MaximumPC 2005 01

MaximumPC 2005 01, MaximumPC

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//-->INTEL’S NEW 3.8GHz PENTIUM 4JHow fast is it?Find out on page 74!POWER SUPPLY SHOWDOWNOur Lab tortures 7 new PSUsTHE BREAKTHROUGHAmazing new technologieswill reinvent your PCShockingCPU upgrades!Outrageousdisplays!Unbelievablestorage wonders!And more in ourmassive preview!PC TECH 2005ALSO INSIDE!36 LAB TESTS:•Speakers•Case enclosures•Backup drives•MP3 playersAND MORE!HALF-LIFE2EXCLUSIVE!Another typicalreview?NEVER!We have insidersecrets, 3D tricks,& performance tips!MINIMUM BS•JANUARY 2005ReleaseNoteshis month, we take a long, hard look at 19 newPC technologies that promise to evolve yourPC’s performance and functionality to new lev-els. It’s the perfect story for the onset of 2005. Flushwith loot from the holidays, we can all hunker downand begin the entertaining process of mapping outthe year’s upgrades.I often get so caught up in thinking about upgrad-ing my rigs for performance during this pre-spring flingthat I overlook more basic, non-performance-relatedPC tasks. No more! I herebycommit to the following PCTHE EIC’S PICKSprojects in 2005.TECHNOLOGY PREVIEW:Get my digital audioWe had a blast putting thistogether:2005 is the year Icover story together, andthe result is a great openerrip, archive, and organize myfollowed by a deep, insight-entire music library. I’m goingful look at the next 12months.Page 30.to start by organizing all thesongs in my existing digitalHALF-LIFE 2:I’m particu-library; I’ll get the song/art-larly proud of this featurestory. We go past the obvi-ist/album names right, thenous here to break down theI’ll make sure it’s properlymost sophisticated gamedesign ever.Page 44.organized. Then I’m going torip every CD I have to FLAC,POWER SUPPLYor maybe Apple’s proprietarySHOWDOWN:I love theopening art in this story.lossless format. This willMajestic!Page 52.ensure archival-quality sound,in case I lose or scratch a CD.Then I’m going to convert these files into a smaller,more portable digital format like 192Kbps MP3s. Theresult will be a song collection that’s easy to sort, easyto move onto my portable music player, and easy tostream throughout my house.Build the ultimate media server:I want totake one of my old systems and turn it into a high-capacity server exclusively dedicated to storing allmy music and photographs. On top of this, I want toget some PVR action going. I’m envisioning four tofive TV tuners, with an equal number of cable boxes.Using an off-the-shelf copy of WinXP Media CenterEdition 2005 orBeyondTV,or maybeSageTV,I’ll beable to record anything and everything and stream itthroughout my house.Wire my house:The more I’ve worked withstreaming media, the more I want to run GigabitEthernet to key areas of my house. Don’t get mewrong—I’ll still use Wi-Fi for my notebook and moresimple tasks. But there’s no way I’ll be able to streamhiccup-free video from my media server to other roomsin my house without wires. It shouldn’t be too difficulta task. And once it’s done, it will be easy to upgrade inthe future.Computerize my kitchen:It’s time to build—or buy—a kitchen PC. I’m thinking something simplemounted near the stove and prep area, with a smallscreen (and a protective coating), and possibly a touch-screen display. Hmmm...maybe I’ll convert a tablet PC?ContentsA celebrity-endorsedmobo. p.15Which PDAbelongs in yourpocket? p.2201.05TNew Year,NewProjectsREGULARS8In/OutYou write, we respondPC previews, news, and factoidsThis month: PDAs14Quick Start422Head2Head226WatchDogMaximum PCtakes a bite out of bad gearSymptom, diagnosis, cureThis month: Make a BartPE recovery discA behind-the-scenes look at product testing68Ask the Doctor71How To...74In the LabREVIEWS120Rig of the MonthIt’s amazing what a person can do with a PC!76Desktop PC:Alienware Area-51 ALX SLI78Notebook PC:Voodoo Envy m:79080Wi-Fi access points:Buffalo Technology WHR3-G54;Parker Vision WR1500; Belkin Wireless Pre-N82PC cases:Silverstone LC10 HTPC; Kingwin Mutant X84Card scanner:Corex CardScan Executive842.1 speakers:Logitech Z-230086External hard drive:Buffalo DriveStation 160GB86Small formfactor PC:AOpen XC Cube EX6588MP3 players:MSI Mega 516 256MB; Creative MuVo Slim256MB; GoVideo Rave-MP AMP12890Mini hard drive:Seagate 5GB Pocket Drive90Disc printer:Signature Z1 CD/DVD Printer92USB keys:M-Systems Smart DiskOnKey; VerbatimStore ‘n’ Go; Memorex TravelDrive94Laptop bags:Axio Fuse Hardpack; Ogio BossGAMES95Madden 200595RollerCoasterTycoon 396Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault97Pacific Fighters97Full Spectrum WarriorJANUARY 2005MAXIMUMPC5MAXIMUMPCEDITORIALEDITOR IN CHIEFGeorge JonesMANAGING EDITORKatherine StevensonSENIOR EDITORGordon Mah UngTECHNICAL EDITORWill SmithFEATURES EDITORLogan DeckerASSOCIATE EDITORJosh NoremARTART DIRECTORNatalie JedayASSOCIATE ART DIRECTORBoni UzilevskyCONTRIBUTING DESIGNERCasey MalloughPHOTO EDITORMark MadeoASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHERSamantha BergCOVER ARTOliver WolfsonBUSINESSPUBLISHERChris Coelho415-656-8770, ccoelho@futurenetworkusa.comEASTERN AD DIRECTORBernard Lanigan646-723-5405, blanigan@futurenetworkusa.comWESTERN AD DIRECTORDave Lynn949-360-4443, dlynn@futurenetworkusa.comWESTERN AD MANAGERStacey Levy925-964-1205, slevy@futurenetworkusa.comEASTERN AD MANAGERAnthony Danzi646-723-5453, adanzi@futurenetworkusa.comNATIONAL ACCT MANAGERNate Hunt415-656-8536, nhunt@futurenetworkusa.comADVERTISING COORDINATORJose Urrutia415-656-8313, jurrutia@futurenetworkusa.comMARKETING MANAGERKathleen Reilly415-656-8367, kreilly@futurenetworkusa.comPRODUCTIONPRODUCTION DIRECTORRichard LesovoyPRODUCTION COORDINATORDan MalloryCIRCULATIONCIRCULATION DIRECTORTina K. RogersNEWSSTAND DIRECTORBill SheweyFULFILLMENT MANAGERAngela MartinezDIRECT MARKETING SPECIALIST/Janet AmistosoASSISTANT BILLINGRENEWAL SPECIALISTSiara NazirContentsJANUARYFEATURES30Tech PreviewDual-core CPUs. Inexpensive, blazing-fast broadband. High-definitionvideo on ultralight displays. Get theinside scoop on the biggesttechnologies of 2005!44FUTURE NETWORK USA150 North Hill Drive, Suite40, Brisbane, CA 94005www.futurenetworkusa.comHalf-Life 2Find out how it plays, how the Sourceengine works, and why it’s the greatestPC game ever made.PRESIDENTJonathan Simpson-BintVICE PRESIDENT/CFOTom ValentinoVICE PRESIDENT/CIRCULATIONHolly KlingelGENERAL COUNSELCharles SchugPUBLISHING DIRECTOR/GAMESSimon WhitcombePUBLISHING DIRECTOR/Chris CoelhoTECHNOLOGYPUBLISHING DIRECTOR/MUSICSteve AaronPUBLISHING DIRECTOR/Dave BarrowBUSINESS DEVELOPMENTEDITORIAL DIRECTOR/TECHNOLOGYJon PhillipsEDITORIAL DIRECTOR/MUSICBrad TolinskiDIRECTOR OF CENTRAL SERVICESNancy DurlesterPRODUCTION DIRECTORRichie LesovoyFuture Network USA is part of The Future Network PLCThe Future Network produces carefully targetedspecial-interest magazines for people who share apassion. We aim to satisfy that passion by creatingtitles offering value for money, reliable informationand smart buying advice and which are a pleasure toread. Today we publish more than 100 magazines inthe US, UK, France, and Italy. Over 100 internationaleditions of our magazines are also published in 31other countries across the world.The Future Network plc is a public company quotedon the London Stock Exchange (symbol: FNET).THE FUTURE NETWORK PLC30 Monmouth St., Bath, Avon, BA1 2BW, Englandwww.thefuturenetwork.plc.ukTel +44 1225 442244CHIEF EXECUTIVE:Greg InghamGROUP FINANCE DIRECTOR:John BowmanREPRINTS:For reprints, contact Ryan Derfler,Reprint Operations Specialist, 717.399.1900 ext.167 or email: futurenetworkusa@reprintbuyer.comHow to contact us:All subscription Inquiries 800.274.3421or maxcustserv@cdsfulfillment.com52Power SuppliesWe push seven PSUsto the limit and tellyou which ones cantake the heat.61RetrospectiveFromboottoMaximum PC,wehighlight 100 issues of PC plenitude.JANUARY 2005MAXIMUMPC7In/OutYES, WE’RE SUREIn your December 2004 issue youhave a review of a Pioneer DVR-A08 double-layer dual-format DVDburner. Are you sure you aren’treviewing the DVR-A09? I thoughtthe A08 came out in July or August.As for the 7 verdict—since when isthe overall score of a drive broughtdown by the lackluster software inthe box? I seem to recall previousoptical drive reviews where thescore was a 9 or 9/Kick Ass withthe reviewer saying the includedsoftware brought down the scorefrom a 9/Kick Ass or 10/Kick Ass.But a 2-3 point drop because ofthe bad software? What were youreviewing: the drive or the software?You write,we respondSLI = FOUR DISPLAYS?I just finished reading the December2004 “Gear of the Year,” specificallythe write-up about nVidia’s GeForce6800 Ultras on the PCI Express buswith SLI. I’m planning to build anew machine for digital editingwithin the next few months, andmy question is this: If I purchasethis dual-card setup with eachcard having two DVI connections,will I be able to run three or fourmonitors, with each monitorhaving a different program open onits screen? I would like to be ableto runPremiere Proon one screen,After Effectson another screen, andthe final rendering of the movie/documentary on the two otherscreens.MEDIA CENTER ADDENDUMI just finished reading your article on Media Center PCs in theDecember 2004 issue and want to comment on two issues.One issue your article didn’t address is how the Tivoand Media Center PCs interface with a cable or satellitebox. My cable company won’t give me a cable box withan activated serial port so I have to use the included IRemitters. I’ve never had my Tivo crash, but I do missrecordings or have the wrong show recorded because mycable box didn’t receive the channel change commandcorrectly. I probably have one missed/wrong recording outof every 30. That’s a big factor for the reliability of Tivo,even if it’s the cable box’s fault.Also, Tivo no longer charges extra to network two Tivosor to access music and photos from your PC. You would ofcourse have to buy anotherTivo, pay another monthlyfee (at a reduced rate of$6.95), and buy a USB-to-Ethernet or USB-to-Wi-Fiadapter.—WILLBIG MEANIE LOGAN DECKERRESPONDS: We did indeed review theDVR-A08 last month. There is no DVR-A09 from Pioneer yet, and hopefullyPioneer will allow time for mediamanufacturing to ramp up before itbegins marketing a new drive.The harsh verdict—and it washarsh, given the top speed of thedrive—emerged from a number ofissues covered in the review. First ofall, the hype factor is out of control.The packaging boasts 4x DVD-R DLburn speeds, but we still can’t findthe media on store shelves. What’sthe point? If you purchase this drivebecause your set-top DVD playerprefers DVD-R discs and you needmore capacity than single-layer discsprovide, you’re gambling on the hopesthat media will be attainable at somenebulous point in the future after youpurchase the drive. That’s silly.Although our reviews are gener-ally focused on hardware, Pioneer’ssoftware blunder deserved particularemphasis. We mentioned that softwareerrors ruined two double-layer discs;that’s a $30 loss—almost 20 percent ofthe cost of the drive itself! Think of itthis way: Automobile reviewers don’tmake a fuss about the airbags—unlessthey don’t work.It’s a good drive, and tremendouslyfast, but in order to get a superior ver-dict and a Kick Ass award, manufactur-ers need to deliver onalltheir promises.—ALAN SHIFLETTETECHNICAL EDITOR WILL SMITHRESPONDS: You can definitely con-nect four monitors to a dual-card SLIrig, but if you aren’t going to use thesystem for gaming, we strongly rec-ommend you use the cheaper (around$250) GeForce 6600 PCI Express cardsinstead of the $500 6800 Ultra boards.—TRAVIS BLANTONEDITOR-IN-CHIEF GEORGE JONES RESPONDS: Good point, Travis.Also known as an IR blaster, the device you mention connects toyour USB port and has a wire lead you attach to an IR emitter thatyou literally stick onto the IR receiver on your cable or satellite box.Obviously, this technology is much less reliable than a direct serialconnection. If set to transmit IR signals too rapidly, the IR emis-sion can fail, resulting in faulty automated channel-changing andmissed recordings. In our experience—with both Tivo and MediaCenters—you can achieve 100 percent accuracy by slowing downthe speed of the IR transmission. Simply go into the Media Centeror Tivo setup for the cable/satellite box connection, and reduce the“Speed” setting to slow.SATA CONTROLLERS?Which SATA controller do yourecommend? Are some better thanothers?—PHIL KRITZMANASSOCIATE EDITOR JOSH NOREMRESPONDS: The reason we haven’treviewed any of these cards is twofold.First, there are primarily just two com-panies making cards: Silicon Image andPromise. Both make great SATA control-ler cards that we highly recommend.Second, in our experience, theperformance difference between thesecards is practically nil because today’sfastest hard drives are still incapableof saturating an older ATA 66 control-ler, much less a SATA 150 controller(Western Digital’s Raptor is a differentstory, of course). Even though the inter-face has changed and the bandwidthfor the channel has opened up a bitfrom ATA 133 to SATA 150, actual driveperformance has changed very littlebecause hard drives themselves havereceived only modest speed bumpsover the past few years.All the performance gainswe’ve seen in the latest drives arethe result of internal improvementssuch as larger buffers, faster spin-dle speeds, and higher areal densi-ties. The move to SATA makes driveinstallation easier, but by itself, theinterface doesn’t provide any speedimprovements over parallel ATA.VIVA LA REVOLUCION!?In the December 2004 issue’sgame review ofCall Of Duty:United Offensive,I noticed thepositive heading in the verdictbox was “Communists” andthe negative was “Fascists.”I understand the choicefor negative just fine, butthe positive had me a bitflummoxed. Considering thatthe death toll of innocenthuman beings resulting fromthe reign of Stalin alonesignificantly outpaces the fetidgoose-stepper we all love to hateby about 30 million (this isn’tcounting Pol Pot and Mao), Ifind the analogy disturbing, to08MAXIMUMPCJANUARY 2005In/OutCOMINGIN THEsay the least. I think someone attheMaximum PCoffice has beentaking their Rage Against TheMachine CDs a bit too seriously.DOWN, FANBOY, DOWN!After I got my December magazine andstarted reading “The Great Geek GiftGuide,” I was pumped when I saw thereplica light sabers! I quickly rushed tothe web site listed (www.sharperimage.com),and after all my searching, I wasnever able to locate the product. HasSharper Image decided to not carry thisreplica? Or is it just slow on posting thenew addition to the web site?NEXT MONTHHAVE-YOUR-PET-SPAYED-OR-NEUTERED—JEFF CAROEDITOR IN CHIEF GEORGE JONESRESPONDS: Thanks for siccingHomeland Security on us, Jeff. Notthat we’re defending communism,but many scholars would argue that“communism,” as practiced by dicta-tors like Stalin and Mao Tse Tung, isn’tauthentic because it was artificiallyinduced, whereas Marx argued thatcommunism would be a natural evolu-tion. Regardless, the editor responsi-ble for this plus/minus fiasco has beenreassigned to our sister magazine,Maximum PC: Siberia.—ANTONIO ARAIZAPADEWAN BURNER LOGAN DECKER RESPONDS: After the issue wentto press, The Sharper Image dumped the awesome Force FX LightSaber from its catalog, no doubt replacing it with some cordless nose-hair trimming, ionic air purifying, MP3 playing gizmo. The good newsis that you can still buy the Force FX in Vader red, Skywalker blue, andMace Windu mauve (aka purple) for $120 atwww.masterreplicas.com.While you’re there, don’t forget to check out the dainty Princess LeiaBlaster, the stylishly retro Tricorder from the originalStar Trek,and theshockingly suggestive model of the Hybrid Chestburster fromAliensvs. Predator.FEBRUARY ISSUE OFMAXIMUMPCTHE PERFECT OSFOR THE PERFECT PCYou drew up the blue-prints. You boughtthe best components.You painstakingly puteach piece together.But that’s only half thejob. Next month, we’llexplain the dos anddon’ts of perpetuallymaintaining your PCin perfect workingcondition!DOOM 3 IS A TURD...Doom 3is a turd. That’s right. Isaid it. Everybody thinks it, butnobody wants to say it. It’s asthough we are all thinking aboutit in the back of our minds, butnobody wants to be the first tosay it out loud.I am still trying to figureout why it takes an uber-PC toplay a game that’s mostly setin the dark. I’m no PC graphicswiz. Could you explain howrendering black in 1600x1200at 4x AA is such a huge resourcehog?—RAY DZEKTECHNICAL EDITOR WILL SMITHRESPONDS: Regardless of how youfeel aboutDoom 3,which receivedan 8 verdict in our October 2004issue, the engine remains the mostadvanced real-time graphical ren-derer we’ve ever seen.The best and worst thing aboutDoom 3is its fully dynamic lightingmodel. Virtually every other gamewe’ve ever played—includingHalf-Life 2andFar Cry—usesahybrid lighting model, where thevast majority of lights are staticand pre-computed by the developerwhen the map is created. In con-trast,Doom 3performs all lightingcalculations in real time as you playthe game. To put this in perspective,the static lights inHalf-Life 2weremade using a bunch of computersworking together, and it still took 20to 30 minutes to calculate the light-ing for each level!The problem is that when multipledynamic lights interact with eachother, the horsepower required todraw them increases exponentially.Today’s computers just don’t havethe juice to draw more than a coupleof dynamic lights at the same time.This is why many of the rooms in thegame have only one or two lights inthem. TheDoom 3engine is a perfectexample of why software companiesusually ride behind the hardwarecurve instead of ahead of it....AND SO IS HALF-LIFE 2?Am I the only one in the worldwho thinksHalf-Life 2isn’tinfallible? I’m running it on myDell 8600 Inspiron. Now, granted,that system is underpowered forrunning that level of game, butshould it really take me morethan two and a half hours toinstall? Another thing is the copy-protection. I don’t have a problemwith having to create an accountwith Steam online, but with mycrappy dial-up connection, it’s ahassle to play the game.TAKE THE LINUXPLUNGEOpen source meetsreality TV when TechEditor Will Smith dumpsWindows and adoptsLinux for six months.TECHNICAL EDITOR WILL SMITHRESPONDS: In addition to the onlinemode, Steam has an offline mode forthe Internet impaired. After you logonto Steam the first time, if you tellit to save your password, you shouldbe able to playHalf-Life 2in offlinemode whenever you want. There arefull details atwww.steampowered.com.As for your slow unlock, we’dguess that the problem is yourcomputer’s slow CPU, not your slowdial-up connection. TheHalf-Life 2files are encrypted using a techniquethat takes a ton of CPU power todecrypt, and that takes a while on aslow machine.We’re not going to deduct pointsfromHalf-Life 2’smore-than-perfectscore because of flaws with theonline distribution for two reasons.One, there are always problems andhassles with new technologies likethis. Two, we rate games, not pub-lishing methods. Once the kinks areworked out, we think systems likeSteam, which allow online distribu-tion and fight piracy will do nothingbut help gaming on the PC platform.■THE 2005 SOFTYAWARDSCUT,COPY,PASTEWe goofed twice in our GreatGeek Gift Guide (December 2004).On page 46, the photographs forthe Garmin Etrex GPS device andCasio’s EXZ55 digicam were inad-vertently juxtaposed. And on page49, the web address we listed forthe iPod car connector is incorrect.The correct URL iswww.densio-nusa.com. We blame Pickles the Elfand his “magical” 9.4% Elf Brew.Maximum PC tips itstinfoil hat to the finest,the fastest, and the mostinnovative apps.—LUKE MOERERLETTERS POLICY:MAXIMUM PCinvitesyour thoughts and comments. Send them toinput@maximumpc.com.Please include your fullname, town, and telephone number, and limit yourletter to 300 words. Letters may be edited for spaceand clarity. Due to the vast amount ofe-mail we receive, we cannot personally respond to each letter.10MAXIMUMPCJANUARY 2005 [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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