Spatha TP-Link Smart Wi-Fi LED Bulb

$219 www.asus.com/au $44.95 to $79.95 www.tp-link.com.au
W T
hile many hardware he coolest, least-necessary gadget
vendors seem to be category right now is the smart LED bulb. Philips
embracing the aesthetic led the charge with Hue, and many others followed.
of smaller and sleeker when it Now TP-Link offers its version: a range of LED bulbs (a
comes to mouse design, with the colour one, a cool-to-warm white one, and a
agship mouse of a new range, dimmer-only one) that uses the households
Asus has gone in the other direction. existing Wi-Fi network to allow control via
The Spatha is enormous and heavy, smartphone. Tap to set colour, brightness, create
but thats not necessarily a bad thing. lighting schedules, choose moods, all the usual
Designed for MMORPGs, the Spatha functions are here.
is covered in buttons but is still TP-Link makes a big deal of how these bulbs
very comfortable in the hand. dont need a bridge, though obviously there are
The mouse is usable both wired and some disadvantages to the lights not having their
wirelessly, with the latter using a pairing/charging station and own network - for instance, once set up, Philips Hue
limiting the polling rate of the mouse to cut down on wireless doesnt need your router to operate.
lag. In wired mode, the Spatha is capable of a rather incredible, The biggest limitation right now? That the rst models
if somewhat impractical 2000Hz polling rate (1000Hz will be Edison-screw only, and with a full-size bulb form-factor.
wireless), with up to 8200 DPI. Its strange to see the numbers It occurs to us the kinds of people who like smart bulbs probably
so high given the target market of the mouse and the fact that already have GU10 halogen downlights. Still, the TP-Link bulb is
its big and heavy enough to be unsuitable for twitch gaming. a good t for older lamps - and lamps have always been better
Still, its pleasant enough to use. at mood lighting.
Daniel Wilks Anthony Fordham
OVERALL OVERALL
0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5

Graphics cards
SUPERTEST
WE PUT 17 OF THE
LATEST GRAPHICS
CARDS RANGING
FROM THE BOTTOM
OF THE MARKET
TO THE VERY TOP
$50 to $1,030 THROUGH THEIR

PACES IN A SERIES
OF GAMING TESTS
GRAPHICS CARDS GROUP TEST
CONTENTS
Nvidia GeForce GT 710 74
AMD Radeon R7 240 74
AMD Radeon RX 460 76
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 76
Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti 76
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 76
AMD Radeon R9 380X 78
AMD Radeon R9 Fury 78
AMD Radeon R9 Nano 80
AMD Radeon R9 Fury X 80
Buyers guide to
graphics cards 76
Feature table 78
Test results 80
Virtual-reality gaming 88
View from the Labs 91
G
raphics cards are as relevant visuals as they were meant to be
today as theyve ever been. To seen, you simply arent getting the
full experience.
NO MSI?
be sure, a discrete GPU is no
longer a technical necessity. Most This month, weve picked out The idea behind this group test was to focus on
modern CPUs have enough built-in 17 of the latest graphics cards the GPUs available, and test a sample of each. As
you know this is the rst step when deciding which
graphical power to handle desktop ranging from the very bottom of
graphics card to buy. Once you have zeroed in on
applications, and even a bit of casual the market up to the very top and
your ideal GPU the hunt begins for a card that has
gaming. tested them extensively, to discover
the right GPU, but the focus then shifts to aspects
However, todays graphics cards which models match the demands
like price, bundled games or software, factory
are a world apart from those of modern games. Weve also put
overclocks and cooling. Heck for many people one
integrated GPUs. They have to be: them through their paces in the brand might be their favourite so thats what they
modern games are typically set nascent world of virtual reality, to usually go with.
in vastly complex 3D worlds, with ensure youre ready for the coming So, this group test is not aiming to examine the
cinematic lighting and immersive revolution. wide variety of cards available, simply the GPUs.
effects. Its no exaggeration to say So whether youre on a budget Hence, we selected cards that, generally speak-
that computer game design is one or looking to invest in a luxury ing, are as vanilla as possible. However most of the
of the major creative industries of experience, we have something for cards bought in Australia arent standard reference
the 21st century. If your hardware you all you need is a PCI-E socket designs brands, which is why the souped up models
isnt powerful enough to render the and a pair of eyes. from companies such as MSI arent included.
Choose
the perfect
graphics
card
CHOOSING THE RIGHT
GRAPHICS CARD CAN
SEEM LIKE A DAUNTING
QUEST BUT ITS EASY IF
YOU KNOW WHAT YOURE
LOOKING FOR
1: DONT BE BLINDED
BY BRANDS
Browse online for graphics cards and
youll nd a panoply of brands, from
Asus to Zotac. But the choice isnt as
complicated as it may rst appear. Every
mainstream graphics card is built around
a standard graphics chip a GPU from
either AMD or Nvidia. There are around and manufacture, two different youll see from our feature
20 different models widely on sale, and manufacturers may charge quite table overleaf, the number of
weve tested all of the major variants, different prices for substantially the processors built into a card can
with prices stretching from $50 to $1,030. same card. So even once youve decided vary enormously. The more processors
That doesnt mean that brands are upon a GPU, you should shop around to a card has, the more calculations it can
irrelevant. One maker may equip a given see which precise card suits your needs. carry out at once, helping it to produce
GPU with a tiny cooler, so it will t inside highly complicated scenes at very quick
a compact case and make minimum 2: HOW MANY STREAM rates.
noise. Another manufacturers take on PROCESSORS? Once the stream processors have
the same GPU might have a powerful The architecture of a modern GPU is assembled a scene, the texture mapping
fan that lets it run at top speed for long based on stream processors, texture units handle the business of painting
periods without overheating. mapping units and render output images onto the models, and nally the
Some card manufacturers also units. The stream processors do the render output units translate the nished
overclock their GPUs. And, last of fundamental work of building 3D 3D scene into a 2D image to be sent to
all, for reasons to do with marketing scenes out of millions of polygons. As the display.
Truth be told, the bare numbers arent
particularly illuminating. More stream
CAN I USE MORE THAN ONE GRAPHICS CARD? processors generally means better
performance, but other factors come
Its long been possible to physically connect multiple graphics cards together to help with into play too, including core speed and
rendering. AMDs proprietary technology that enables this is called CrossFire, while Nvidias video memory. Whats more, the two
approach is called Scalable Link Interface (SLI). GPU manufacturers use quite different
Historically, however, multi-GPU computing has been a bit of a pain: only certain cards have
internal designs for their processors: AMD
supported it, and to keep everything in sync youve needed to use identical GPUs. Nvidia has
has its Graphics Core Next architecture,
also required you to clip on a physical connector to join your cards together. This technology is
now into its fourth generation, while
still supported see our feature table for details of which cards support it.
Nvidias latest cards use its Pascal
With DirectX 12, however, a better way has arrived. A feature called explicit multi-GPU puts
core. Each design has its strengths and
control in the hands of the programmer, allowing the game itself to divide up work across all
available GPUs as it sees t, with no need for special hardware support. And theres no need weaknesses, so two cards with the same
to use identical cards: weve seen reports of experimenters successfully setting up dual- number of stream processors may have
graphics systems using one AMD card and one Nvidia card something that would have been different capabilities. When it comes to
unthinkable a generation ago. gaming, the only really meaningful metric
However, remember that adding a second GPU wont magically double your graphical is performance.
performance. The benet depends very much on how the game is written, and on the specics
of your hardware. If, therefore, youre partnering a high-end graphics card with a budget GPU, 3: HOW MUCH MEMORY?
you might nd that the lesser card simply isnt powerful enough to provide any benet. Every graphics card comes with an

For reasons to do with marketing,

two different manufacturers may
charge quite different prices for
substantially the same card
wider connections As you can see from our graph a premium
to the GPU, allowing graphics card can easily triple the peak
them to work on more power draw of a PC. Happily, wattage
data at faster speeds. is unlikely to be a problem: a modern
To confuse matters PC typically comes with a 500W power
further, some cards are supply, which is clearly ample for even the
offered in multiple VRAM most extravagant card. Youll only need
congurations too. more if you want to install multiple cards.
Ultimately, whether The question is how exactly the power
you need the maximum gets to the card. The PCI-E bus can
quantity and speed of VRAM depends provide up to 75W, which is enough for
onboard cache of on the demands of the software. The most lightweight and mid-range cards.
video RAM (VRAM); on a low- best way to work out whether you But once you move into the realm of
end card, this might be 1GB of RAM, need the larger allocation is to check high-performance GPUs, youll need to
while on a premium model it could be benchmark scores and see for yourself supplement this by connecting a six-pin
as much as 8GB. The GPU uses this as if it makes a difference in the games you 75W power connector, or an eight-pin
workspace to build up each frame, and play. 150W connector, via your power supply.
store any textures and other resources The most demanding cards ask for both.
its using. 4: DIRECTX AND OTHER APIS Every power supply provides these
VRAM cant be upgraded, so its If you just want to play games, you connectors: theyre connected directly
important to choose a card with enough neednt worry too much about API to the PSU on some, while modular
memory for your needs. But how versions: all of this months cards designs use detachable cables that youll
much is that? If youre running at a low support the latest DirectX 12 games, as need to plug in at both ends. Make sure
resolution, and not doing any tricks such well as older DirectX 11 titles. DirectX theyre routed to the right place and
as anti-aliasing or physics modelling, 12 allows games to take advantage youre golden.
1GB is plenty. For high-end gaming, its of more efficient graphics processing
techniques. They can, therefore, create
These days, your typical

more ambitious visual effects than older
games, written for the earlier DirectX 11
HOW WE TEST
API. Weve awarded each graphics card on test a
PC comes with a 500W A wrinkle worth explaining is that score out of ve. Principally, this reects its
power supply, which is the Direct3D component of DirectX performance, but it also takes into account
12 doesnt insist on a GPU supporting how reasonable or otherwise its price is.
clearly ample for even the all the new DirectX 12 features: each How do we measure performance? Theres
only one way to test a graphics card: run
most extravagant card card implements a feature level,
corresponding to a DirectX release. games on it. For this Labs, we benchmarked
Certain cards only support a Direct3D 11 all 17 of our cards using titles both old and
a different story: certain games wont feature set but since these are low-end new namely Dirt: Showdown (2012), Tomb
run at 4K resolution on a card with less cards, you wouldnt expect maximum Raider (2013) and Metro: Last Light Redux
(2014) from the DirectX 11 era, plus Hitman
than 4GB of VRAM. Others may fall back detail from them anyway.
(2016) and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (2016)
on your regular system memory; this is All the cards on test support the
to test DirectX 12 performance.
far slower than dedicated VRAM, and OpenGL API for graphics rendering, and
We tested in 1080p with high detail, and at
will have a nasty effect on your gaming OpenCL for writing programs to run on
4K resolution (3,840 x 2,160) with maxi-
experience. the graphics card. This wont affect your
mum detail; for low-end cards we tested at
Thats not to say that VRAM is gaming experience, but its helpful for 720p as well. Youll nd details of additional
uniformly fast. The cheapest cards programmers wanting to write cross- tests for virtual-reality gaming on p82.
use regular DDR3 memory, with platform games that arent entirely tied While the graphics card does the bulk of the
comparatively narrow buses that to DirectX. visual work, modern games can drive the
limit the amount of data that can be CPU hard as well, not to mention making
transferred back and forth (see the 5: POWERING UP weighty demands on system RAM. For our
memory bandwidth row in our feature If youre tempted by a high-end graphics testbed, we used a Core i5-6600K processor,
table, overleaf). Upmarket cards bring card, you may be wondering whether your supporting turbo speeds up to 3.9GHz, and
super-fast GDDR5 memory, with much power supply will be capable of driving it. 16GB of DDR4 memory.

LIGHTWEIGHT GRAPHICS MAINSTREAM GAMING
RECOMMENDED
Asus
PowerColor Gigabyte Palit Kalm
Palit Nvidia Palit Nvidia Sapphire Asus AMD Expedition
Red Dragon Nvidia Nvidia
GeForce GT GeForce GT AMD Radeon Radeon R7 Nvidia
AMD Radeon GeForce GTX GeForce GTX
710 730 R7 240 250 GeForce GTX
RX 460 1050 750 Ti
1050 Ti
SCORE
Price $50 $60 $76 $80 $160 $170 $270 $222
CORE
Stream
192 384 320 384 896 640 640 768
processors
Texture
16 32 20 24 56 40 40 48
mapping units
Render output
8 8 8 8 16 32 16 32
units
GPU frequency
954 902 730 1,000 1,090 1,354 1,020 1,290
(MHz)
GPU boost
frequency N/A N/A 780 1,050 1,200 1,455 1,085 1,392
(MHz)
Overclocked
RAM
RAM amount 1GB 2GB 1GB 1GB 2GB 2GB 2GB 4GB
RAM type DDR3 DDR3 GDDR5 GDDR5 GDDR5 GDDR5 GDDR5 GDDR5
RAM speed
1.8 1.8 4.6 11.5 1.7 7 5 7
(Gbits/sec)
Memory
bandwidth 14.4 14.4 72 74 112 112 80 112
(GB/sec)
CAPABILITIES
Direct3D
11_0 11_0 11_1 11_1 12_0 12_1 11_2 12_1
feature level
OpenGL
4.5 4.5 4.3 4.3 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5
version
OpenCL
1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 2 1.2 1.2 1.2
version
Maximum
3 3 3 3 5 3 4 3
displays
Maximum
resolution at 2,560 x 1,600 2,560 x 1,600 4,096 x 3,112 4,096 x 3,112 4,096 x 2,160 7,680 x 4,210 4,096 x 2,160 7,680 x 4,210
60Hz
DIMENSIONS AND CONNECTORS
Power
None None None None None None None None
connectors
Video DisplayPort, DVI-D, DVI-D, DVI-I, DisplayPort, DVI-D,

DVI-I, HDMI, VGA DVI-I, HDMI, VGA DVI-I, HDMI, VGA DVI-D, HDMI, VGA DVI-D, HDMI, VGA
connectors HDMI mini-HDMI HDMI
Maximum
multi-GPU 2 2 4
support
Backplate
1 1 1 1 2 2 1 2
slots occupied
Length 117mm 117mm 151mm 152mm 212mm 172mm 183mm 212mm

HIGH-END GAMING ENTHUSIAST GRAPHICS
RECOMMENDED LABS WINNER RECOMMENDED
Zotac AMP!
Zotac AMP! Asus Strix
XFX AMD PowerColor XFX AMD Asus Strix Gigabyte AMD Extreme XFX AMD
Edition Nvidia Nvidia
Radeon RX AMD Radeon Radeon R9 AMD Radeon Radeon R9 Edition Nvidia Radeon R9
GeForce GTX GeForce GTX
470 R9 380X Fury RX 480 Nano GeForce GTX Fury X
1060 1080
1070
$270 $400 $530 $370 $440 $640 $600 $680 $1,030
2,048 2,048 3,584 1,280 2,304 4,096 1,920 4,096 2,560
128 128 224 80 144 256 120 256 160
32 32 64 48 32 64 64 64 64
926 1,020 1,000 1,556 1,310 1,000 1,632 1,050 1,759
1,226 N/A N/A 1,771 N/A N/A 1,835 N/A 1,898
4GB 4GB 4GB 6GB 8GB 4GB 8GB 4GB 8GB
GDDR5 GDDR5 HBM GDDR5 GDDR5 HBM GDDR5 HBM GDDR5
7 5.9 1 8 8 1 8 1 8
211 184 512 192 224 512 256 512 320
12_0 12_0 12_0 12_1 12_0 12_0 12_1 12_0 12_1
4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5
2 2 2 1.2 2 2 1.2 2 1.2
6 6 6 4 6 6 4 6 4
4,096 x 2,160 4,096 x 2,160 4,096 x 2,160 7,680 x 4,210 7,680 x 4,320 4,096 x 2,160 7,680 x 4,210 4,096 x 2,160 7,680 x 4,210
6-pin 2 x 6-pin 2 x 8-pin 6-pin 8-pin 8-pin 2 x 8-pin 1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pin 1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pin
3 x DisplayPort, DisplayPort, DVI-D, 3 x DisplayPort, 3 x DisplayPort, 3 x DisplayPort, 3 x DisplayPort, 3 x DisplayPort, 3 x DisplayPort, 2 x DisplayPort,
DVI-D, HDMI DVI-I, HDMI HDMI DVI-D, HDMI DVI-D, HDMI HDMI DVI-D, HDMI HDMI DVI-D, 2 x HDMI
4 2 4 4 4 2 4 2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2.5 2 2
247mm 267mm 305mm 215mm 298mm 154mm 325mm 203mm 298mm

GROUP TEST GRAPHICS CARDS
Red = 4K, ultra detail. Yellow = 1080p, high detail

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (fps) Hitman (fps) Metro: Last Light Redux (fps)
28 78 52
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080
98 98 140
23 Recommended 66 49
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 AMD Radeon R9 Fury X AMD Radeon RX 480
91 106 133
20 66 Recommended 45
AMD Radeon R9 Fury X Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 AMD Radeon R9 Fury X
89 98 140
18 59 42 Labs Winner
AMD Radeon R9 Nano AMD Radeon R9 Nano AMD Radeon R9 Fury
82 106 140
19 Labs Winner 58 Labs Winner 41 Recommended
AMD Radeon R9 Fury AMD Radeon R9 Fury Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070
80 106 133
16 50 39
AMD Radeon RX 480 AMD Radeon RX 480 AMD Radeon R9 Nano
70 105 134
15 45 31
64 98 135
13 Recommended 44 Recommended 22 Recommended
AMD Radeon RX 470 AMD Radeon RX 470 AMD Radeon RX 470
62 106 132
11 37 18
AMD Radeon R9 380X AMD Radeon R9 380X AMD Radeon R9 380X
50 101 115
8 26 18
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
37 77 94
2 DID NOT COMPLETE 14
33 59 85
AMD Radeon RX 460 AMD Radeon RX 460 AMD Radeon RX 460
30 52 68
Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti
22 40 58
1 Recommended DID NOT COMPLETE 5 Recommended
AMD Radeon R7 250 AMD Radeon R7 250 AMD Radeon R7 250
10 20 Recommended 29
AMD Radeon R7 240 AMD Radeon R7 240 AMD Radeon R7 240
7 14 22
DID NOT COMPLETE DID NOT COMPLETE 2
Nvidia GeForce GT 730* Nvidia GeForce GT 730 Nvidia GeForce GT 730
5 10 10
DID NOT COMPLETE DID NOT COMPLETE 1
Nvidia GeForce GT 710* Nvidia GeForce GT 710 Nvidia GeForce GT 710
3 6 7
0 25 50 75 100 0 30 60 90 120 0 35 70 105 140
Tomb Raider (fps) Dirt: Showdown (fps) Power (system peak, watts)
61 99
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080
337
122
51 Recommended 78 Recommended
294
120
44 75
AMD Radeon R9 Fury X
268
125
38 Labs Winner 68 Labs Winner

AMD Radeon R9 Fury
251
AMD Radeon R9 Fury
125
AMD Radeon R7 250 98 Recommended
38 67
AMD Radeon R9 Nano AMD Radeon R9 Nano Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti 121
242 122
32 58
AMD Radeon RX 480 AMD Radeon RX 480 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 127
214 120
34 52
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 127
205 122
AMD Radeon RX 470
190
AMD Radeon RX 470
123
24 43
AMD Radeon R9 380X AMD Radeon R9 380X Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 192
158 123
19 29
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti AMD Radeon RX 470 Recommended 223
123 119
9 26
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050
117
112
11 24
AMD Radeon RX 460 AMD Radeon RX 460 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Recommended 246
93 119
7 16
Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti
74
Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti
84
AMD Radeon R9 380X 252
AMD Radeon R7 250
39
AMD Radeon R7 250
59
3 14
AMD Radeon R7 240
27
AMD Radeon R7 240
42
AMD Radeon R9 Nano 272
2 14 Labs Winner
Nvidia GeForce GT 730 Nvidia GeForce GT 730 AMD Radeon R9 Fury 315
13 16
1 14
Nvidia GeForce GT 710 Nvidia GeForce GT 710 AMD Radeon R9 Fury X 329
11 14
0 90 180 270 360 0 35 70 105 140 0 85 170 255 340

Lightweight graphics cards could be

useful if youre building a workstation
using a CPU that lacks integrated graphics
AMD Radeon
R7 250
Lightweight graphics Under $100

T
he Nvidia GeForce GT 710 well as quantities and types of memory. versus the 10fps wed seen on the GT
($50) may well be the cheapest The model we tested was again from 730. But performance in the 1080p Tomb
graphics card weve tested, but its Palit, and again it came on a dinky board Raider benchmark more than doubled,
fully DirectX 12 certied, with the same with a passive cooler, making it look leaping from 13fps on the Nvidia card to
OpenGL and OpenCL support as youll identical to the GT 710. Inside, however 27fps on the R7.
nd on Nvidias premium cards. betting the price difference its loaded Best of all, Dirt: Showdown was
Still, we doubt youll run anything more with twice as many stream processors, transformed, averaging 113fps at the
demanding than Minesweeper on this and double the DDR3 graphics memory. lowest settings. Even when we switched
card. You might imagine you could run Sadly, this didnt double frame rates. to 1080p and enabled high detail settings,
demanding games by switching to low-res At the lowest settings, Dirt: Showdown the card churned out a playable average
graphics and minimal detail but this averaged 26fps, and while newer games of 42fps.
isnt the case. Across all of our gaming such as Hitman saw an improvement of
tests, the best we could coax out of the around 50%, this couldnt make them OUR RECOMMENDATION
GT 710 was an average 20fps in Dirt: playable. Its hard to see the point of the No prizes for guessing that the AMD
Showdown achieved by stepping down GeForce GT 730: it isnt powerful enough Radeon R7 250 ($80) is the big brother
the resolution to 1,280 x 720 and switching to open any additional doors. of the 240. Its still very cheap by graph-
all settings to Low. The reason isnt a A more promising prospect is the AMD ics card standards, but benets from
mystery: the GT 710 is equipped with just Radeon R7 240 ($76). It has 320 stream more stream processors running at higher
192 stream processors and a measly 1GB processors, with 1GB of bona de GDDR5 speeds. Thats enough to make some
of DDR3 VRAM. VRAM delivering ve times the memory older games start to feel smooth: in
However, the GT 710 could be useful if bandwidth of Nvidias budget offerings. 1080p, with high detail settings, we saw
youre building a workstation using a CPU The benet varies from game to game. an average of 59fps in Dirt: Showdown,
that lacks integrated graphics. The GT 710 Our Sapphire-branded R7 240 merely and 39fps in Tomb Raider. Newer titles
supports up to three monitors and can pushed Deus Ex: Mankind Divided up to remain out of reach, but for the price its
handle 4K resolutions if you drop down to an average of 12fps at the lowest settings, hard to complain about that.
30Hz. The Palit-branded card we tested
was compact, with a passive heatsink for
Dirt: Showdown (720p, low detail) Tomb Raider (1080p, high detail)
silent running.
If your CPU has integrated graphics,
youre better off skipping the GT 710. It AMD Radeon R7 250
120
AMD Radeon R7 250
39
isnt simply a question of saving money:
Intels recent GPUs are more powerful. AMD Radeon R7 240
27
AMD Radeon R7 240
113
The HD Graphics 530 in our test PC
smashed the GT 710 in Dirt: Showdown, Intel HD Graphics 530
82
Intel HD Graphics 530
(integrated)
21
achieving a frame rate of 82fps with the (integrated)
same settings. Nvidia GeForce GT 730
If youre set on a discrete graphics card, Nvidia GeForce GT 730
26 13
you may be tempted to step up to the
Nvidia GeForce GT 730 ($60). Confusingly, Nvidia GeForce GT 710
20
Nvidia GeForce GT 710
11
its available in three congurations, 0 10 20 30 40
0 30 60 90 120
offering a number of processing cores, as

Mainstream
gaming
$160to $270
S
tretch your budget to the $160 mark
and youre entering the realm of
proper graphics cards, capable of
delivering impressive visual experiences.
The AMD Radeon RX 460 ($160) is a
big step up from the companys
budget R7 models. Compared to
the R7 250, the stream processor
count has more than doubled, to
896 individual cores. The memory
allocation is up too, to 2GB of
GDDR5 as standard. We tested a
PowerColor Red Dragon card,
but other brands will offer identical
specications.
The RX range also supports Direct3D game sped along at
feature level 12, rather than the 11_1 level 86fps.
of the R7 series. That bespeaks a GPU Things were even better with Hitman:
thats designed to keep up with the latest the RX 460 allowed us to enjoy the game also clocked higher than AMDs, with a
technologies, and so it proved in our tests, at an average of 52fps, again at 1080p maximum frequency of 1,455MHz versus
where the RX 460 made current DirectX with high detail. This was very pleasing, the Radeons 1,200MHz.
12 titles perfectly playable. In Deus Ex: as the sumptuous graphics are a big part Once you plug the card in and actually
Mankind Divided, it averaged 30fps in of the games atmosphere. Trying to play start playing some games, its apparent
1080p resolution with high detail. If that it at a low resolution with limited detail that the GTX 1050 is slightly faster than
feels choppy to you, theres plenty of misses the point. the RX 460. Across all of our 1080p
headroom if youre willing to ease back The demanding Metro: Last Light tests, it achieved frame rates averaging
the settings: in 720p and low detail, the Redux DirectX 11 benchmark conrmed 14% higher than its rival. The 1050s best
that the Radeon RX 460 is a cut above showings came in older games in Tomb
the cheaper cards. While none of our Raider it was 20% faster than the AMD
mainstream contenders managed more RX 460, and in Metro: Last Light Redux it
than 30fps at 1080p resolution, the RX was 26% ahead.
460 turned in a smooth 68fps. It kept a lead even in DirectX 12 games,
Its a similar story with the Nvidia achieving 9% faster performance than
GeForce GTX 1050 ($170). As the name the AMD card in Deus Ex: Mankind
indicates, this is a big step up from the Divided, and 14% faster in Hitman.
GT 730: its part of Nvidias latest The only blip was Dirt: Showdown,
10-series family, which extends where the two cards achieved all but
up to the agship GTX 1080. Of identical scores. So if youre looking for
course, its the junior member, a mainstream card thats closer to $150
offering a comparatively modest than $200, the GTX 1050 is about as good
640 stream processors, but as youre going to get.
while thats fewer than the Dont, by the way, be tempted by the
AMD RX 460, its important to Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti ($270), a
remember that AMD and Nvidia last-generation card thats still hanging
cores arent directly comparable. around at retail. The Ti, in Nvidias
The GTX 1050s cores are jargon, indicates a souped-up spec
The RX 460 makes from the original GTX 750, so you might
DirectX 12 titles perfectly playable imagine that this GPU could still hold its
own in the mainstream. A glance down
AMD Radeon
RX 470
If you stretch your budget

The RX 470 offers slick
to $200, youll enter the
realm of graphics cards 1080p gaming at 60fps
that can deliver impressive
visual experiences in DirectX 12
There may be edge cases, but overall we
simply cant get excited about spending
the extra few dollars.
OUR RECOMMENDATION
Sometimes you get what you pay for,
and while its the most expensive card in
this category, the AMD Radeon RX 470
($270) is well worth the money. As our
gures show, it has more in common
with high-end cards than its mainstream
companions.
run Hitman in 4K (cards with less In terms of specs, were looking at
graphics memory are limited to lower 2,048 stream processors three times
resolutions), and the 1050 Ti gives this a more than other cards in this price
the specs reveals this card is inferior to good stab: we saw an average of 26fps bracket coupled with 4GB of GDDR5,
the 1050 in several ways. While it has with Ultra settings, so you shouldnt have offering nearly twice the bandwidth of its
the same number of stream processors, to cut things back too far to make the compadres. The XFX card was slightly
theyre clocked more slowly, and theres game playable. overclocked too, for good measure.
less memory bandwidth, with a telltale Aside from that, though, its hard to What that does for you is clear from our
lower Direct3D feature level. say that the GTX 1050 Ti offers enough benchmarks: super-slick 1080p gaming
Inevitably, this translates to inferior of an improvement over the regular GTX at 60fps and above in modern DirectX
gaming performance. In Metro: Last Light 1050 to justify the price premium. Yes, 12 games. Theres even the possibility of
Redux, the GTX 750 Ti managed just every game we tried was smoother, often 4K on old titles: we saw 28fps in Tomb
58fps, compared to the 1050s 85fps; in by around 10 to 15%. However, this isnt Raider with ultimate detail, and 51fps in
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, it averaged enough to transform the experience: if a Dirt: Showdown. Be aware that the RX
22fps versus the 1050s 33fps. This card game runs ne on the GTX 1050, its going 470 draws more power than most mid-
might have offered a good balance of to feel very similar on the 1050 Ti. And range cards (our total system load peaked
price to performance a year or two ago, if its unplayable on the 1050, the extra at 223W) and needs a six-pin power
and it has some interesting features the speed probably isnt going to rescue it. connector.
Palit Kalm model we tested is the most
powerful single-height card here, and the Metro: Last Light Redux (1080p, high detail) Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (1080p, high detail)
most powerful passively cooled one. All
the same, nowadays this card would need
to be signicantly cheaper to make sense, AMD Radeon RX 460
132 AMD Radeon RX 460
62
and even then it wont be up to running
modern DirectX 12 games at a decent Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
94 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
37
pace.
If youre interested in the Ti concept, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050
85 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050
33
you dont need to jump back to an older
card to check it out. The Nvidia GeForce
AMD Radeon RX 460
GTX 1050 Ti ($220) is an upgraded version 68 AMD Radeon RX 460
30
of the GTX 1050 with 20% more stream
processors and twice the VRAM that is, Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti
58 Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti
22
4GB of GDDR5. 0 35 70 105 140 0 20 40 60 80
Notably, that makes it possible to

High-end gaming
$370to $530
W
hen youre spending more than
$350 on a graphics card, you
expect certain things. Every
game should be smooth and playable
at 1080p, and 4K gaming becomes a
reasonable expectation, if not something
you can take for granted. As prices creep
up toward the enthusiast end of the
market, manufacturers start expending
more effort customising their offerings: its
worthwhile shopping around to see if one
manufacturers card is faster or quieter
than anothers, or if it has a more attractive
set of coloured LEDs.
Such aesthetic fripperies arent
universal considerations, however.
PowerColors AMD Radeon R9
380X ($400) is an unremarkable-
looking thing, powered by two six-pin
plugs. Beneath the twin fans lurks a
specication thats very similar to the Past the $300 mark,
cheaper Radeon RX 470, including 2,048 manufacturers expend more
stream processors and 4GB of GDDR5 effort customising their
VRAM. There are variations on the theme graphics cards
here and there this one has a xed
clock speed and a slightly lower memory bearing in mind: whichever
bandwidth but basically its a case of Next to the sizeable Radeon R9 380X, card you choose, theres a
spot the difference; surprise, surprise, the the GTX 1060 looks rather diminutive, but good chance VR gear will
two cards come out with pretty similar it packs a punch. Once again, it turned out become more widespread and
benchmark results. a set of scores not a million miles from affordable within its lifetime.
That makes the R9 380X a capable those of the Radeon RX 470. An average Looking further up the price range
card. Theres enough power here to frame rate of 64fps in Deus Ex: Mankind brings us to the AMD Radeon RX 480
make Hitman enjoyable at 4K with ultra Divided at 1080p was barely ahead of the ($440). The model number speaks for
detail we saw an average frame rate of 470s 62fps average; ditto a 45fps average itself: this is the big daddy of the RX range,
37fps and to make Dirt: Showdown race in Hitman at 4K, compared to the AMD and the specication doesnt hold back,
along at 43fps, again in 4K with maximum cards 44fps. with a whopping 2,304 stream processors
detail settings. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided But the GTX 1060 is no clone. When the and 8GB of GDDR5. The standard clock
was playable at 1080p almost without a going got tough, the faster clock speed speed is 1,266MHz: our Asus Strix card
hiccup, at an average of 50fps. and more generous VRAM showed their
The question is whether the difference worth. In Metro: Last Light Redux, the
is pronounced enough to justify the extra AMD and Nvidia cards performed almost
cost. And the answer is that it certainly identically at 1080p, with frame rates
isnt because the R9 380X is actually of 132fps and 135fps respectively. But
slower than the cheaper RX 470, lagging when we pushed the settings to 4K with
behind it in every one of our tests. maximum detail, the GTX 1060 managed
Although barely more than a year old, the to keep the frame rate up to 31fps, while
380X has quickly ended up in the same the RX 470 fell to 22fps.
unhappy situation as the last-generation It might seem that the advantage is
Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti, undercut and limited to certain games and settings,
outpaced by a more recent arrival. those specic strengths of the GTX 1060
Its a happier story for the Nvidia make it a much more viable card for
GeForce GTX 1060 ($370). The card costs virtual-reality gaming than the Radeon.
$100 more than its nearest rival, the AMD Even if youre not bothered about that
Radeon RX 470, but for that money you right now, its a consideration worth
get a generous 6GB of GDDR5 VRAM
unless you choose the cheaper 3GB
version as well as a faster 1,708MHz
The R9 380X is a capable
GPU core, which on our test card had been
given a gentle nudge up to 1,771MHz.
card that packs enough 4K power
GRAPHICS
XXXXXXX
CARDS GROUP TEST
AMD Radeon
R9 Fury
The Radeon R9 Fury is an

exceptionally powerful card
technology, which uses stacked DRAM

cells to achieve huge memory bandwidth
(quoted as 512GB/sec), without the cost
and complexity of conventional super-
wide buses. For good measure, AMD has
shoved that up to 1,320MHz for an extra the GTX 1060 is slightly better equipped also equipped the R9 Fury with a ludicrous
boost. for that role, so you might have to weigh 3,584 stream processors, giving it more
As youd hope, that all spells strong up your priorities. raw parallel processing power than any
performance. Hitman purred along at an card weve seen apart from its two
average 50fps in 4K with maximum detail, OUR RECOMMENDATION brothers, which well look at overleaf.
and while it wasnt possible to play Deus From the price, you might assume that Suffice it to say, it works. As our graphs
Ex: Mankind Divided at that resolution, we the AMD Radeon R9 Fury ($530) would show, it was comfortably out in front in
enjoyed a uid 70fps in 1080p with high rank in the middle of the bunch in terms our DirectX 12 games, and in DirectX 11 the
detail settings. of performance. In fact, its an exception- R9 Fury mostly kept up a pace that the
Like the GTX 1060, the RX 480 showed ally powerful card, originally launched other cards at this price simply couldnt
its strength in Metro: Last Light Redux, at a steeper price, thats now become a match. Its only weakness was the 4K
with a fantastic average frame rate of bargain. Metro: Last Light Redux test, where its
49fps at 4K. Again, that marks this out as Thats at least partly down to AMDs 4GB of VRAM held it back to an average
a potential VR powerhouse although HBM (high-bandwidth memory) rate of 42fps. Even so, thats well ahead of
the 6GB GTX 1060.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (1080p, high detail) Hitman (4K, ultra detail) The card itself is enormous: the XFX
model we tested was 305mm long, with
three fans, and powered by two eight-pin
AMD Radeon R9 Fury
80 AMD Radeon R9 Fury
58 power connectors. While benchmarking it
we measured a huge peak power draw of
315W only one card this month proved
AMD Radeon RX 480 70 AMD Radeon RX 480
50 more power-hungry, and that one had a
liquid-cooling system (see overleaf).
But its only right that this hugely
64 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 45 powerful card should come in such an
imposing package. Its a larger-than-life
GPU that delivers tremendous bang-per-
AMD Radeon R9 380X
50 AMD Radeon R9 380X
37 buck, making it our favourite high-end
card, and also our favourite graphics card
0 20 40 60 80 0 15 30 45 60
at any price.

Enthusiast
graphics
Over $600
Y
ou read that price correctly with
the exception of a few souped-up,
special edition cards, theres al-
most nothing to buy right now between
$500 and $600. The size of the price
gap makes it clear that, with these
nal four cards, weve aspired our way
into a market where price is a second-
ary consideration.
Within this echelon your cheapest
option is the AMD Radeon R9 Nano
($640). If you thought the R9 Fury was
too darn big, this card could be just what is the built-in liquid-cooling
youre looking for. The Gigabyte card we unit, which circulates heat away from
tested measured a mere 154mm in length the GPU through two captive tubes to a
around half the size of the Fury, taking 120mm fan that must be mounted nearby.
up barely more space than the humble This means that, while the card itself
Radeon R7 240. It also requires only a is a modest 203mm long, youll need a
single eight-pin power connector, and sizeable PC case to accommodate it. Still,
while we cant claim its power demands if youre happy to spend close to $700
are modest, its peak draw of 272W was a on a graphics card, its probably safe to
shade lower than the Furys 315W. assume that you own, or are willing to
Despite all this scaling down, the R9 acquire, an outsized gamer-grade chassis. real issue is that Nvidia offers not one but
Nano maintains the trademark 4GB of Theres no denying that the fan makes two cards with even better performance.
HBM, and it manages to cram in 14% more a difference. In Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, The one that competes directly with
stream processors, upping the count to at 1080p, the Fury X managed 89fps an the Fury X is the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080
4,096. However, the difference this makes improvement of more than 10% over the ($1030) for now, the agship of Nvidias
is effectively nil: in our benchmarks the R9 regular R9 Fury. In Hitman, it boosted 4K consumer graphics card range. As bets
Fury and R9 Nano ranked neck and neck. performance from a respectable 58fps a top-line card, Nvidia hasnt held back
If you want to prise the two apart, wed to a convincing 66fps. The Fury X also in any department: the 1080 comes with
note that the Nano lagged a few frames achieved a score of 9.6 in the SteamVR 2,560 stream processors, and 8GB of
per second behind the Fury in our DirectX readiness test, placing it a rank above the GDDR5, with an ultra-wide bandwidth of
11 games, perhaps due to the denser, less R9 Fury for virtual-reality gaming, and 320GB/sec. Only AMDs
well-ventilated design. second only to Nvidias powerhouse 1070
Had the R9 Nano been the same price and 1080 GPUs.
as the Fury, wed prefer it simply because Its hardly necessary to point out that,
of its more convenient size. Unfortunately, in terms of gaming performance,
it hasnt seen the same sort of generous youre seeing a modest boost
discounting that the R9 Fury has. Youre over the standard R9 Fury, while
looking at $640 for this card, versus $530 paying nearly two and a half
for the chunkier model that delivers more times the price. But the Fury X
or less identical performance. isnt supposed to be a value
A card that might result in a little more proposition: its aimed at
head-scratching is the AMD Radeon R9 those who are willing to pay
Fury X ($680). The price on this one is whatever it takes to eke
absolutely crazy, especially since it offers out a few extra frames per
an almost identical specication to the second. Quibbling with the
R9 Nano, matching its 4,096 stream price seems pointless. The
processors and 4GB of VRAM. The only
architectural difference is that the core
runs at 1,050MHz, rather than the 1GHz of
The liquid-cooling unit is
the other R9 models.
What makes the R9 Fury X distinctive
what makes the Fury X distinctive
In the world of
Hitman (4K, ultra detail)
enthusiast graphics,
the price is secondary
to eking a few extra
frames per second
78
Nvidia AMD Radeon R9 Fury X

66
GeForce GTX
1070
AMD Radeon R9 Nano

59
0 20 40 60 80
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (4K, ultra detail)

28

23

20
the same settings, screamed along at AMD Radeon R9 Nano

18
78fps. The taxing Metro: Last Light Redux
clocked in at an average of 52fps with 0 10 20 30 40
ultra detail. And even in the 4K, ultimate-
detail Tomb Raider test with TressFX
technology blowing Lara Crofts hair the all-conquering GeForce GTX 1080,
R9 chips offer faster memory access, around in individual strands the GTX the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 ($600) nips
thanks to their HBM design, but since 1080 averaged a solid 61fps. close at its heels. The cost is more or less
those are limited to 4GB, the GTX 1080 Simply put, the GTX 1080 outguns the same as that of the R9 Nano, but the
is the more versatile card. As a cherry every other graphics card on the market design certainly isnt: our Zotac AMP! Ex-
on top, our Asus Strix card came with an today (leaving aside Nvidias boutique treme Edition was this Labs largest card,
overclocked core, up from a maximum of Titan X card, which costs upwards of two measuring 325mm in length.
1,733MHz to 1,898MHz. grand). If thats what youre looking for, Thats partly to accommodate an
The performance all of this delivers is the price will be almost academic; the overclocked core the standard Nvidia
unanswerable. The GTX 1080 was the fact that it offers more bang-per-buck spec drives the cards 1,920 stream
only card this month that made Deus than the Fury X will be the icing on the processors to a maximum of 1,683MHz,
Ex: Mankind Divided playable in 4K cake. but Zotacs take pushes them as high
with maximum detail settings, with an Just for fun, we also tried running as 1,835. Theres also 8GB of VRAM and
average frame rate of 28fps. Hitman, with our most demanding benchmarks twin eight-pin power connectors to keep
across two GeForce GTX 1080 cards, everything stable.
working together in an SLI multi-GPU Despite its size, theres nothing
conguration. While our frame rates lumbering about the GTX 1070s
didnt double, we were impressed to see performance. In our 4K DirectX 12 tests it
improvements in several games. In Deus faced down every card AMD has to offer,
Ex: Mankind Divided, the second card averaging an excellent 23fps in Deus Ex:
raised 4K performance to 37fps, while in Mankind Divided and 66fps in Hitman.
Metro: Last Light Redux the frame rate Only Nvidias own GeForce GTX 1080 did
leapt from 52fps to 97fps. For the true better.
speed freak, even higher performance is It was a similar story in our DirectX
attainable. 11 tests: in Metro: Last Light Redux the
GTX 1070 fell slightly behind the R9
OUR RECOMMENDATION Fury X, averaging 41fps to the Radeons
While theres nothing out there to match 45fps, but otherwise it gave a convincing
silver-medal performance. If you have
The GTX 1080 outguns every to balance your ambitions against your
budget, its an extremely tempting deal,
other card on the market today coming close to the power of the GeForce
GTX 1080 for $430 less.

Virtual
-reality
gaming
DARIEN GRAHAM-SMITH STEPS INTO VR
W
hen choosing a new graphics
card, you may have given little
thought to the idea of virtual-
reality gaming. After all, weve yet to see
an essential VR game: its easy to imagine The Oculus Rift offers a mature and effective VR gaming experience for PC owners
that youll be onto your next graphics card
before virtual gaming becomes relevant. high-end GPUs is better, of course, but our cards stacked up, when tested in our
But the tipping point may come sooner not necessary. Core i5-6500K system.
than you think. The PSVR accessory That makes sense when you think
for the PlayStation 4 was a big hit at about it. Both the Vive and the Oculus VR GAMING PERFORMANCE
Christmas, bringing the idea of VR into the Rift have a native resolution of 1,080 x Running an assessment tool is one
mainstream. For PC gamers, the HTC Vive 1,200 per eye, for a total display area thing: strapping on the headset for real
and Oculus Rift headsets offer a mature of 2,160 x 1,200. This isnt much above is another. To get a sense of what VR
and effective VR experience. And while 1080p, so were talking about a pixel gaming is like on each of the cards, I set
A-list games are still the missing link, the count thats well within current norms. up the HTC Vive and immersed myself
catalogue is growing. Right now on Steam The only complication is that, to keep in Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope a
youll nd dozens of fun VR games and things uid as you move around your simple rst-person shooter.
experiences. It may take only one or two virtual world, it isnt good enough to aim Subjectively, the experience was pretty
major releases to turn VR into the next big for a 30fps frame rate. Both PC headsets good on all but the most underpowered
thing. have a refresh rate of 90Hz; ideally, cards. I set detail options to high,
you want a card that can keep this up
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS consistently. Otherwise, youre in danger
The good news is that VR isnt as of motion sickness as the world lurches
You can play VR games
demanding as you might expect. about you. even on a low-end card,
Officially, the HTC Vive calls for an AMD If youre not sure if your card qualies,
RX 480 or Nvidia GTX 1060 card. A super theres plenty of help at hand. The free as long as you dont mind
SteamVR Performance Test tool will
benchmark your PC by rendering a short
chunky graphics and
stereoscopic video at the appropriate minimal visual effects
resolution and frame rate, and tell you
whether or not youre ready for VR. then mirrored the VR display onto the
Inevitably, the result isnt a simple desktop, and measured the frame rate
yes or no. While you cant change with the free PresentMon tool. Youll
the resolution of a VR game, you see the full results opposite: while only
can tweak the detail settings to the most expensive cards managed to
suit your hardware, just as you can keep up 90fps with these settings, even
with a regular game. That means mainstream cards delivered a smooth
you can play VR games even on a experience, with no juddering hiccups
low-end card, as long as you dont to disorientate and take me out of the
mind chunky graphics and minimal visual moment.
effects. What the Steam tool gives you While Serious Sam VR is a fun
is a score out of 11, on which we found shooter, Id also have liked to test a
HTCs minimum recommended cards more ambitious DirectX 12 VR title.
represented a score of between 7 and 8. Unfortunately, such content is thin on the
The graph opposite shows how all 17 of ground right now but there is a good
simulation available. Deus Ex: Mankind
Divided comes with a stereoscopic 3D
mode that, with the help of a free Steam
utility called Bigscreen, can be relayed
The HTC Vive
into your VR headset. This doesnt give
comes equipped
with a pair of you the full immersive experience you
wands that cant look left and right by turning your
replicate your head but it does reveal the performance
hands onscreen impact of stereoscopic rendering.

However, that price does include a pair

We tested the cards of control wands, which are virtually
using the simple Serious represented on the screen, giving you a
Sam VR first-person sense of what your hands are doing. The
shooter on the HTC Vive Oculus equivalent is sold separately from
the headset.
You also need to think about the
practicalities of using the system.
While the Oculus Rift uses a single
desk-mounted pedestal, the HTC Vive
comes with a pair of receivers that youre
supposed to mount in the corners of
your room. These allow the system to
track not only your movements, but
your location: if you can clear an area of
around 2sqm, you can move around in the
virtual world by physically stepping this
way and that. Theres a standing only
option, but even then youll want space to
extend your arms and whip around when
you spot a malevolent zombie rushing up
The issue is that, in 3D mode, Deus Ex were able to hit 30fps in 3D with these at the edge of your peripheral vision. This
wont generate more than 30fps. Every demanding settings. However, in most isnt something you can play in a crowded
card from the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 cases, the scores we saw were within environment.
Ti up was able to handle this with ease 15% of each cards 2D performance. That Although it may seem too obvious
in stereoscopic 1080p with high detail. gives us a handy rule-of-thumb estimate to repeat, remember that once youre
For my tests, therefore, I switched to 4K of how well a card can be expected wearing the headset, youre almost
resolution and ultra detail. This meant to handle VR games, based on its entirely shut off from the outside world.
rendering more pixels than the Vive can performance in regular at-screen games. The stereoscopic displays cover your eyes
actually display, but this isnt necessarily Clearly, virtual reality doesnt require and, for the full atmospheric experience,
an unrealistic representation of a real you to splash out on a top-of-the- headphones block up your ears. If your
VR workload. Many VR games use line graphics card. The big expense, if baby is crying, or your dog is underfoot,
supersampling to achieve a cleaner youre ready to take the plunge, is the you may not know about it. VR can be
image, by rendering the screen at a higher headset. The Oculus Rift will set you back an amazing experience, but there are
resolution, then downsampling it for US$599, or US$798 including the Touch numerous considerations to take into
display. controllers, while the HTC Vive comes account; choosing a suitable graphics
As our graphs show, none of the cards in at a stiff $1,399 (Australian dollars). card is only the start.
VR test results
(fps, 4K, ultra-
SteamVR performance test Serious Sam VR (fps, high detail) Deus Ex: Mankind Divided detail, 3D)
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 11 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 155 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 24
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 10.8 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 130 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 20
AMD Radeon R9 Fury X 9.6 AMD Radeon R9 Fury X 113 AMD Radeon R9 Fury X 19
AMD Radeon R9 Fury 8.6 AMD Radeon R9 Fury 105 AMD Radeon R9 Fury 17
AMD Radeon R9 Nano 8.2 AMD Radeon R9 Nano 101 AMD Radeon R9 Nano 17
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 7.8 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 88 AMD Radeon RX 480 14
AMD Radeon RX 480 7 AMD Radeon RX 480 76 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 14
AMD Radeon RX 470 6.3 AMD Radeon RX 470 68 AMD Radeon RX 470 13
AMD Radeon R9 380X 4.9 AMD Radeon R9 380X 53 AMD Radeon R9 380X 11
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 2.6 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 52 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 8
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 1.5 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 47 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 4
AMD Radeon RX 460 0.4 AMD Radeon RX 460 32 AMD Radeon RX 460 2
AMD Radeon R7 240 0 Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti 26 Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2
AMD Radeon R7 250 0 AMD Radeon R7 240 9 AMD Radeon R7 250 1
Nvidia GeForce GT 710 0 AMD Radeon R7 250 6 AMD Radeon R7 240 1
Nvidia GeForce GT 730 0 Nvidia GeForce GT 730 4 Nvidia GeForce GT 710 DID NOT COMPLETE
Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti 0 Nvidia GeForce GT 710 3 Nvidia GeForce GT 730 DID NOT COMPLETE
0 3 6 9 12 0 40 80 120 160 0 6 12 18 24

View from the Labs

COMPUTER GRAPHICS ARE NO LONGER JUST ABOUT PIXELS AND POLYGONS:
each frame taking up to four hours to
render; todays high-end graphics cards
turn out sumptuous scenes at 3,840
2,160 in real-time.
THE VISUAL ASPECT OF MODERN GAMES IS AN EXPERIENCE IN ITSELF Yet if games have come to resemble
movies, it isnt just about the visuals.
C
onfession time: Ive never really Jen-Hsun Huang point out that computer The games I remember from my youth
been one to get excited about graphics have grown beyond PC gaming typically comprised a series of action
computer graphics. Over my years to become an essential part of the sequences, strung together by a imsy
here, Ive frequently overheard the movie industry. In light of the increasing premise. Todays titles are much more
gamers desks swooning over some new capabilities of mainstream graphics story-driven, with detailed, twisting plots
graphics architecture, and each time Ive hardware, he predicted that the visual to rival any Hollywood thriller. Often,
allowed myself a superior chuckle. Sure, techniques wowing cinema audiences theres even an easy mode, to help you
HDR lighting and ultra-realistic particle would quickly transfer to the small work through the story and reach the
physics are technically impressive but screen. denouement without getting stuck. And
at the end of the day, its all supercial I scoffed at the time, and wrote his as VR transports us into immersive virtual
stuff. Whats important is the gameplay, words off as mere marketing bluster. worlds, its a safe bet that narrative is
right? Imagine, comparing a humble PCI-E card going to be even more central.
Perhaps that instinct is to do with my to a professional rendering farm! Perhaps the younger me had a
age. My formative gaming experiences But Huang was right. Just look at the point. Maybe, ten or 20 years ago,
were on the ZX80, a platform whose atmospheric lighting in Deus Ex: Mankind high-end graphics really were a showy
graphical capabilities extended only Divided, or at the virtual camerawork in extravagance. But I can no longer sneer
to large monochrome squares. The Hitman. This isnt mere technical pixel- that gaming is all about gameplay: today
emphasis was naturally on gameplay, pushing: its cinematography. its a rich visual and narrative experience,
because heaven knows you werent going Indeed, cinema-grade animation is of which gameplay is just one aspect.
to be drawn in by the visuals. well within reach of a modern GPU. The A capable GPU lets you enjoy that
But things have changed. Some years original Toy Story (1996) was reportedly experience to the full and Im certainly
ago, I remember hearing Nvidia CEO shot at a resolution of 1,536 922, with not going to turn my nose up at that.
GPU
computing
WERENT OUR GRAPHICS CARDS
SUPPOSED TO BE MAKING
US MORE PRODUCTIVE?
Y
oull notice that this months Labs
focuses almost entirely on gaming.
So you might well be wondering:
cant we harness the huge computational
power of these cards for productive
applications?
It isnt an unreasonable question.
Not many years ago, there was much 4,096 independent calculations at once. A decent GPU can speed up effects rendering in
optimistic talk about the potential of If you want to add a to b and then divide Adobe Premiere Pro
general-purpose GPU computing the result by c, it doesnt matter how best at: rendering graphics. Adobe
GPGPU, for short. Today, developers many cores you have you cant start the Photoshop, for example, uses the GPU
can freely offload calculations onto the second operation until youve nished the to zoom smoothly in and out of images;
graphics hardware, via DirectX, OpenCL rst. Lightroom uses it to generate full-
or Nvidias CUDA platform. This doesnt mean GPU computing resolution previews. After Effects uses it
Unfortunately, GPU computing has is useless. Where the workloads are to render 3D objects and generate fast
its limitations. For example, the 4,096 suitable, its being used in dozens of previews of your work. Chrome uses GPU
stream processors in an AMD Radeon R9 elds, from chemistry to high nance. acceleration to render web pages.
Fury X card represent a huge amount of On the desktop, programs such as So developers arent ignoring GPU
aggregate power but each core can only Adobe Premiere Pro can use the GPU to computing: it just turns out not to be as
perform quite simple calculations, and speed up effects and processes such as general purpose as we once hoped.
breaking down the workload accordingly deinterlacing, even if the actual rendering There are benets, but outside of a few
can add considerable complexity to your is handled by the CPU. specic workloads, you wont see much
program. Whats more, youll only see For the most part, though, desktop difference between a budget graphics
the full benet only if youre carrying out applications use GPUs for what theyre card and a high-end one.

ESPORTS SPECIAL | ON-SALE NOW
CASH IS KING.
LONG LIVE THE KING?
Will digital currencies and e-payments finally kill off
the paper and coins we use for money? Nicole Kobie
reveals why cash isnt dying yet
Y
ou pay for bus journeys with a wave systems are giving rise to an increasingly
of your phone, settle a dinner bill common debate on the future of physical
with friends via email, and havent currencies.
stepped foot into your banks local branch There are two ideas at the crux of the
in years. So why do you still have change question. First, theres the currency itself,
jingling around your pocket and paper with cash no longer backed by gold but
money clogging up your wallet? still a physical token of value. And then
Is it time to kill cash? Many hope so. theres how we manage it, with more
Leaders at Nasdaq, Visa and others and more transactions making use of
have eyed up digital dollars traded via e-payment systems.
blockchain the digital ledger system even bigger questions. There are some
behind Bitcoin as a way of speeding DIGITAL CURRENCIES questions around digital currencies,
up payments; Swedens central bank The arguments for digital currency he said. Who backs it and how do
is currently considering issuing a digital are many: it could cut fraud, its more you have the condence and faith in
currency; and Barbados already has transparent, and its easier to use. But as that currency? It may be appealing to
a version of its dollar based on the old-fashioned as they seem, those round ditch government control of money,
blockchain. bits of metal and rectangles of paper but consider who youre handing that
But Richard Goold, partner and global have their benets. Cash is untraceable power to instead. It could leave itself
head of Tech Law at Ernst & Young, and easy to carry around, and it isnt only open to all sorts of issues around being
doesnt believe well ditch the coins criminals and fraudsters who like these manipulated, Lodge added.
and paper soon. People have been factors the physiological link of having Others disagree. People do like the
predicting the death of cash for a very hard cash gives a sense of security that security of physical objects, but many
long time well over 50 years, he said. will be difficult to break for many, Goold of us happily ditched paper books for
And, credit cards, Bitcoin (and other said. ebook readers and paper letters for
cryptocurrencies) and ntech payment Gareth Lodge, an analyst at Celent, has email, noted Amos Meiri, CEO of digital
currency startup Colu. Its the same with
digital currencies initially, theyll exist
You can now pay for alongside standard paper currencies,
almost anything with a but eventually theyll take over as their
wave of your phone or advantages become apparent and
card, so why do physical
currencies still reign
supreme? All-digital currencies
will greatly reduce the
amount of black money
on the market, on which
no taxes are paid
society demands it, he predicted.
We denitely view digital currencies
as the future of payments, he said. It
may take a bit of time for people to adjust
to the idea and let go of the concept of
paper money, but years from now well
look back and muse at the fact that we
ever used something as untrackable and
insecure as paper to record value.
Meiri argues that the benets of digital
currencies outweigh the downsides.
Digital currencies, especially those

FUTURES
utilising the blockchain, provide security Lodge said that the way we move change in certain markets, though. I do
and visibility to the payment process, as money around is likely more important to think that banking for the unbanked
well as a frictionless method that cuts everyday users than how its structurally through ntech platforms and systems
out the middleman (and the fees paid to organised and created. I think there will have a big impact on parts of the
those institutions), he said. are all sorts of opportunities around world over the coming decade, explained
Aside from this, an important benet distributed ledger and blockchain Goold, referencing areas of the world
for currency issuers such as governments technologies, particularly where the where many people dont yet even have
is that the use of all-digital currencies processes are complex already, so cross- bank accounts. I also think that we will
will greatly reduce the amount of black border payments in particular, he said. continue to see the inexorable rise of
money on the market, on which no taxes Technologies such as blockchain could be large technology companies increasingly
are paid. People who get paid under the used to guarantee and track payments, having payment systems that challenge
table now and then may disagree, but making it easier to both spend money and todays status quo.
Meiri added: The advantages are just so send it overseas, whether to buy a service While digital-only banks and
vast that there will be no turning back. from an Australian startup or a birthday smartphone-based payment systems
gift for a distant niece. mean we may not need to carry paper
MODERN PAYMENTS Money evolves slowly, but change is cash in our pockets for much longer, well
Even if we dont ditch the dollar for happening. We talk about debit cards still be using the same currencies we
Bitcoin, how we interact with money being, after cash, the largest payment know now in the years and decades to
is becoming increasingly digital. type globally, Lodge said. But its an come and you can take that prediction
Goold noted that the use of cash will overnight success thats taken 40 years to the bank. Assuming you remember
decline, but its been falling for some to get here. The same follows for PayPal, where your local branch actually is, of
time: physical cash makes up 45% of with Lodge pointing out that 98% of course.
transactions, down from 64% in 2005, it runs over existing payment channels
according to statistics from ATM operator anyway, and it has less than 10%
Link. market share, even now.
To move the needle on
any of this is a long-term
The arguments for game, he explained.
digital currency are Peoples attitudes,
and even just the
many: it could cut fraud, practicalities
its more transparent, of it, mean it
happen overnight.
wont
and its easier to use There is space for rapid
HOW COLU MAKES CASH LOCAL

Bitcoin is the best-known digital currency, but it Getting people to ditch cash for a new currency
isnt the only option. Startup Colu is set to launch isnt easy, however. The key obstacle to adoption
its own version, which it is gradually rolling out at this point is awareness many people just
into global territories. arent aware of the existence of digital local
Local currencies are a secondary form of currencies, said Meiri. Lately, though, theres
cash that can only be used in a specic area, been a growing trend of European countries such
often offering a discount. They run alongside a as Sweden to discuss the possibility of launching
national currency, and are frequently created to digital currencies on a national level. The
encourage shopping at smaller retailers or with startup has already worked with the Barbadian
local companies. Colu has created an app-based government to create a version of its dollar on
platform that provides digital, local currencies, Bitcoin, and trialled a pair of currencies in Tel Aviv
explained Amos Meiri, CEO of the Israeli startup. neighbourhoods.
The mobile app, downloaded by consumers, Aside from encouraging local shopping, people
acts as a conduit between users and merchants could also earn spendable points by volunteering,
which can quickly and securely receive and send recycling or reporting infrastructure issues such
direct payments, based on secure blockchain as potholes to the local council. Colu is making
technology. Unlike Bitcoin, the Colu cash is linked money more meaningful by building urban
to standard at currencies, so it should be less communities from the wallet up, he said.
volatile.

SEEING THE FUTURE:
HOW AI PREDICTS
ELECTIONS AND HORSE RACES
MoglA forecast the unexpected result of the US election, while UNU knows which horse will
win a race. Heres how predictive AI is giving new insight into the future
T
he US election result came as a continually improves and looks out for
surprise to many the President- new data sources and forms and has the
elect included but not MogIA. The power to process and analyse these inputs
predictive articial intelligence system in meaningful ways. Next to this, polling
out-gured most professional pollsters, looks like a man standing in front of a map
calling Donald Trumps electoral success pointing at clouds with a stick.
at the beginning of November. Humans could perform better, but our
A rival system called UNU picked Hillary hopes and assumptions get in the way,
Clinton to win the popular vote, which she he noted. One benet of these emerging
duly did, and it correctly predicted another AI prediction platforms is their ability to
notoriously difficult to call American race, burst through lter bubbles, said Brauer.
the Kentucky Derby. This may seem paradoxical, since
Both systems work by listening many are blaming smart algorithms for
to people. MogIA scans public creating lter bubbles in social media. But
social networks, while UNU surveys when it comes to predictions, too often
respondents, taking that human opinion our models accept and embed awed
and amplifying it into a system called assumptions. AI systems are better than
swarm intelligence. human beings at dealing with what wed
AI using neural networks seek to mimic normally term unknowns.
the brains network of cells, explains
Louis Rosenberg, founder of UNU-creator SMART SWARM?
Unanimous AI, while swarms gather Just how smart are these predictive
intelligence via a network of people. systems? Rosenberg said his swarm
Its an emergent intelligence, intelligence outperforms between 90%
moderated by computer software, but and 99% of the individuals in the swarm.
leveraging the wisdom, insights, and We also compare swarms to standard
intuition of human agents, he said. And it polls, and outperform them in almost
turns out that these articially intelligent all situations, he said, pointing out that
human swarms are very smart. They most polls have more participants than a
outperform individuals. They outperform swarm.
experts. And they outperform simple But there are limitations. Our system
methods of tapping the intelligence of performs best when asked complex
groups, like polls and markets. problems that have many possible
Its more than averaging human outcomes, Rosenberg said. For simple
selections as existing polls do. With the questions that have only two possible
Kentucky Derby, UNU built a swarm of outcomes, our performance is good, but
20 people. If the system had simply gone becomes more similar to a poll.
with the most popular picks, it would have And there are downsides to looking
picked only one of the top four nishers. to machines for answers without
We amplify the intelligence of individuals understanding their limitations. These
UNU uses swarm intelligence to predict outcomes
into a unied emergent intellect that predictive AI systems arent foolproof or based on users own data and behaviour
exceeds natural capacity, he said. objective by design, Brauer said. In many
ways, the frailties of algorithmic bias are the winner of an election; the next day that
POPPING FILTER BUBBLES more threatening than human biases since victor is turning to the machine for advice.
Dr Chris Brauer, director of innovation theres a presumption of innocence.
at Goldsmiths, University of London, Trust in human authorities such BETTING ON AI
explained that AI is essentially maths as governments and journalists has Aside from picking horse races and
in action. Weather forecasts improved long been falling, but that doesnt mean beating pollsters, UNU and swarm
dramatically with investment in weather machine-learning algorithms are entirely intelligence have been tapped for market
stations, satellites, data, and processing benign or lack bias. When we encourage research and consumer forecasting, such
power. learning systems to adapt autonomously as reactions to movie trailers, as well as
Similarly, forecasting will improve in in the wilds of data and human behaviour, examining nancial markets and medical
any complex socio-technical system such we invite machine discretion and ethics, diagnoses.
as political elections when the system he said. One day a machine is predicting Will such AI put the bookies out of

FUTURES
BITE
SIZE BRIEFS
Outside the box tech that raised
our eyebrows this month
FLYING CAR TO LIGHT TOKYO

OLYMPIC TORCH
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics wont only
highlight the best in sport but also the
best in technology: move over Steve
Redgrave, this time the torch will be lit by
a ying car. The vehicle is in the design
stage, with developer Cartivator saying it
will be a single-seater and use four rotors
for vertical takeoff, while also still being
able to navigate roads. While the car is
being created with the Olympic opening
spectacle in mind, founder Tsubasa
Nakamura said the aim is to bring ying
vehicles to the masses, opening up a new
WHAT IS... GOLEM? era where everyone can y freely.
We can let out our spare rooms and rent via Bitcoin, so transactions will be secure.
our cars, but what about the processing In terms of data, Zawistowski said all
power going spare in our PCs? Golem aims computation is done in a sandbox and
to put it to use, offering up compute cycles transfers can be encrypted. Its as secure
to companies, academics and anyone else as any public cloud, he said.
who needs spare processing power, while
letting us earn a few extra pounds from our HOW MUCH COULD I MAKE?
under-used machines. It depends on your PCs processing power: a
laptop may only earn a few dollars, while a
WHAT IS GOLEM? gaming rig could earn much more.
Its Airbnb for your computer: a worldwide,
distributed supercomputer. Rather than TIME TO RETIRE!
let strangers into your spare bedroom, Not so fast youll be paid in Golem
you can let them into your PC. If you need Network Tokens (GNT), a digital currency
resources, you buy the processing power; if la Bitcoin that youll have to trade for
you have spare resources, you can offer spendable cash. INTEL REBOOTS SHAKESPEARES
them for rent . THE TEMPEST
THATS LESS INTERESTING. Shakespeare wrote his tale of shipwreck
SOUNDS FAMILIAR. It isnt all about money. and revenge back in 1611, but that doesnt
Similar ideas have been Theres power in the idea, mean it cant be modernised. Intel has
trialled for charity. Julian particularly its potential to worked with the Royal Shakespeare
Zawistowski, the CEO of rebuild the internet in a Company to integrate technology into
developer company Imapp, truly decentralised way If its latest staging of The Tempest, using
said there were a lot of the network is big enough, real-time motion capture and holographic
inspirations [behind Golem], it could offer an alternative avatars to build the illusions created by
but perhaps SETI@home and structure, letting services be spirit Ariel and magician Prospero. While
BOINC are the most important run and content delivered in such digital wizardry may be the future
ones. These schemes let volunteers a distributed way rather than via of theatre, audiences werent always
hand over processing power the former to corporate data centres.
convinced, so accustomed are we to CGI.
hunt for aliens; the latter for research into
The Royal Shakespeare Company may be
climate change and disease. SO ITS GOLEM VERSUS GOOGLE, THEN?
wiser to leave the theatre as a welcome
Its unlikely to usurp the big players, but
screen break.
WHAT CAN YOU USE GOLEM FOR? its in keeping with the original idea of
The public alpha currently only supports the internet to have decentralised nodes
a specic type of rendering (Blender), but for sharing data. This would let users set
a rst release is planned for next year up services or distribute content without
and Golem will be capable of any type of middlemen such as Google but thats a
processing in the future. long-term goal.
IS IT SECURE? WHERE DO I SIGN UP?

The trading is managed by blockchain, the Head to golem.network to register as an
distributed ledger technology developed alpha tester.

GAMES PREVIEW
out, and the helicopter controls felt rather

janky overall. The travel times also felt a
little too long moving between missions,
but this could be because the developers
intend players to explore between story
missions rather than head from one to the
next in a linear fashion.
The map is full of story missions, info-
drops, side missions, points of interest,
Tom Clancys Ghost supply drops that can be tagged for the
rebels to pick up. These only appear
as question marks until investigated or
highlighted through some other means
Recon: Wildlands
BRING HIGH-TECH WARFARE TO THE BADLANDS
(interrogating a cartel member, nding
some intel and the like). Once a location is
reached, initial; recon can be done in one
of two ways; with binoculars or via drone.
Both modes of scouting tags enemies so
T
om Clancys Ghost Recon has, the Santa Blanca cartel and hopefully they appear on the mini-map making it
since its inception, essentially destabilise the operation enough that it easier for other players in co-op, or the
been an outdoor companion to can be permanently dismantled. three AI squad mates that follow the
the Rainbow Six franchise. Whereas Bolivia makes for an interesting setting player in single player mode to target and
Rainbow Six concentrated on the tension for a tactical squad based rst person eliminate enemies. Although nearly every
and moment to moment thrills of room shooter. The game world itself is open mission ends in gunplay, Wildlands is a
to room tactical combat in a realistic a rst for the Ghost Recon series and game about patience rather than bullet
modern day setting, Ghost Recon instead getting around it takes some getting ballet. Careful use of cover, stealth and
took the action a few years into the future used to. The terrain is a mixture of at movement is far more likely to win the day
and gave players more environments to lowlands, heavily forested areas and than simply spraying and praying.
explore. As the series progressed from mountains, crisscrossed by treacherous Completing missions, locating supplies
its rst iteration in 2001, Ghost Recon dirt roads. Once a location has been and helping the rebels reward the player
pushed further and further into the investigated using goggles or a drone, with experience that can be used to
realms of science ction, culminating with players can fast travel to said location, level various skills, making them more
the 2012 release of Ghost Recon: Future but getting close in the rst place adept as shooting, using drones, moving
Soldier, a game set in 2024 and featuring either necessitates a very long run or silently and the like, and also unlocks new
future tech such as walking robots and commandeering one of the many vehicles weapons that can be equipped. Each
adaptive camouage armour. Ghost in the game, from motorbikes through weapon is highly moddable, with players
Recon: Wildlands brings the action back to helicopter gunships. From what weve being able to choose different shoulder
to the modern day, and from what weve played so far, the handling of the vehicles, stocks, barrels, grips, sights, under-
played so far is all the better for it. whilst still enjoyable, is a little off. The barrel attachments and the like, allowing
Set in modern Bolivia, Wildlands ground vehicles seem to have digital players to customise their soldier to really
posits a scenario in which the Bolivian rather than analogue acceleration, so suit their individual play style.
government kowtows before the brutal youre either going at a snails pace or at Even with the issues with the vehicles,
tactics of drug cartels, turning the country Ghost Recon: Wildlands is still shaping up
into the worlds leading producer of to be a great open world tactical shooter.
cocaine, with connections with Mexico Were looking forward to getting stuck in
giving the Bolivian cartels a pipeline to when it hits shelves March 7.
both North America and Canada. The Daniel Wilks
United States, always willing to ght
a war on drugs but not willing to turn KEY SPECS
Bolivia into a diplomatic nightmare, send wwwghost-recon.ubisoft.com/wildlands
in a covert team of four Ghost Recon Genre: Tactical Shooter Developer: Ubisoft Publisher:
operatives to aid the insurgency against Ubisoft Platform: PC, PS4 Xbox One
90 July 2016 www.pcandtechauthority.com.au

GAMES REVIEW
Space Hulk: Deathwing

GAMES WORKSHOPS THRILLING BOARDGAME
MAKES AN EXCELLENT SHOOTER
S
pace Hulk, both as a miniatures- of skittering aliens and turns it into a
game and its various video-game remarkably atmospheric rst person
adaptations, has a long history. The shooter.
original game was released in 1989, and Your mission is simple kill bugs, While the gunplay is solid, and the
pitted heavily armoured Space Marines basically but theres a lot of other psychic and hand-to-hand attacks are
in large suits of Terminator armour incidental stuff to do in between all meaty, the real joy (which is a weird
against multi-limbed alien monstrosities the waves of deadly aliens and their word for how grim this game is, but thats
called Genestealers. Like many early GW disturbing, hybrid, offspring (the Warhammer fans for you) is in just how
properties, it borrowed more than little Genestealer lifecycle is odd). The well-realised the interior of the space hulk
from popular culture in this case, the hit Dark Angels chapter has been tasked is. Its all soaring, sepulchral chambers
lm Aliens. Motion trackers let you track with dealing with a vast space hulk a adorned with statues venerating both
blips that at any moment could convert conglomeration of ancient starships that the heroes of ages past and the more
into one or more aliens, and an array has appeared suddenly in a vulnerable unnerving aspects of the Machine-
of heavy weaponry was all that stood star-system but also nds an old Dark God, worshipped by the ancient ships
between you and getting torn limb from Angel vessel in its heart. While the rest crew. Candle-lit shrines and tattered
limb. of the Chapter goes about securing the devotional seals sit side-by-side with
There have been video games based on entire ship, your task is to recover this glowing augmented reality displays and
the franchise since the early nineties, on ancient relic. seething plasma reactors. And when
everything from the Amiga and Saturn up Youll need to stop and restart engines, the Genestealers swarm this by turns
to modern PCs. And theres even a card clear out alien nests, and even gather terrifyingly open or terrifying closed in
game Space Hulk is one of GWs more up the ancient panoply of a long fallen locations become even more fraught.
enduring properties. Dark Angel warrior. Oh, and youre not Aliens scream, your weapons chatter, and
Space Hulk: Deathwing takes the just any marine sergeant, either, but a youre constantly checking every corridor
basic premise a small number of elite, member of the Chapters elite Librarium for movement.
heavily armed marines against hordes which, in Warhammer 40,000 parlance, And, for once, your squadmates seem
means youre a powerful psychic warrior to be pretty competent! This often a sore
as much as an actual powerful warrior. point for such shooters, but your battle
You also have two other marines at your brothers are more than capable of killing
back one is your basic battle brother, the enemy in their own right, and will even
while the other is a trained physician, an scan corridors and hatches while youre
Apothecary. You can change their load- busy opening or sealing a door.
out and your own both before each Its entirely possible that if youre not a
mission, and through a limited number of fan of the setting, that Deathwing could
psychic portals you can summon that let be more than a little repetitive, and it
you return to your own vessel while in a must be said that the game has some
mission. rather ropey voice-acting and writing. But
the game captures the taut atmosphere
of the original, while also showing
the Warhammer 40,000 universe in a
way that few games have managed to
capture, outside of Relics excellent Space
Marine.
And hey those xenos wont kill
themselves, you know!
David Hollingworth
KEY SPECS
www.spacehulk-deathwing.com
Genre: Action/FPP Developer: Cyanide Publisher:
Focus Home Interactive Platform: PC (consoles to
follow
OVERALL
0 1 2 3 4 5
The A-List
THE VERY BEST GEAR YOU CAN BUY
LAPTOPS GALORE
It is the season of a great many new
products and weve had a focussed
eye on the laptop scene, in particular.
While many great products have come
our way recently were holding true to
the ones we have because theyre still
the most suited for each task.
Stay tuned though, we expect some
new entrants soon, the way things are
looking!
PC DESKTOP
ALL-IN-ONE
Apple iMac 27in with Retina 5k display
+++++
PRICE $2,799
SUPPLIER www.apple.com/au
The Apple 27in iMac with Retina 4K display is great. The best
all-in-one computer around, and by a furlong.
SPECIFICATIONS Quad-core 3.1GHz Intel Core i5 processor; Intel Iris Pro graphics
6200; 8GB RAM 1TB HDD 27in 4096 x 2304 Retina 5K IPS display SDXC card slot 4
x USB 3 2 x Thunderbolt 2 Gigabit Ethernet 802.11ac Wi-Fi
PERIPHERALS
WIRELESS ROUTER Linksys Max-
Stream AC5400 MU-MIMO router
+++++
SUPPLIER www.linksys.com ALL-IN-ONE PRINTER
Outstanding range and signal strength, able to stream Canon Pixma IP 8760
eight media sources simultaneously and ready for MU- +++++
MIMO now and in the future. SUPPLIER www.canon.com.au
SPECIFICATIONS 1.4GHz dual-core CPU; tri-band (1000 Mbps 2.4Ghz + 2166 This Canon can do it all, and at a reasonable price.
Mbps 5Ghz + 2166 Mbps 5GHz); 802.11ac/n/g/a/b; 8 Gigabit LA ports; USB 3.0 + 2.0 SPECIFICATIONS 9600 x 2400dpi print; 2400 x 4800ppi scan; USB 2; 802.11n
WLAN; 150-sheet tray
DESKTOP STORAGE CalDigit T3 NAS Synology
with Thunderbolt 2 Diskstation DS216+ LASER PRINTER Dell B1160w
+++++ +++++ +++++
SUPPLIER www.amazon.com SUPPLIER www.synology.com SUPPLIER www.dell.com.au
The T3 is an expensive RAID device, but when you factor For most people the Synology DS216+ is all the NAS The best all-rounder in our printer grouptest, with excel-
in the drives and the capacity included, its good value. theyll ever need. lent text printing and decent costs.
SPECIFICATIONS 6/9/12/15TB external hard disk with RAID; Thunderbolt and SPECIFICATIONS 2x SATA 3 2.5/3.5 drive bays Intel Celeron Dual Core 1.6GHz SPECIFICATIONS 1800 x 600dpi resolution; USB 2; Wi-Fi; 150-sheet input trays;
Thunderbolt 2, 135 x 241 x 116mm 4.5kg. CPU 1GB DDR3 RAM eSata, 2x USB 3.0 & 3x USB 2.0 1x Gigabit Ethernet 331 x 215 x 178

A-LIST REVIEWS
LAPTOPS
VALUE GAMING PROFESSIONAL ULTRA PORTABLE

Asus T100HA Asus GL502VS Microsoft Dell XPS 13
+++++ +++++ Surface Book +++++
PRICE $399 PRICE $2,595 +++++ PRICE $2,499
SUPPLIER www.asus.com.au SUPPLIER www.asus.com.au PRICE $2,069 $4,454 SUPPLIER www.dell.com
Performance that delivers everything Asus has built a very solid machine SUPPLIER www.microsoft.com.au Theres no denying how sexy Dells
typical day to day computing demands around an incredible new GPU. This has Truly beautiful, undeniably powerful latest XPS is. Premium. Sexy. Stylish.
short of intense gaming, combined totally revolutionised the performance and without doubt the best Lightweight. Damn does this Ultrabook
with a fantastic screen and a solid and we can expect from a laptop, putting professional laptop you can buy. impress. Along with a multitude of ports,
we think, rugged design makes this the many regular desktops to shame. SPECIFICATIONS 13.5in 3000x2000 IPS display Intel the extra battery life is a very pleasing
value king. SPECIFICATIONS GeForce GTX 1070 GPU Intel i5-6300U/i7-6600U CPU 8/16GB RAM, optional Nvidia bonus.
SPECIFICATIONS 10.1in IPS panel Intel Quad-Core x5- i7-6700HQ CPU 8GB DDR4 15.6-inch IPS display 1TB GPU 256/512GB PCIe SSD 802.11ac Wi-Fi Bluetooth 4.0, SPECIFICATIONS Intel 7th Generation Core i7-6500
Z8500 processor 64GB eMMC SSD 2GB LPDDR3 memory HDD 256GB SSD 2x USB 3.0 Mini DisplayPort 8GB memory 256GB SSD 13.3-inch QHD+ with Touch
HANDHELDS SOFTWARE
SMARTPHONE TABLET SECURITY Kaspersky AUDIO Cubase 7.5
OnePlus3 Apple iPad Pro 9.7in Total Security +++++
+++++ +++++ +++++ SUPPLIER www.steinberg.net
PRICE $432 PRICE $849 (32GB, Wi-Fi) SUPPLIER www.kaspersky.com The addition of better filters solidifies
SUPPLIER SUPPLIER www.apple.com/au Kaspersky Total Security is the only this programs continued place on the
www.oneplus.net This is a tablet youll security package on test that achieved A-List.
Quick, beautiful, want to use all the both perfect protection and false-
long-lasting and an time, and theres no positives scores.
incredible price; you higher praise for any
wont find a better piece of technology BACK UP Acronis
phone for the money. than that. True Image 2015
SPECIFICATIONS Quad-core SPECIFICATIONS 64-bit +++++
2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Apple A9X custom processor with SUPPLIER www.acronis.com.au
processor Adreno 530 graphics 6GB RAM M9motion coprocessor 2GB RAM The 2015 version adds full-system
5.5in 1,080 x 1,920 AMOLED display 64GB storage dual SIM 32/128/256GB storage 9.7in 2,048 backup and dual backup. VIDEO Sony Vegas Movie
16MP/8MP rear/front camera 802.11ac Wi-Fi x 1,536 IPS display Studio HD Platinum 11
OFFICE +++++
SUITE SUPPLIER www.sony.com.au
Microsoft May not have the bells and whistles of
Office other consumer editing packages, but
EBOOK READER SMARTWATCH 365 Home its tools are efficient.
Kindle Paperwhite Apple Watch 2 Premium
+++++ +++++ +++++ PHOTO Adobe
PRICE $119 PRICE $529 SUPPLIER Photoshop Lightroom 6
SUPPLIER SUPPLIER www.microsoft. +++++
www.amazon.com www.apple.com/au com.au SUPPLIER www.adobe.com.au
The premium The Apple Watch The easiest to use Office to date. Lightroom 6 doesnt add up to a
Kindle goes the is the best revolutionary update, but it improves
extra mile, with a smartwatch on the WEB DEV Adobe on what was already an exceptional
more attractive market and the Dreamweaver CS6 piece of software.
design, lower Series 2 can now +++++
weight, and better claim to be among SUPPLIER www.adobe.com.au
contrast. the best fitness This edition makes PHP and CMS its
SPECIFICATIONS 6in 1,072 x 1,448 E Ink Carta display trackers too. core focus.
4GB storage single-band 802.11n Wi-Fi optional 3G 1yr SPECIFICATIONS
RTB warranty 117 x 9.1 x 169mm (WDH) 340 x 272 AMOLED GPS heart rate sensor

The Kitlog THE GAME BOX
TOUGH CALLS
Despite the fact that the AMD Radeon R9 INTEL CORE I5 6600K
Fury won best High-end gaming card in
CPU
PRICE $319
this months group test, were leaving our Gaming generally doesnt make use
recommendation for the Game Box as is, of hyper-threading which makes
with the excellent AMD Radeon RX 480. this the CPU of choice for this box.
The sad reality is that the Fury just wasnt
MOTHERBOARD
a sales success so they are now difficult to
nd in Australian shops. Not impossible,
just difficult. If you see an R9 Fury at a nice
ASUS Z170 PRO GAMING
PRICE $229
price it comes with our recommendation. Our Skylake Value Award winner, it packs
Its performance is well beyond its price in a complete set of features yet is priced
so take advantage of it selling poorly and, reasonably. Good audio also means we dont
thus, has seen a disproportionate price need a sound card.
drop. Its a heck of a bargain!
8GB OF DDR4
MEMORY
SAMSUNG 960 EVO

As our review on page 56 makes clear, the PRICE $65
Samsung 960 Evo is a dynamite performer The speed and brand makes so little
difference to performance we cant
and the price is decent, too. But were not
recommend one over another.
adding it to the Game Box just yet because
the price is still in the high zone you see
when a product is new to the market, and
VIDEOCARD
as nice as it is, the money saves by going

with a standard SATA drive makes that AMD RX 480 8GB
PRICE $380
the smart choice. When prices fall we will
This is the new mid-range GPU champ.
certainly look again at putting the 960 Evo
Opt for the $50-cheaper 4GB version if
here. you run a 1080p screen. An Nvidia GTX
As far as the Perfect PC goes, well, it has 1060 or 1070 are nice step-up choices.
to be the 960 Pro. Nothing can touch its
speed, and we dont worry about price so
much for the Perfect PC.
THE PERFECT PC
INTEL CORE I7 6700K

CPU
PRICE $459
Intels top-shelf unlocked i7 CPU.
MOTHERBOARD
GIGABYTE
GA-170X GAMING G1
PRICE $715
The most complete
100-series motherboard
you can buy today.
32GB OF DDR4
MEMORY
PRICE $200
For a general-purpose build 16GB is
all you need, but go big if you know
you need more.
NVIDIA GTX 1080

VIDEOCARD
PRICE $929
Asus ROG Strix GTX 1080
Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 1080
MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X 8G

KITLOG REVIEWS
TOTAL: $2,943 RIG ONLY: $1,661

COOLERMASTER BITFENIX RONIN
NEPTON 140XL
COOLER
CASE
PRICE $106
PRICE $85 Bitfenix continues to deliver great
Easy to install AIO CPU cooling, budget cases that look terrific and
relative quiet and performance to are easy to build in.
rival twin-radiator units.
SYSTEMDRIVES
KEYBOARD
SAMSUNG 850 PRO 512GB COOLER MASTER
PRICE $319 QUICKFIRE XTI
This SSD offers greatly improved PRICE $149
durability. Supplement it with a hard Good looks, solid and reliable
drive of your choice if needed. build and many gaming features.
ACER XB271HU ASUS PG279Q TT ESPORTS LEVEL 10 M

DISPLAY
MOUSE
PRICE $85
PRICE $929 PRICE $1,199
Mouse perfection. Lovely on-screen
G-Synced frames up to The same core specs and
and on-pad movement, super
165Hz in a generous 27in size capabilities of the Acer, with
accurate and delightful to use.
yet with a super thin bezel. an added SD card reader.
POWER SUPPLY
HYPERX
CLOUD REVOLVER COOLER MASTER G750M
AUDIO
PRICE $119 PRICE $129

For the price they sound Outstanding value for money, its
almost as good as $500 powerful enough for even performance
audiophile cans PCs packing twin GPUs.
TOTAL: $7,106 RIG ONLY: $4,919

CORSAIR H100IGTX ANTEC S10
WATER COOLER
COOLER
PRICE $255
CASE
PRICE $159 If you absolutely must have what is

Excellent cooling that is easy very nearly the best case weve seen,
to install with advanced this is the one.
monitoring.
SAMSUNG 960 LOGITECH G610 PRICE $139

KEYBOARD
PRO 2TB SSD Stunning looks and a delight to type on.

SSDS
PRICE $1,799
Significantly faster than any
STEELSERIES APEX M500
PRICE $135
other SSD on the market.
A similar alternative to the G610.
ANY HDD CM STORM REAPER

MOUSE
HDDS
PRICE $99 (2TB) PRICE $49

Supplement the SSD Very solid and feels fantastic under
with cheap HDD storage. the hand with sweet on-screen
movement.
POWER SUPPLY
ASUS PA329Q CORSAIR HX1000I

PRICE $305
AUDIO
PRICE $1,999
32-inches of 10-bit colour at 4k res, 100% Corsairs mighty HX1000i
RGB for professionals, and a luxurious pumps out extremely reliable
delight for gaming and general use. power, even when under
full loads.

WIN
A 10TB
SEAGATE
HARD DRIVE! TOTAL
PRIZE
VALUE
$2,277
Seagate has recently released a suite of new hard drives that
combine performance and reliability. We have three to give
away, so this month you could win one of these beauties:
Seagate Barracuda Pro 10TB - SRP $789
The uncompromising BarraCuda Pro marries industry-leading
storage capacity with 7,200-RPM spin speeds for snappy
performance and load times when gaming or performing
heavy workloads.
Ironwolf Pro 10TB - SRP $799
Ironwolf 10TB - SRP $689
For everything NAS, theres IronWolf and IronWolf Pro. Always
on and always working, IronWolf is enhanced with AgileArray
technology for optimal reliability and system agility. Multi-
user technology and extreme workload rates allow IronWolf
to perform and scale up with your enterprise.
PCTA ISSUE 230 WINNER (LG 34UC79G ULTRAWIDE MONITOR): C BARRY, SA. WWW.SEAGATE.COM.AU
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DVD CONTENTS
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- 50 MB hard drive space

JON HONEYBALL
A BUTTON ALLOWS YOU TO
SEND PRAISE OR BRICKBATS; IM
MAKING SURE THEY REALISE MORE
ONGOING TESTING IS REQUIRED
In a far from Excel-ent month, Jon battles with bugs, wars with Wi-Fi and
fights with fonts. But he does have something nice to say about RDX
I
ts been a very bitty month a strong it would have been, except Excel for Mac Have multiple tabs in the workbook;
feeling of running hard to stand still. has a horrible bug whereby it doesnt have each tab at a different view zoom;
Too many things broke, or were found clean up the references correctly if you copy and paste some cells from one
to be in alpha when they claimed to be insert rows and columns. tab to another immediate crash and
late beta. A truly extraordinary amount of On a table of similar and repeating termination of Excel. I found that if I set
time spent trying to hunt down weird and information, this can be difficult to the zoom level to be the same on each
unstable changes in user interfaces. It spot. You have to go to the Formulas tab tab, then the copy and paste would
really doesnt help when the development and choose the Show Formulas button work just ne. Incredibly frustrating and
team is so close to its project that theyre to replace the cell contents with the time-consuming when youre dealing with
blind to the issues. I see this myself. When formula in this case, the cell link to a product thats been shipping for the
generating large sheets of Excel tables another tab. Then you can run your eyes majority of my life.
containing thousands of results in the up and down the summary sheet looking Despite this, Excel is still my tool of
lab, its all too easy to succumb to Excel for insertion errors created by Excel. I choice, and I have to report that the Office
blindness, where way too many errors didnt expect this to happen, but its the team is being quite reactive to feedback.
are missed simply because you dont see sort of thing you get when youre running Theres a button built into the top button
them. on the Fast Track of Excel development. bar on each app that allows you to send
The defaults in Excel dont help, Why stay on the Fast Track? As regular praise or brickbats, and Im making sure
either. If you have cells containing readers will know, because I hope and they realise that more ongoing testing is
textual comment, then the way that pray it allows me faster access to the required.
the text of one cell will cheerfully run solutions to some of the more egregiously As for the rest? Giving feedback about
into the next empty cell means its unpleasant bugs. what doesnt work is part of what we do,
quite hard to determine whether or not Talking of which, heres another one. so theres little choice but to buckle down
the second cell has content. There are and feed in the reports. It can feel like a
many cell-formatting tricks in Excel, of Excel has a tendency to spill text into other cells thankless task, though.
course, including wrap text, shrink to t
and merge cells, but there isnt one that
says keep the text in this cell and dont
spill.
Despite having used Excel for some 30
years now, its entirely possible that Ive
missed this feature on the current build
of Excel for Mac, so please email me if
this is the case. The workaround I have to
use is to ood-ll the worksheet with cell
entries of (thats a single quote). Excel
takes that to mean there is something
here but doesnt display the itself.
An example. Having built some monster
sheets recently, with upwards of 20,000
cells used on each tab, I needed to create
a summary sheet. Obviously, using cell
links was the correct way forward. And
JON HONEYBALL
Jon is the MD of an IT consultancy
that specialises in testing and
deploying hardware
@jonhoneyball

JON HONEYBALL REAL WORLD COMPUTING
seminar on where 3G/LTE is going, It really doesnt help

the challenges that will arise,
and how were going to measure, when the development
evaluate and interface with all of
the issues. It looks like 5G will allow
team is so close to the
scalability right down to the pico- project that theyre blind
cell level for in-room operation. If
so, then the possibilities are strong to the issues
enough indeed that we can x the
signicant issues with Wi-Fi too. their products correctly recognised when
So heres my thought process. they were connected to an already-natted
Apple is now one of the strongest network? Yes, that was Apple leading the
players in the mobile eld, and its way.
chipset work is, without doubt, at Oh, and thanks to Rohde & Schwarz for
the leading-edge. It still doesnt the latest in its ongoing series of technical
manufacture, preferring to hand out seminars.
that task to the likes of Samsung
and TSMC no doubt to ensure RDX UPDATE
that competition brings the very Just a little update on my use of RDX.
lowest of costs. We know Apple is Long-time readers will remember that I
happy to work on its own chipset discovered RDX a few years ago, when I
designs, away from the core CPU rst tried a unit from HP. Since then Ive
witness the new CPU coming in installed a number of these desktop USB
the wireless headphones. Wouldnt units around the lab. The disks arent
it be interesting if Apple had re- cheap at around $400 for 2TB, but 2TB
targeted all its wireless engineering is a useful size for a storage brick. I have
effort into the new chipset, to be several small Peli cases that take one
followed up by a leading-edge or two of the disks in a safe and secure
implementation of 5G to appear container, and these are protected in the
just as soon as the spectrum space pannier of my motorbike. So transporting
and regulatory frameworks are nalised? them back and forth to home as a fully
If thats the case, then theres cause encrypted backup store of current work
for celebration. Apple is one of the few in progress is easy. Plus, I like to store
rms savvy enough to recognise that the somewhat dodgier things we have
Apple knows what users want: easy to set up Wi-Fi
ease of Wi-Fi setup, along with secure to handle, such as malware test les
encryption, is a must-have for most that I want to keep well away from any
APPLE SAYS BYE-BYE TO WI-FI buyers. And, therefore, these buyers had computers, including our various test
News has hit the wires that Apple is no interest at all in buying the somewhat networks.
pulling out of Wi-Fi hardware, specically overcomplicated offerings from other Would I buy RDX again? Yes, although
the AirPort range of bases and the vendors, which had appeared to master it seems that few manufacturers are
Time Capsule devices. I confess Im not the art of obfuscation and confusion. Look pushing forward with the standard, and
surprised by the news, because Apple at how many home Wi-Fi unit vendors prices arent falling quickly.
has really done nothing in this space for recognised that double-NAT in the home Im a fan of RDX; Id be a bigger fan if the prices
years. From being a leader, it stopped would only lead to confusion, and ensured came down
development work and stagnated.
There could be many reasons for
this. Apples devices are high cost and
probably relatively low volume. To do the
job well, you have to put your efforts into
the radio chipset hardware, and maybe
those people have been otherwise busy
with more protable devices within the
Apple R&D space. Plus, Wi-Fi has become
a commoditised space, where any old
rubbish seems to be good enough. Clever
stuff like mesh has taken off in a big way
with professional users, but Apple has
never played in that space in a realistic
fashion, and is miles away from what
Cisco Meraki is doing, for example.
And maybe there is the simple issue
that we need to wait for the next big
thing, which might well be 5G. I spent
two days this month with the technical
wizards at Rohde & Schwarz, who ran a

NEW WI-FI NETWORK ORDER That way, I could at least have one called Microsoft Excel application package.
On my desktops, I can set the order AnNSABase and MyGCHQBase just to Drop into the Contents|Resources|Fonts
in which Wi-Fi networks are joined. In upset the neighbours, you understand. folder and there they are in all their glory.
macOS, its trivially easy: go to System And then AnNSABase could be chosen You could, I suspect, copy these out into
Preferences|Network, choose the Wi-Fi over MyGCHQBase, even if the latter had a the fonts storage resource on macOS. Or
adapter, then hit the Advanced button. stronger signal. even put in a hard link to the folder if you
The Preferred Network panel displays the really wanted to.
list of networks, and you can simply drag THE MARVEL OF FONTS Whether this is legal is open to
and drop the networks into the order you Wondered where your Cambria and question. After all, you have these fonts
want, with the highest priority at the top. Calibri fonts have disappeared to on your because you have a licence to use
On my iPhone, this isnt possible. Theres Apple macOS device? I did, too, when Microsoft Office, and theyre supplied
no way of instructing iOS about the order opening some old documents in Pages with Office. I didnt spot anything in the
in which networks should be joined. This and receiving the warning that the fonts setup/readme/licensing documentation
is annoying, because at home I have two had gone. that told me that use of these fonts
FTTC (Fibre to the Curb) lines from two Trying to nd out what had happened elsewhere was explicitly forbidden. And
separate vendors. Each is located at took me on a rather long and winding road. if such use was forbidden, youd think
opposite ends of the house. But I often As best as I can nd out so far, the fonts that Microsoft might have encrypted
want to join just one network because its came from Microsoft. And they came with them or used some other sort of locking
the one to which Ive connected all the IoT Office. These fonts were delivered as fonts solution. Obviously, I cant recommend
devices, including the Hive heating system themselves, only up to the last version that you use these fonts supplied by
and Philips Hue lights. But if Im at the of Office for Mac. If you buy the current Microsoft in such a way, and its up to you
other end of the house, my phone joins the version of Office for Mac, you can still use to decide in conjunction with Microsofts
line thats physically closer. them but other apps cant. So what has lawyers what is the right and proper
I trawled around the Apple network in an happened? thing to do.
attempt to see if there were some settings
I was missing. I eventually found support. FONT SHOPPING
apple.com/en-gb/HT202831, entitled
On my iPhone, theres What is certainly true is that you can buy
How iOS decides which wireless network no way of instructing the fonts from Microsoft. Yes, you can
to auto-join. It says: buy and download the fonts and have
When iOS evaluates SSIDs to auto-join, iOS about the order in a full and complete licence to wave at
it prefers known networks, higher levels
of security, and stronger relative signal
which networks should any Licensing Stormtroopers that might
land on your site under the guise of doing
strength (RSSI). be joined an audit. Just go to microsoft.com/
iOS will try to connect to networks in typography/fonts and you can purchase
this order: It looks like uninstalling the old version from there. Thats US$294 dollars for
of Office removed the fonts. But that the Calibri family when ordered this way
The private network it most recently doesnt explain the current situation. Ive from Monotype, and the licence is for
joined read that the fonts are actually supplied enterprises, web developers, for hardware
A private network within the current version of Office and & software redistribution or server
A hotspot network are available there for those Office apps installations.
to use. But you cant use them with other If you want the font for personal,
If iOS nds more than one network, it apps. Whether or not this is a licensing professional or business use on
evaluates SSIDs by security level and issue is difficult to determine. However, its workstations then its US$183 for the font
chooses one based on the following order: the sort of ball-ache that rightly gets users family. For web use, for use with CSS @
quite upset. font-face rule in websites, well, Id tell
Private network: EAP The solution? Well, you wont be you the price but it looks like the HTTPS
Private network: WPA surprised to nd that there are multiple certicate for webfonts.fonts.com is
Private network: WEP places on the interwebs where you can broken. Id expect it to be cheaper still.
Private network: Unsecure/open download a ZIP le of the TrueType fonts Typography is a modern art form.
Hotspot network: HS2.0/Passpoint that have been lifted from a copy of Tools such as FontForge, FontCreator,
Hotspot network: EAP Windows. Fontographer and Glyphs allow you to
Hotspot network: WPA I cant condone such a thing, of course, dive into this fascinating world of splines,
Hotspot network: WEP and I have also read that the licensing of hinting, glyphs and so forth. Its incredibly
Hotspot network: Unsecure/open the fonts, even on Windows, is there for rewarding designing something here
office and business-style operation not although too often, all youve done is
If iOS nds multiple networks of for full DTP work. Whether or not this is highlight ones own limitations in artistic
identical type and security level, it chooses true is hard to ascertain. design and are.
the SSID with the strongest RSSI. There is, however, a truly sneaky way But many years ago I became a little
So given that I have strong encryption in around this. Given that the Office 2016 obsessed with typefaces, and even
place, the only thing thats going to drive apps can use the fonts, and they come managed to build, from scratch, a new
the choice is the RSSI level. And thats not with them, the fonts themselves must typeface for a client who had a specic
what I want. be within the app itself. If you go to \ requirement. I note that it was a huge
Why cant Apple allow me to say, no, Applications and nd Microsoft Excel and inspiration to Steve Jobs, too, when he was
choose this one rst? Or even have an then right-click on it and choose Show a student. Dive in and take a look theres
option thats when all other choices have Package Contents, you start to drill into a whole world of delight to nd if you enjoy
been used, go for alphabetical order. the le system that exists within the maths, design and art.

PAUL OCKENDEN REAL WORLD COMPUTING
PAUL OCKENDEN
WERE WATCHING A BOX SET IN

ONE GO THE ONLY BOX A TAKEAWAY
PIZZA VITAL TO SUSTAIN SUCH A
VIEWING MARATHON
Paul looks at a common source of buffering problems with streamed TV, and dives into the world of mesh Wi-Fi. Or not
T
he world seems to have gone power supply wiring is neatly hidden from issues of RF interference and signal
streaming mad. This time last year, view. shielding combine, the connection
the number of people watching There appear to be two main issues quality suffers tremendously. Plus, theres
Netix and Amazon Prime Video was that can cause these buffering and another factor, which in some instances
relatively small. A few techie people network connection and quality can make matters worse still thats
were watching video over the internet, problems. The rst is that some TV when you power the dongle using a
but to the average person in the street it sets emit a serious amount of RF ying lead to a USB socket on the TV set,
remained an alien concept. Something noise. The worst offenders seem to be rather than using a separate plug-in wall
they wouldnt contemplate, and certainly plasma screens, or older LCD sets that wart power supply. Some sets have a
not a facility theyd pay for. have uorescent rather than LED signicant amount of electrical noise
A year later, however, and streamed backlighting. Were effectively talking here superimposed on the 5V power supplied
content seems to have exploded. Even about sets that are more than four or ve by their USB sockets, and alongside
the (some would say crusty old) Radio years old, or perhaps more recent models the other two problems can make the
Times featured a Netix show as its main from bargain brands. Lets not get too electronics in the dongle struggle to
front cover image recently. The streaming snobbish about this, however, since some maintain a decent wireless connection.
services dont publish their viewer more modern sets even those from the Incidentally, its no use relying on the
numbers, but the recent viewing boost is big and expensive names can also spit sticks built-in Wi-Fi signal meter, as often
obvious to anyone who uses social media. out copious amounts of nasty RF. it isnt the signal level thats the problem,
Youll also overhear people in coffee The second problem is that when an but the quality. In technical terms, what
shop queues talking about The Crown, HDMI dongle has to be plugged in around were looking at here is a poor signal-
The Grand Tour, and other online-only the back of the TV, the set itself will act as to-noise ratio (often known as SNR).
blockbusters. We nd ourselves watching a shield, blocking the Wi-Fi signal. Thats You can still have a terribly poor Wi-Fi
a whole box set in one session, but the pretty obvious when you think about it. signal despite it showing lots of bars on
only box is from the takeaway pizza vital The TV contains copper circuit boards, the signal meter, if that Wi-Fi signal is
to sustain such a viewing marathon. speakers, aluminium shielding, heatsinks, being swamped with noise. Incidentally,
If you listen carefully, though, as well as and other metallic components, all of the same can apply to any device with
talking about the high production values which will resist the passing of the 2.4GHz a simple signal meter. Ever had trouble
and the huge budgets available for these or 5GHz Wi-Fi transmissions. making a call or downloading data,
new shows from Netix and Amazon, To make matters worse, when the despite having lots of bars of signal on
youll also hear some people complaining
about buffering and connection
problems. Im going to stick my neck out Your TV set
here and guess that these are mainly might be
those watching via a dongle (Amazon Fire shielding your
TV Stick, Chromecast, Roku Streaming streaming
dongle from
Stick, or one of the many Android sticks
your Wi-Fi
available).
network
A further guess is that these people
might have TVs where the HDMI port
isnt on the edge of the set so that the
dongle protrudes, but somewhere around
the back so that stick and its associated
PAUL OCKENDEN
Paul owns an agency that helps
businesses exploit the web, from
sales to marketing and everything
in between @PaulOckenden
You can imagine these as lines drawn
on a plan, and once youve done this for
the many devices you have connected
to your Wi-Fi network, youll understand
why this is known as a star topology.
But imagine an alternative scenario,
where every device could talk to every
other device; and devices could relay
traffic for each other. That way, when
your laptop could no longer get a direct
connection to your wireless router, it
could still have net access by bouncing
a connection through your TV and your
connected smart thermostat. This is
A $10 HDMI extension cable might be all you need to solve your buffering issues what we mean by a mesh topology.
your phone? That, too, is probably local or perhaps use a powerline adapter if
interference reducing the SNR. you cant run cables. Although I need The solution to the TV
The solution to the TV issue is obvious. to add my usual caveat: please dont issue is obvious: simply
Simply buy a good-quality HDMI use powerline networking also called
extension cable, and plug the dongle homeplugs if you have anyone living buy a good-quality
into the end of that. It gets the dongle
out from behind the TV; this might
nearby who is a radio ham, since the
signals from your home wiring can play
HDMI extension cable,
upset your sense of the aesthetic, but it havoc with their hobby. and plug the dongle into
will also no longer be hidden from your Before ditching your stick, though, do
Wi-Fi network. An extension lead about try an HDMI extension cable. Its a cheap that
1m long is ideal something like the x, and many will be surprised at what a
AmazonBasics one for around $10. difference it makes. This would be lovely, wouldnt it? If
By the way, never get lured into buying only something like this had been built
expensive HDMI cables. Despite what it HEALING THE MESH into the 802.11 spec from day one, we
might say in the blurb, a better cable cant Much like the increased chatter about might be living in a world of very different
improve your picture quality. The signal streamed TV shows, Ive also noticed Wi-Fi today.
that the cable carries is digital: ones and that in techie circles the discussion of Were unlikely to ever see Wi-Fi
zeroes. A more expensive cable cant mesh networking is starting to become endpoints relaying traffic in this way, but
alter that binary data to give you a better something of a fashion. Particularly in mesh techniques have been making
picture or sound. the context of consumer-level products. their way into Wi-Fi infrastructure
The HDMI extension cable will allow Its nothing new, of course: one of my components. At the high-end, there
you to position the dongle well away earliest jobs involved building a mesh was Meraki (now owned by Cisco) and
from the TV, in a place where it receives network, but its one of those things that others offering enterprise solutions,
a perfect Wi-Fi signal. Just experiment; if even decades on Im still not allowed to while at the get your hands dirty end
you nd your Netix or Amazon stream talk about so wed best leave that one of the marketplace there were a number
still buffering, move the dongle. To the well alone! of open-source solutions that usually
left or right of the set, or even above it When people talk about mesh involved ashing custom rmware on to
youll often get a better picture higher up. networks, what they normally mean popular wireless routers.
All that said, Ive used most of these is wireless mesh networks. Mesh But now theres a more friendly style
sticks and other media-streaming boxes networking is common in wired of mesh networking trying to replace the
on the market, and very early on came to networks. Shortest-path bridging means routers in our homes. Initially, Luma and
the conclusion that youre better off using that many switched Ethernet networks Eero led the way, but now everyones
an external box rather than a dongle. are meshed, and indeed the internet favourite search-engine provider is
So the Amazon Fire TV rather than the itself runs on mesh principles, with joining the party with Google Wi-Fi;
stick version, or the Roku 3 rather than multiple paths available between nodes. Ubiquiti is releasing its AmpliFi system
the rms Streaming Stick. Theres no Its so ubiquitous that the word mesh aimed at home users.
non-dongle version of the Chromecast is rarely used when it comes to wired Some of these are more successful
available, of course, but if youre slightly networks; the term almost always refers than others. Luma and Eero, in particular,
techie then an Android Kodi box probably to wireless technologies. seem to have many satised customers.
comes close (and offers much more too). So what is a (wireless) mesh network? But if you Google for details on the mesh
Ive found the standalone devices tend Well, think about the wireless router that facilities offered by the Sky Q setup,
to have somewhat more grunty CPUs you have in your home or your office. Now your search results will probably be
beneath their skins than their dongle imagine taking a laptop and walking to overwhelmed by people complaining
siblings, making the UI more responsive. a far corner of the property, where the that it doesnt work very well.
They also have better Wi-Fi antennas wireless signal is weak or non-existent. In all of these instances it isnt the nal
inside, so are less likely to suffer from This lack of signal is because every Wi-Fi devices (laptops, TVs, and so on) that
buffering. Better still, all of the good device on the network is talking directly form the mesh; its the access points that
ones have Ethernet ports, so you can to the router, so requires a strong RF you need to install in key places around
plug them directly into your network, connection between these two points. your house. These act as repeaters both

PAUL OCKENDEN REAL WORLD COMPUTING
The Orbi router and satellite dont look out of place around the
home
for the main router and also for each

other, passing traffic backwards and
forwards. dedicated backhaul, and neither do most
Mesh networking isnt the only player mesh networks the relayed data just
in town, though. Netgear has just runs across the normal 5GHz and 2.4GHz
released a product called Orbi, and channels for user data. So in a two-
although it might be described by many box setup (and, frankly, thats all youll with the most traffic gets a bigger bite of
as a mesh Wi-Fi product, it isnt. Orbi, need in most Australian houses) the the cherry.
at least in its current guise, uses a star Orbi has considerable benets. I havent What I welcome is that the main
topology. been using the system long enough to router and satellite units are relatively
The version of the product I have here deliver a real world verdict, but from pleasant-looking boxes. They certainly
is basically two boxes: the main router my initial tests both the stability and the arent the weird, sci--looking objects
and a satellite. As is typical with most throughput are good. I get a rock-solid with multiple angular antennas that
newly released high-end kit, theres no and fast connection right around my youll often nd with Netgears top-of-
DSL or VDSL provision, so the majority the-range wireless router products (and,
of UK users will need to use an external indeed, much of the competition). The
modem (or ip their existing router into
These boxes certainly latter might look uber-geeky, but they
modem mode, making sure the Wi-Fi arent the weird, arent the kind of device youd want on a
is disabled). Both boxes are effectively shelf in the lounge. Orbi ts in nicely and
wireless access points, each offering sci--looking objects unobtrusively.
400Mbits/sec 2.4GHz and 866Mbits/sec
5GHz Wi-Fi connections.
with multiple angular Some of the competitor products
rely on the manufacturers cloud
With a two-box solution it really antennas service for control and conguration
makes no difference whether the thankfully, with Orbi everything is
underlying network is star- or mesh- house, as well as in the garden, garage, standalone. You dont even need to use
based in both instances, its simply and so on. So, far, my only complaints an app (actually there isnt an app at
one box talking to another. In fact, Orbi are the aforementioned lack of DSL/ the moment, although apparently one
uses a dedicated 5GHz channel with VDSL support, and also that theres no is in the works). The web-based user
its own 4x4 MIMO conguration. This guest network provision. Other than that interface will be familiar to anyone thats
backhaul link runs at 1,733Mbits/sec (its its one of the most well thought out used another recent Netgear product.
basically dedicated streams using four of version one products Ive seen in a long Known as genie, it splits tabs into
the ve available high-band channels). while. Basic and Advanced, and most items
This is one way that Orbi is different to Of course, you can have more than are reasonably self-explanatory. Theres
using a conventional router plus Wi-Fi one satellite if you need to cover a huge nothing to be scared of, despite the hi-
extender setup. Another difference is area, but bear in mind the current star tech nature of the product.
that you effectively have one wireless topology. Each satellite needs to be Ill report back in a few months once
network, with one SSID, one username able to connect to the main router. Also Ive given the Orbi system a proper
and one password. This differs from how note that the 1,733Mbits/sec backhaul workout, but for now its looking like a
the majority of conventional wireless is shared among all of the satellites, great solution for anyone struggling to
extenders work. although bandwidth is allocated get Wi-Fi into every corner of their
Wireless extenders dont use a dynamically as needed, so the satellite home.

CARL DAVIES
AN AGILE COACH OPERATES

LIKE A DURACELL BUNNY,
DRUMMING UP ENTHUSIASM
TO HELP TEAMS IMPROVE
Agile isnt simply a project delivery process, says Carl; its
about shaping a team culture that leads to success
A
t my previous company, Id been certication and external advice, which are only three roles: the product owner,
involved in several successful requires investment and a leap of faith scrum master and the wider delivery
Agile deliveries: software released because ROI is by no means guaranteed. team.
in less than six months that delivered At the lighter end, Scrum accounts for Agile techniques can be used to deliver
exactly what the customer wanted in a around 60% of all Agile implementations. all kinds of products and services, not just
truly collaborative, cost-effective manner. This method is explainable in a matter of software.
Customers often eulogised about hours and is seriously downsized. There
how refreshing they found the Agile are just three roles and ve key events. WHAT AGILE IS AND ISNT
experience. This convinced me there was In a nutshell, Agile methods condense Theres a common misconception that
mileage in Agile delivery. Initially, I was product development activities into Agile is a simplied project delivery
almost comically evangelical. So in 2011, short, back-to-back delivery cycles. process, a set of instructions you can
I broke away from a permanent role as a These sprints are ideally between 1-4 quickly learn and repeat. Thats half the
head of information services to become weeks, strictly adhered to and designed story. Agile is big on values. It models
an independent Agile coach. to attract maximum feedback. A sprint the behaviours a delivery team should
Day to day, its my job to navigate is all-encompassing. It incorporates adopt to be successful. The aim is to
teams and individuals into a balanced the whole product lifecycle: clarifying make teams collaborate, stay open-
Agile practice that ts their situation. requirements, product design, minded, critical of their own performance,
Its also important to spend time with development and testing are all bundled customer-focused and respectful to each
senior management to help them digest in. Each sprint plan targets the release of other. Getting the team culture right is the
and adjust to Agile ways of working. a useful increment (a valuable working secret sauce that makes an Agile team
Im juggling a mix of salesmanship, slice of features). An experienced Agile successful.
mentoring and role-modelling, as I team will develop a longer-range product One of the biggest benets of Agile is
encourage teams to strike a healthy roadmap and release plan, because in the its shorter concept-to-cash cycle. The
balance between theory and practice. An real world there are specic target dates rapid iterations of software we see in
Agile coach operates like an anchor and to hit. Agile give businesses the chance to test
an infectiously upbeat Duracell bunny, In Agile, desired features are sourced the market at an early stage (and even
drumming up enthusiasm and helping from a shortlist of prioritised user start cranking sales). This is called the
teams constantly improve. stories (condensed, user-orientated minimal viable product (MVP) a proof-
requirements). Its the product owners of-concept product thats formed with
THE AGILE MOVEMENT job to represent the customer he/she just enough features to attract customer
If youve been involved in software prioritises user stories from a much feedback. Think of the Tesla Roadster,
development at any point since the late larger backlog of potential features. which, although imperfect, proved that
1990s, youve probably encountered the The most valuable features should be battery cars were viable.
concept of Agile project delivery. delivered rst. If the MVP successfully meets user
Agile methods range from the Agile methods are big on responding needs, we expand features. If the MVP
super-heavyweight, such as Scaled and adapting to changing customer fails, then its time to pivot and test
Agile Framework (SAFe), to ultra- demands; hence the short bursts of another product, or to back out early
lightweights such as Scrum. Heavyweight delivery. Teams are geared up to test before too much cash is burned. Being
methods are geared towards enterprise real products with real customers. The open about failure is considered a virtue
implementation and sport an array of frequent inspections of the product in the Agile world; by responding to failure
roles, artefacts and processes. They lead to new insights and possible feature we reach a better outcome in the long
inevitably involve some degree of adaptions, which seed the next sprint. run.
Agile techniques incorporate daily
stand-up meetings and retrospective TOUGH TIMES AHEAD
CARL DAVIES
sessions that empower teams to suggest A shift to Agile is rarely painless. The
founded his agency Perfect
Agile in 2011 to help business improvements to working practices. Agile behaviours were embedding need
leaders implement Agile more is on a mission to evolve and constantly infusing into your company culture.
effectively. improve delivery teams. Speaking of Realistically, this takes years, not months.
which, when we look at Scrum there The exemplar businesses we refer to,

CARL DAVIES REAL WORLD COMPUTING
such as Toyota, Spotify and Google, are

committed to indenite and continuous Servant Leadership Model
change. Theyve been shaping an Agile
culture over decades. Customers Customers (users)
Im sceptical when leaders expect come rst! Identify
instant results. Achieving organisational
and satisfy their
agility (as its called) isnt a Clark Kent/
needs
Superman phone box transmogrication. Operational staff
Instead, theres a palpable risk that
we end up with a David Banner/Hulk
nightmare. Attempts to big bang a shift Reporting teams
to Agile across the whole company can are in effect
become nasty. The benets outstripped customers
Team leads
by immense resistance within can cause served by others
serious collateral damage to morale and
Whole leadership
delivery.
structure built to
To successfully roll out Agile methods, Managers serve customer
Id suggest empowering a handful of
carefully selected and well-supported needs
projects: small and self-contained
deliverables that already have
infrastructure in place. Ideally, these
Directors
teams need to be composed of positive,
trusted and exible team members, who
are also proven high-performers. To get
CEO serves the IAgile turns the organisation structure
a positive buzz in the organisation youll CEO upside down, which doesnt always
whole organisation
need exemplar successes that staff please managers
on the ground are benetting from. The
team members enjoying initial success
will inevitably enthuse about their physical space gives a learning team the of its Toyota Production System. Its very
experiences. The good news will soon go wide-open canvas they need to express, new to many Westernised companies.
viral, creating a virtuous circle of new folk shape and reach consensus on require- So when I speak to teams, servant
who are willing to give Agile techniques ments or process designs. They can plan leadership can be a vibrant source of
go. Its a case of start small and adapt if spontaneously, without the constraints frustration for managers. They often
the formula isnt working. of software limiting how information is speak of committing to the servant
visualised. Theres no substitute to Post-it leadership model by coaching and
IS AGILE GOOD FOR ALL Notes for developing the openness and empowering their teams, only to be
TYPES OF PROJECTS? immediate feedback were promoting suddenly usurped by a JFDI work request
Dont let consultants or gurus persuade with Agile. from a senior manager, which forces
you that Agile is the best process for every However, theres a tipping point. After them to seize back control immediately
scenario. It shines where theres a level a handful of sprints, I recommend teams
of uncertainty with the nal solution and adopt software tools and large screens MORE SOFTWARE FASTER?
we need to shape a product or service for backlog management and reporting. So, Im often asked, all this Agile stuff
closely to customer/internal customer Once the Agile process is learned, Post-it means were going to be able to get more
needs. This is the Agile Goldilocks zone. Notes become a burden for longer- software, faster? To which I explain
If you dont have a clue about customer range planning and to build any project thats missing the point.
requirements, or the vaguest concept statistics against. The idea that adopting Agile makes
on the technical solution, Agile wont developers code faster and testers
help you out of chaos. Youll need to ask BOTTOMS UP work at double-speed is a myth. Agile
more questions and come back when the The most striking mind shift in Agile isnt an articial stimulant. Sure there
situation is clearer. is the concept of servant leadership. are some recommended techniques to
If the task in hand is familiar and youve Here, managers are no longer expected make sure we build quality in and dont
successfully followed a plan before, then to micro-manage delivery. Instead, the need to write code twice such as pair
dont throw it away! Youre in a place leadership hierarchy is ipped upside programming and refactoring. The truth
where gathering requirements gradually down and leaders serve for their teams. is that Agile helps get products to market
using Agile is probably an inefficient In return, analysts, developers and quicker through the art of keeping things
strategy. If a plan is known to work, then testers are expected to self-organise. simple and the MVP I referred to earlier.
make sure it still ts, tweak and re-use it. In effect, the majority of the team is Agile teams only build features
I advise that managers selectively apply gifted the autonomy to make decisions necessary to solve the problem in
the Agile process where the project need and improvements. This is just one hand. No bloat. Were not operating at a
ts its strengths. example of how radically different team higher clock speed here; just processing
behaviours are modelled in Agile and less information. That means the right
THE POST-IT NOTE THING a hard pill to swallow for hierarchical software arrives quicker. Possibly
Theres a misguided idea that Agile is all organisations. less software, but that valuable 20%
about the Post-it Note. And yes, during This bottom up mode of decision- delivered is going to crack 80% of the
the rst few weeks of learning Agile, Post- making may appear revolutionary, but its problem and thats the key message of
it Notes are invaluable. Using them in a been practiced by Toyota for years as part Agile.

DAVEY WINDER
USERS OF SOCIAL NETWORKS

OFTEN TREAT MAKING FRIENDS
AS A NUMBERS GAME; THE SAME
APPLIES TO LINKEDIN
How to harden your LinkedIn profile and spot the fake requests before
the damage is done. Plus, why you might just want a Double VPN
T
alk of social networks and most the request from an attractive-looking to do it properly. Luckily, it only takes a
people will immediately think you woman (with stock photography from the glance to spot a potential faker that cant
mean either Facebook or Twitter. internet in the prole) posing as a recruiter be bothered.
However, talk of social networking for or some marketing role. These fakes are
business and theres only really LinkedIn. often easy to spot, not least because the HARDEN YOUR LINKEDIN PROFILE
Once all but written off, LinkedIn has been grammar used is poor and not what youd Its tempting to think that these internal
acquired by Microsoft for US$26.2 billion expect from a professional. Sometimes fakes are the hardest kind of scam to spot,
and has half a billion members. In the 11 they can look realistic and ordinarily Id but actually external threats can be just
years Ive been a member of the site, Ive be against adding into your network any as convincing. The LinkedIn phish spam
made useful business contacts and picked contacts from people you dont know, full tends to take the form of connection
up a good few contracts. Its value to me, stop. However, thats kind of what sets conrmations (from someone you may
and many small-business owners, is that it LinkedIn apart from other social networks; not recognise the reason being that you
connects me to other business folk. you might be seeking to add new business havent connected with them), or offers to
And theres the problem: it also contacts to your network to nd potential get free access to LinkedIn Premium. Like
connects you to cybercriminals. Bad new clients, or maybe even a new job. all such spam, these will have embedded
guys know a good thing when they see Treating every connection request links that take you to familiar-looking
it, and they can see it in LinkedIn proles. as a criminal act in the making just isnt login screens that are actually credential
Access your Facebook or Twitter account sensible, although treating them all with a scrapers.
and a social engineer might nd some healthy contempt is. By which I mean that Your job and you really should choose
personal information to help target your you should apply a modicum of common to accept it is to make that of the hacker
email provider when it comes to resetting sense before hitting the Accept button. I as hard as possible. This can be achieved
a password. Access your LinkedIn prole, look at the prole image, and if it looks a by hardening your LinkedIn prole. Its
and that of your connections, and they bit too glitzy or glamourous, I drop it into probably a lot easier than you think and
might nd information that will leverage a Google and do an image search. If that has little impact on how you use LinkedIn
way into the organisation you work for, or image appears all over the place, you can day to day. Prole hardening is all about
another along the supply chain. The latter be pretty sure its a fake request. If my making the attack surface as small as
is always going to hold more value to the suspicion remains raised, Ill check out possible. Start by hovering the mouse over
serious criminal. the full prole, which might be industry your thumbnail image, towards the top-
So how do the bad guys use LinkedIn to keyword-heavy. If this is the case, to the right of the LinkedIn screen, and selecting
socially engineer a hacking attack? One of point where its obvious and interferes Privacy & Settings from the menu that
the most common methods is by way of a with the ow of the language, then appears.
faked connection request. In the same way thats another red ag. Sure, it could be a From the next screen, open the Privacy
that users of social networks can often marketing bod who knows how to game options and head for Who can see your
treat making new friends as a numbers the LinkedIn search algorithms and wants connections. Opting for Only you is the
game, the same applies to LinkedIn. Only to appear high up the lists when people safest bet, since it prevents other users
more so. New users seem particularly look for certain skills, but it probably isnt. from seeing who you know and why
keen to build a large network as quickly as The saying that size isnt everything would they need to know that anyway?
possible in order to present themselves as doesnt apply to LinkedIn security; the Make yourself less visible by selecting
well-connected. This means their guard is smaller the number of connections, the Followers (under Blocking and hiding),
down, and users will accept connections higher the chance its a scammer trying then set who can see you and follow
from anyone. to connect with you. This isnt always the your public updates to Your connections.
Most often the target is a man, and case, sure, but its a ag that always gets Scroll down to the bottom of the Privacy
my attention and should do for you as section, where youll nd the two-step
DAVEY WINDER well. And sticking with size issues, if the verication feature; enable it. This
Davey is an award-winning prole is ridiculously small and incomplete makes it much harder for anyone to
journalist and consultant then run away screaming. Id say that compromise your account, even if they
specialising in privacy and security 90% of the people who will try to fool have your login credentials. And dont
issues @happygeek you are too lazy to take the time to create forget that they probably do have your
convincing proles, and it does take time credentials, or at least ones that were in

DAVEY WINDER REAL WORLD COMPUTING
LinkedIn has already proven itself

attractive to hackersinkedIn has
already proven itself attractive to
hackers
place in 2012 when more than 160 million errors and things that dont make
logins were stolen by hackers. Id hope that sense in emails that request that
youve changed your login and switched you click links or open attachments. it offers isnt enough whereby you
on 2FA since then! These errors are mainly down to English connect to a VPN that connects to Tor
Moving to the Communications options, not being the native language of the that connects to the internet then you
Ive seen it suggested that you should sender. Sometimes, however, theyre can instead connect to one VPN that
change the Who can send you invitations deliberate. One trick of the trade used by then connects to another VPN that in turn
setting from everyone to only those who spammers and scammers alike in order to connects to the internet.
already know your email. Honestly, I cant evade email phishing lters is exploiting This Double VPN service encrypts
see how this hardens your prole: getting how similar different letters can look to the your traffic from your computer to VPN
hold of your email isnt likely to involve human eye. So while a software algorithm server A (in your home country), which
rocket-science levels of sneaking. If it might be on the lookout for an upper gives one IP address to anyone logging
makes you feel safer though, by all means case I, it will let a lower case l, or L, slip such things, but then encrypts the traffic
do it. through as being unsuspicious. The reason again as it connects to VPN server B (in
Id recommend customising the being that in some fonts, specically a different country), giving another IP
Messages from members section, Arial and Helvetica, the two characters before connecting to the internet. Each
which enables you to let other members look almost identical. Linkedln and connection is encrypted within two layers
know what kind of messages youre most LinkedIn will therefore appear identical of AES-256-CBC encryption, and the
interested in. In my experience, the career to the recipient, but very different to the connections are mixed between TCP and
opportunities and business deals are machines that are meant to be protecting UDP for additional security. NordVPN is
most targeted by the social engineers. If us from harm. particularly good for mobile use, with the
neither of these are of interest to you, then Android app-using OpenVPN providing
uncheck the boxes. Ive never been asked DO YOU WANT DOUBLE VPN? AES256 with 2,048-bit Diffie-Hellman
for a genuine personal reference, nor As regular readers will know, I already keys and IKEv2/IPsec, AES-256-GCM
am I offering jobs to folk, so those boxes encrypt my data up the wazoo and back with SHA2-384 combined with Perfect
remain unchecked for me as well. Not that again. With strong encryption technology Forward Secrecy and 3,072-bit Diffie-
any of this will prevent someone from readily and cheaply available, from full- Hellman keys.
approaching you using this method but device encryption through to hardware NordVPN itself operates on a zero-
it will raise a red ag that theyre doing so and software encryption for data on the logging policy, so not only is your traffic
against your preferences. move, it isnt too difficult to keep things double-encrypted, but there are no logs
The next step in prole hardening is to private. But the emerging possibility that to grab either. NordVPN is owned by
revisit your prole and choose the option authorities may move to retain internet Panama-based TelFinCom, and while
of viewing it as a member of the public activity data, and make it available for Panama is strong on canals its weak on
will see it. This is useful for getting a grasp inspection without warrant, makes my data-retention legislation, so thats cool
on the information youre passing on to suggestion that everyone do their best to as well. If youre after privacy, security
anyone who can be bothered to look. Read thwart it by using solid VPNs even more and anonymity then NordVPN seems to
it through carefully, and read it through the pressing. t the bill.
crime-tinted spectacles. One VPN thats taking this seriously It isnt cheap, nor does it offer free trials
is NordVPN, which has introduced a by default, plus there are speedier VPNs
TRICKS OF THE HACKING TRADE Double VPN service for users suffering on the market. However, in automatic
I rst started writing about things more draconian laws. The service isnt yet mode it always nds a speedy server
pertaining to online security three decades available to Australians, but it is rolling and I havent noticed any slowdown to
ago now. Some of the advice I gave then out globally so could just be a matter warrant any complaints. As for cost, well
still applies today. For example, be on the of time. Regardless, its a fascinating I discovered you can get a free three-day
lookout for spelling mistakes, grammatical approach. If the VPN and Tor service trial by emailing support@nordvpn.com
and requesting it. The best value comes
with a two-year licence and a money off
offer which, at the time of writing at least,
brings the cost down to US$72.
Hardening your LinkedIn profile is all about making

the attack surface as small as possible

STEVE CASSIDY
ROLLS-ROYCE SHOWCASED A
20FT-TALL JET ENGINE NOT
EASY TO RELATE THAT TO THE
MICROSOFT PRODUCT PORTFOLIO
Dells takeover of EMC may seem of little consequence to small businesses, but
Steve begs to differ and shares the big news from VMworld
T
he best way to attract visitors to a presentation heavy with references to the names was for me a near-perfect mix,
stand in a crowded convention hall, fourth Industrial Revolution and our place from obscure brands deep in the B2B
it seems, is by equipping it with an in it, this slogan hit me right between the world, hidden from sight (Tech Mahindra,
obvious exhibit. In the case of Rolls-Royce eyes. I didnt want to listen to the Rolls- anybody?), right through to General
at the recent Microsoft Future Decoded Royce man talk about its use of BI or Electric and various European suppliers
event, it decided to showcase a 20ft- Azure; I wanted to absorb this huge shift of devices previously thought too simple
tall jet engine. Not easy to relate that to in outlook instead. to be worthy of a CPU, let alone an
the Microsoft product portfolio and to I dont mean a pun about email there, internet connection.
make matters worse, I must confess that I either: I mean a ground-up reappraisal of Then there were the omissions: no
bunked off the interview I was due to have what computing means to us, and how ARM, for one thing. I can understand if
with the chap from Rolls-Royce. we should be thinking about it. Contrary the rm has a lot on its plate, but if youre
My defence is that the event itself was to what the mainstream press may have an IT nerd then its odd to visit a show
so different from past years that I was left said in response, I thought the speech with the worlds most popular processor
abbergasted. For one thing, it was very demonstrated an ease with concepts in IT maker not in it.
noisy. Not the pumping music of game and security that are rarely found. . Is it, though? IoT is a much larger and
consoles or t people in Lycra hopping more diverse gathering of interests
about in front of a Kinect but the show THE IOT SOLUTIONS WORLD and brands than is IT. The fantasy
itself. I gured out that the Rolls-Royce CONGRESS idea that devices with fully edged
stand was right beside the lecture space; Hot on the heels of the news of a huge internet presence and capabilities
not a separate theatre, just a corral of low attack on the worlds biggest name would suddenly be so small that they
vinyl cubes, equipped with an ear-piercing resolution servers by a botnet of vanish into the wallpaper pattern
PA system and Madonna microphones toasters, I received a last-minute invite had just enough time to sink into the
for the speakers. After an entire morning to The Internet Of Things Solutions public consciousness, before it then
of listening, I knew my chances of making World Congress (iotsworldcongress. The 20ft-tall Rolls-Royce engine certainly made
sense of anything competing with a PA com). I had high hopes for this show. Its an impression at Future Decoded; but what was it
system such as that were pretty slim. only its second year, but the roll-call of doing there?
We were denied Stephen Hawking
(promised in the invite) due to ill-health,
but the rest of the delivery tted into
the sit back and think category. Except
for the presentation from Microsoft
partner Risual, which featured wooden
effigy puppets of its founders (I think),
presumably in response to some
impenetrable internet meme I dont yet
know about.
And in the show hall, there were little
epithets, up on the wall; motivational
sayings quite controversial ones for the
modern era. Dont propose a technology,
one said, without rst estimating its likely
social impact. Walking straight out of a
STEVE CASSIDY
Steve is a consultant who
specialises in networks, cloud, HR
and upsetting the corporate apple
cart @stardotpro

STEVE CASSIDY REAL WORLD COMPUTING
What does computing mean to us? Chancellor Philip Hammond shared his
interesting viewsa
The Internet of Things has many industrial uses, as showcased at the IOT
Solutions World Congress in Barcelona
became rather diluted by the whole

toaster/botnet thing. Do we really need
risks. But after I was a little mean in
teasing out the issue, he did admit that
Do we really need our
our toasters to have their own email his company had had a runaway traffic toasters to have their
addresses and software update cycle? issue once agged up by its ISP, long
Not according to the guys at IoT World. before the code or the customer spotted
own email addresses
Their preceding product development the matter. and software update
process was right down at the Even though one might think that
component-soldering level. Suddenly, standards bodies and the rules of the cycle?
the limelight is shifting towards them and road for the internet ought to result in
theyve been drafted in to almost all the software deployments that dont do to implement the level of intelligence that
available buzzword categories. Smart that sort of thing, the truth from an the specic deployment requires, and you
cities? You need IoT. Big data? It comes experienced player in that marketplace can do a lot of decision-making in a small
from immense numbers of unstoppable, is that stuff goes wrong, and its human tin box these days. Given that millions
sorcerers apprentice-style IoT devices. relationships and commercial, personal of out-of-control, low-brain individual
AI? You need to look through all that links that often stop a minor problem sensors are the nightmare scenario of
information that youve gathered, without from escalating into a major incident. IoT according to many, the idea of one
knowing what youd be doing with it. That This isnt really cloud-centric, software- gateway fronting and summarising the
feels like an overloaded tour of every hot dened networking. Its more about output from hundreds of devices is clearly
trend, neat trick, expensive platform and running a chatroom with your ops, dev more appealing.
cloud design in the whole business. and ISP teams, all permanently signed in The other big thing cold-start
Except that as you look around the when the going gets tough. recoding is simply a matter of throwing
show, it becomes clear that this isnt As ever, its hard to get people to away the last quarter-century of progress
really a collection of hot startups, identify the source of an incident, or in computing altogether. If you assume
wedded to the millennial technology what they did to resolve it. That said, this that botnets, vulnerabilities, exploits
wave of web this and browser that. is the gold in understanding what to do and so on are a direct result of open-
These are the guys who have been and what to avoid doing when venturing source and globally standard compute
running industrial control and data- into a new eld. platforms, then it follows that a closed-
collection systems for decades: theyre I wandered around the rest of the source, proprietary OS may sidestep
already aware of the many problems the show. There were two broad themes much of the grief. And that the negative
toaster-hacker community is discovering, that seemed to emerge: gateways and value of grief caused already outweighs
as these guys have been coding for, cold-start recodes. Everyone had some the positive value of open-source
building and supporting industry for kind of gateway: in this eld its a smallish, platforms.
decades. generally Atom-powered tin-box PC, GE sits partway into that world, in that
This is where Tech Mahindra comes in. I well equipped with brackets, hooks and it has done something thats relatively
had no idea of its interests or history until screw-mount holes. One side is Ethernet, new and free of historic impediments.
I sat down with Karthikeyan Natarajan. displaying the look and feel of something GE Predix isnt totally closed, but it is
His title is Global head, which I guess is we think an IoT device should look like. It proprietary: a cloud-based scalable
appropriate when your business is writing picks up IP addresses, talks across the platform for the back-end of all those
the IoT platform code that ties eets of net, and lots of them have web-based machines and gateways chattering away
devices together with clouds of servers, management pages. in your factory. Proprietary used to be
also running your code. The actual sensors are on the other a criticism; judging by GE and Huaweis
We talked a fair bit about the toaster side of the box, and they arent as IoT stands, those days are over.
botnet issue. His view was that it isnt implies. After all, some can be as simple Ah yes, Huawei. The giant Chinese
especially hard to engineer out those as a couple of wires. Its the gateways job technology and telecommunications

REAL WORLD COMPUTING STEVE CASSIDY
There were plenty of big names at the show,

including Intel and SAP, but ARM was nowhere to
be seen
rm has lots of telecoms experience (up Oh my. How to make a fool of yourself of IoT data ooding a link? Add it to the
to and including its own cable-laying in short order. I hadnt glanced at the standard, or look at the role of a gateway
ships), lots of experience building small English-language side of the good versus a whole swarm of allegedly
devices, and a passing familiarity with the doctors business card; there it lists his autonomous sensors.
industrial sector, one might expect a large role inside Huawei, and adds a label It wasnt until I stood up from that
presence in a show such as this. of IEEE Fellow. If youre sharp-eyed meeting, and watched my interviewee
But when I turned up for a conversation after that then you get to see that hes return to what he had been doing, that
with one of its executives, almost all domiciled in Stanford, Connecticut. That I really understood what I was looking
the signs Im used to looking for were isnt a normal location for the CTO of at. Id been waiting around because a
not present. No vast stand made out of an industrial IoT device manufacturer. random delegate had wandered up to
chromed plastic, or trying to look like an Its more appropriate for someone who the stand and started asking questions,
airline lounge; not even its own stairs or works with bodies of global importance which purely by accident had been picked
meeting room suites. Theres a certain for example, the World Wide Web up and answered by one of the most
visual vocabulary about these things, and Consortium, headed by Sir Tim Berners- senior gures at work on our civilisations
the Huawei stand didnt give off those Lee, or maybe even the HTML5 standards communications methodology:
macho vibes. task force. Actually, these are highly standards, systems, languages you
In fact, I almost gave up and walked relevant examples, because Dr Wu Chou name it. There was no basic marketing
off. When youre an infrastructure player of Huawei is on both of them. That makes case to be made for that type of person
in this market, youre not given the same four separate jobs that I could count. to hang out at a show such as this, other
opportunities for ashy displays as the We talked for an hour and a quarter than to be there to listen, rather than to
end-user exhibitors no 20ft-tall jet about the likely growth and evolutionary speak. Dr Wu was doing what I had been
engine here; no crimson speedboat (as changes to the IoT marketplace, and doing he was there with the company
IBM did at CeBIT one year). how that feeds back into the bodies name-badge and the low-key stand to
So I was left to observe the little looking at shaping the wider future of the absorb everything going on around him.
displays about Huaweis lightweight OS, internet. Feeding back the concerns of Since returning, Ive discovered that
yet another cold-start recode solution to IoT men used to working with two wires, Huawei was the principal sponsor of the
the woes of doing IoT with software that a thermocouple and some pliers into the event. Thats a measure of commercial
has altogether too much history. Unlike HTML5 language standards document is value, never mind a bit of marketing uplift
the PR pros, I hadnt found a picture of my a feat of such stunning intellectual vertigo here or there.
interviewee either, so I was quietly fuming that I may not quite have followed all As George Clooney said in one of my
when I was nally found. They were very his answers and suggestions for future favourite movies: its like Ivana Trump
sorry, they said, but Dr Wu Chou had been options with perfect clarity. on the subway. While the various early
taking to a visitor to the stand, and the What seemed very clear, though, was product deliveries are being presented as
chap had some quite detailed questions the way that shows such as this link spamming fridges and botnet toasters,
that hed been replying to. together some highly unexpected bits the heavyweight research and systems
We shook hands and sat down, and I of the overall industry concerned with design players are taking a good look at
got my brain calibrated for a conversation large-scale IoT, rather than focusing on what the market is saying both in terms
with a CTO. These are innitely preferable the consumer-orientated public failures of delegates from the industries poised to
to conversations with marketing people that are often mistakenly represented as do great things, and in terms of software
(sorry guys!), because a CTO knows Internet of Things issues. For guys such suppliers looking to nd homes for their
where the pain comes from and which as Dr Wu, there are no serious problems products.
parts of it he can alleviate nally, my with well-designed IoT, even now, because I have a funny feeling this show, which
chance to get into the whole toaster/ standards to address the whole sector are saw 8,000 visitors this year, is likely to get
botnet topic with someone who has a bit in their earliest phases of denition. Want rather bigger, rather quickly in the next
of a stake in that game! to be able to put a relative priority on a lot few years.

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ON SALE NOW
EPILOG
THERES A NEW WILD WEST AND ITS FULL

OF IOT DEVICES THAT COULD JUST STOP
WORKING, SAYS JON HONEYBALL
The ood of Internet of Things increased bandwidth into and out of the gobbling up its venture capital cash pile?
(IoT) devices has made me home, via FTTC connections, this isnt as How do I know it will be around in six
pause and ask a key question: what, big a problem as in the past. months? Anyone want to say Pebble
now, is a product? In the past, it was But since IoT devices become detached at this point? Maybe we need to recast
easy. I had hardware with an operating when we move away from our home the relationship between the vendor,
system, or at least rmware. Then I had networks, theres been an inevitable race cloud provider and customer. Maybe
software. The common connector was to put much, or even all, of the control we need cloud provisioning to be a joint
the platform the apps ran on the OS, infrastructure into a set of cloud services. responsibility between the vendor and
which sat on the hardware. I could buy My app talks to the cloud service, the IoT the customer, so that theres a legal
hardware from one place (Acer, Asus, devices talk to the cloud service (thus relationship between the customer and
Dell, HP), my OS from another (usually avoiding nasty incoming routes rewall the cloud provider. So even if the vendor
Microsoft, but more often now Android issues) and I can connect. This, on paper, disappears, theres a legal expectation of
or iOS), and developers wrote code for is great it works whether Im at home or continuation of service to be delivered by
that platform. sitting in a hotel in some remote corner the cloud provider for the customer.
If the hardware died, or the vendor of the world. All I need do is connect to a Such a change would be hard to put
went out of business, it wasnt a huge big cloud provider and thats likely to work together, and Im sure lawyers would have
disaster. Next time I could choose a well. a eld day. And you might even argue
different vendor, and the connecting that who really cares for a set of security
glue of the OS meant that my apps With a stroke of the webcams that you have at home? At
would continue unhindered. Similarly, worst, you have to buy an entirely new set
if an app vendor disappeared, I could
bankruptcy courts from someone else, in the case of those
switch to another app offering similar pen, my IoT devices fall devices that have only a cloud control
functionality. element and no local network access.
Things are different now. When you silent, even if Im in the But this problem is only going to
buy an IoT-era device, youre normally
buying not only the hardware but an
same house as them grow. We need, and quickly, some sort
of Kitemark equivalent for devices
accompanying app. This, on the surface, There appears to be no downside. or services that require and rely on a
appears little different to the previous Except for one rather large one what cloud service, and a binding promise
model. The crucial change stems from happens if the vendor disappears? With of future delivery of such a service. It
the expectation that I can access the no vendor, theres no money to pay the isnt acceptable for capability to just
hardware, even when Im not on the cloud provider for hosting the cloud disappear and devices become scrap,
same network for example, when service, and so that will disappear too. or for functionality to be reduced or
away from home. With a stroke of the bankruptcy courts impaired in the future because your
This wouldnt matter if the world pen, my IoT devices fall silent, even if Im device has been sidelined or dropped by
had woken up to the capabilities and in the same house as them. its new owners.
usefulness of VPN tunnelling, which Im prepared to accept this risk from Handling this issue, and being seen
would allow me to connect back to big vendors. I think its unlikely that Cisco to do so, will soon separate the serious
my home network as if I was really will disappear, so my entirely cloud- players from the y-by-nights. I suggest
there, and hence connect to the device controlled Cisco Meraki infrastructure is the top tier get their act together as
hardware. Indeed, VPN tunnelling back unlikely to stop working tomorrow. I feel soon as possible, because there is a real
to home makes a great deal of sense the same about my rather nice Philips differentiation value here. Customers
if you take the same view of electronic Hue bulbs. But what about that webcam will only accept getting burnt a couple of
security as physical security. With from the smaller vendor thats rapidly times before they get wise.
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