MaximumPC 2007 07

MaximumPC 2007 07, MaximumPC

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//-->Better Than an iPod?Download music direct fromthe net to the new Sansa!12 Smartphones Reviewed!Don’t get locked into a badcontract—you need our guide!Get DirectX 10 Cheap!The GeForce 8600 GTS bringshigh-end features to a $200 cardTARGET YOURWe use a$30,000THERMAL IMAGERto fix your worstcooling problems!MINIMUM BS • JULY 2007HOTSPOTS!AVOID THE PARENT TRAPMaximum PC vs. theNet Nanny—Can we beather parentalcontrols?Supercool your PC withour lab-tested methods!TheyREALLYwork!HANDS ON WITH PENRYNIntel’s next-genCPU smacksthe puddin’out ofCore 2!thermalimage!ACTUALHOW TOCreate Ultra-Vivid High DynamicRange Photos:THEY LOOK LIKE PAINTINGS!ContentsEd WordEI’m alla-TwitterPlease send feedback andice cream sandwiches towill@maximumpc.com.very once in a while, I see something that iseminently cool that I don’t know exactly how I’duse at first glance. Twitter (www.twitter.com) is justthat sort of application. I liked it immediately, but ittook a little pondering to figure out why it’s awesome.You see, this service gives me a simple way tokeep track of my friends. I subscribe to their lists, andthey subscribe to mine. When I send a text messageto a special number (40404), Twitter automaticallybroadcasts my message to everyone who’ssubscribed to my Twitter feed. That sounds a littlelame and annoying, I know. But let me give you a pairof real-world examples that show why it’s addictive.I’m ready to head out for a night on the town,but none of my pals knows exactly where weshould go. So, we all head to our local wateringholes. It’s dead-quiet in my neighborhood bar,but my pal (we’ll call him Barney) discovers paydirt. Not only is there a great band playing in hisfavorite nighttime establishment, but he’s alsomanaged to score a booth in an impossibly full bar.With one quick text message he lets all of us knowwhere he is and that he can hold down the boothfor only another 15 or 20 minutes before the black-leather-jacket crowd moves in on his patch ofNaugahyde paradise. This is undoubtedly a good,if somewhat frivolous, use of technology.But Twitter’s actually good for a lot more thanthat. Say you’re at a convention in a strange city.You join the Twitter group set up for the conference,and you’re instantly tapped in to a hardcore feedof frequently useful info from the Twitterati. There’sno need to search for a good breakfast joint oran interesting panel—all the other attendees arebroadcasting their discoveries, in real time, usingtheir cell phones. That’s usefulandcool.So, what are you waiting for? Go sign up forTwitter (and get your friends to sign up too—it’sbetter with friends).Got your Twitter account set up? Good! I thinkthere’s a better use for Twitter than telling my palsI’m getting a haircut. I’m going to use Twitter as akind of anywhere worklog, posting my day-to-daywork activities for all to see. I’d like to use Twitter tokeep you guys tuned in to theMaximum PCbeat 24hours a day, seven days a week. If you’re interested,feel free to subscribe to my Twitter feed—it’swww.twitter.com/willsmith/.And, if you think up exciting new ways to useTwitter (or any other nifty web app), let me knowabout them!MAXIMUMPC07/07Features34We give you the 411 onwhat to look for in a smartphoneand review 12 top models.Smartphones28Net Nanny and other apps in order to obtainthe forbidden fruits of the Internet.Parental-ControlSoftwareOur editors battle4918Thermal CoolingWe get an early lookat Intel’s latest CPU and findout what else the chipmakerhas in store for power users.PenrynIt’s getting hot in here! We show you how to coolyour rig’s hot spots with pinpoint accuracy.JULY 2007MAXIMUMPC05MPCPPCMAXIMUMPCEDITORIALEDITOR IN CHIEFWill SmithMANAGING EDITORTom EdwardsEXECUTIVE EDITORMichael BrownSENIOR EDITORGordon Mah UngSENIOR EDITORKatherine StevensonASSOCIATE EDITORDavid MurphyCONTRIBUTING WRITERSNorman Chan, Kris Fong,Tom Halfhill, Steve Klett, Tom McDonald, Zack SternEDITOR EMERITUSAndrew SanchezARTART DIRECTORNatalie JedayASSOCIATE ART DIRECTORBoni UzilevskyPHOTO EDITORMark MadeoASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHERSamantha BergBUSINESSGROUP PUBLISHERStacey Levy650-238-2319, slevy@futureus.comWESTERN AD DIRECTORDave Lynn949-360-4443, dlynn@futureus.comWESTERN AD MANAGERDerek Johnson650-238-2327, djohnson@futureus.comEASTERN AD MANAGERLarry Presser646-723-5459, lpresser@futureus.comEASTERN AD MANAGER GAMESKristin Kelleher646-723-5491, kkelleher@futureus.comADVERTISING COORDINATORJose Urrutia650-238-2498, jurrutia@futureus.comSENIOR MARKETING MANAGERAlison McCreeryMARKETING COORDINATORMichael BasilioPRODUCTIONPRODUCTION DIRECTORRichie LesovoyPRODUCTION COORDINATORDan MalloryCIRCULATIONCIRCULATION DIRECTORPeter KellyNEWSSTAND MANAGERElliott KigerNEWSSTAND COORDINATORAlex GuzmanINTERNET SUBSCRIPTION MARKETING MANAGERBetsy WongPRINT ORDER COORDINATORMila VillaflorContentsDepartmentsQuick StartAMD gives up onR&DThe full story on Vista audio .....62high-end parts, hopes to competein the midrange....................................08In the LabIs Ageia’s PhysXHead2HeadCPU vs. GPU—theWatchDogMaximum PC takestechnology ready for prime time? ........64battle for upgrade supremacy! ............14In/OutYou write, we respond.........102Rig of the MonthJoe and JesseNuzzo’s Vader ITX ..............................104a bite out of bad gear ..........................16How ToCreate HDR images ...........56Ask the DoctorDiagnosingand curing your PC problems .............6076ReviewsGaming rigDigital StormTwister Ultra 4 ...........................................66SpeakersM-Audio StudiophileFUTURE US, INC4000 Shoreline Court, Suite 400, South San Francisco, CA 94080www.futureus-inc.comPRESIDENTJonathan Simpson-BintVICE PRESIDENT/COOTom ValentinoCFOJohn SuttonGENERAL COUNSELCharles SchugPUBLISHING DIRECTOR/GAMESSimon WhitcombePUBLISHING DIRECTOR/BUSINESS DEVELOPMENTDave BarrowEDITORIAL DIRECTOR/TECHNOLOGYJon PhillipsEDITORIAL DIRECTOR/MUSICBrad TolinskiDIRECTOR OF CENTRAL SERVICESNancy DurlesterPRODUCTION DIRECTORRichie LesovoyFuture US, Inc. is part of Future plc.Future produces carefully tar-geted special-interest magazines,websites and events for peoplewho share a passion. We aim tosatisfy that passion by creating titlesoffering value for money, reliableinformation, smart buying adviceand which are a pleasure to read orvisit. Today we publish more than150 magazines, 65 websites and agrowing number of events in the US,UK, France and Italy. Over 100 inter-national editions of our magazines are also published in 30 othercountries across the world.Future plc is a public company quoted on the London Stock Exchange(symbol: FUTR).FUTURE plc30 Monmouth St., Bath, Avon, BA1 2BW, Englandwww.futureplc.comTel +44 1225 442244NON-EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN:Roger ParryCHIEF EXECUTIVE:Stevie SpringGROUP FINANCE DIRECTOR:John BowmanTel +44 1225 442244www.futureplc.comREPRINTS:For reprints, contact Ryan Derfler, Reprint OperationsSpecialist, 717.399.1900 ext. 167or email: futurenetworkusa@reprintbuyer.comSUBSCRIPTION QUERIES:Please email customerservice@maximumpc.com or call customer service toll-free at 800.274.3421Maximum PC ISSN: 1522-4279AV 40 Speaker System .........................68iPod integration kitDiceMotherboardsAbit IN9Electronics iPod Integration Kit .............6832X-MAX; MSI P6N SLI Platinum............7066Speaker dockJabra S5010EarphonesRazer ProTone80Speaker Dock ..........................................80m100 Earphones ..................................80Blu-ray drivesLite-On BDTriple Writer LH-2B1S; LaCied2 Blu-ray Drive ................................72Flash memory keyCorsairSupplementary monitorGaming headsetsTheBoom16GB Flash Voyager ...............................74Thermaltake 7-Inch Touch Screen LCDMonitor .....................................................74Quiet; Tritton Audio Xtreme 360;Genius HS-04U........................................82ProjectorToshiba TDP-FF1 AUProjection screenEpsonVideo editingCyberLinkVideo Projector .........................................84Accolade Duet Projection Screen .........84PowerDirector 6 .......................................86VideocardBFG 8600 GTS OC ........76Terabyte hard driveHitachiMedia playersSanDiskDeskstar 7K1000 ....................................76Sansa Connect 4GB; Cowon D2 ...........78Music softwareFinale 2007;Ableton Live 6.......................................88GamingOblivion: Shivering Isles.................90Infernal................................................90JULY 2007MAXIMUMPC07quickstartTHE BEGINNING OF THE MAGAZINE, WHERE ARTICLES ARE SMALLSurrenders!Can AMD win the GPUwar by ceding the battlefor best high-endvideocard to Nvidia?AMDAMD has decided it will compete withNvidia in the first-generation DirectX 10GPU market only at the mainstream level:Depending on how you look at it, and whomyou ask, it’s either a brilliant strategy or anadmission of utter failure.The top videocard AMD will bring tomarket this quarter is the ATI Radeon HD2900 XT, a $400 card that will be positionedagainst Nvidia’s similarly priced GeForce8800 GTS. ATI will not only leave the highend of the market to Nvidia’s GeForce 8800GTX but also have no answer for Nvidia’seven faster 8800 Ultra.Optimists will say that $400 is the maxthat most people will spend for a videocardanyway, so AMD is smart for pursuing thatThe best videocard AMD will offer this season is designed to compete only withNvidia’s midrange part, the GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB.AMD ATI RADEON HD 200 SERIESATI RADEONHD 2400PRICE RANGEPROCESSTECHNOLOGYSTREAMPROCESSINGUNITSCORE CLOCKSPEED *MEMORY *Sub $10065nm40sweet spot. Pessimists will declare that AMDis admitting defeat—that its engineers justcan’t compete with Nvidia at the high end.The truth lies somewhere in between.There’s no question Nvidia now rulesthe roost when judged solely on videogameframe rates, but AMD’s entire line of newGPUs offers several compelling features thatNvidia’s midrange—and even its best—can-not match. First and foremost: support forHDCP on dual-link DVI in order to supportthe native resolution of 30-inch displays.ATI’s new cards should also offloadmore HD video-decoding work from theATI RADEONHD 2600$100 to $20065nm128ATI RADEONHD 2900$40080nm320525 to 700MHz128MB DDR2256MB DDR2256MB GDDR3400 to 800MHz64-bit600 to 800MHz256MB GDDR2256MB GDDR3256MB GDDR4400MHz to 1.1GHz128-bit740MHz512MB GDDR3MEMORY CLOCKSPEED *RING BUSMEMORYINTERFACEOUTPUTS* Varies according to SKU825MHz512-bitSVGA, DVI, VODual DVI, VODual DVI, VIVOCPU than Nvidia’s best because Nvidia’ssecond-generation PureVideo HD engineis available only on its otherwise lower-endGeForce 8500- and 8600-series parts.AMD’s best part will have a full 512-bit ring-bus memory interface to 512MBof GDDR3 memory. Compare this to theGeForce 8800 GTS, which has just a 320-bit interface to either 320MB or 640MB ofGDDR3, and the GeForce 8800 GTX and8800 Ultra, which have 384-bit interfacesto 768MB of memory. AMD is betting thatdevelopers will target a maximum memoryfootprint of 512MB, and it claims the reasonNvidia uses larger frame buffers on its cardsis merely to compensate for the relativelyodd sizes of its memory buses: In order toachieve the desired memory bandwidth,AMD says, Nvidia has to put more memoryon the card.AMD will clock the 2900 XT’s core at740MHz and its memory at 825MHz, butthe company says it will encourage third-party vendors and end users to overclockboth components. AMD will also bundlea coupon with the high-end SKU for freecopies of Half-Life 2: Episode 2, TeamFortress 2, and Portal. AMD is launching acomplete line of other desktop and mobileparts almost simultaneously, with desktopproducts covering price ranges from wellbelow $100 to $400 for its best part. Checkout the table for the specs on the desktopproducts and see MaximumPC.com forbenchmark numbers.08MAXIMUMPCJULY 2007FAST FORWARDVelocity Micro BuysOverdrive PCWhy shouldn’t a modest-size company benefitfrom a boutique shop, just like the big boys?Up, Up, andOnlineTOMHALFHILLIn a move that echoes Dell’s acquisition of Alienwareand HP’s purchase of Voodoo, semi-boutique PCmaker Velocity Micro is looking to up its street cred bybuying Overdrive PC.Velocity Micro has always catered to the top end ofthe mainstream market, but its acquisition of boutiqueseller Overdrive should give both brands a better shotat high-end enthusiasts. Overdrive PC will continue tofunction as a separate unit, but its staff will relocate toVelocity Micro’s headquarters.Overdrive PC is less well known than ultra-high-end vendors Falcon Northwest and Voodoo, but itsreputation has beenskyrocketing.VelocityMicro no doubt hopes tocapitalize on Overdrive’s“Hyperclocking” tech-nology, a method forproducing fast yet reli-able overclocked PCs.While it might seemto be a growing trend,there are few boutiquesout there left to be pur-chased—we just wonderwho’s next.Overdrive’s Core2.GX2 won our $2,500 gamingrig roundup in December 2006.“If you can’t beat ’em, join’em” is the resounding mes-sage coming from the TVnetworks these days as theyshift their online efforts fromtheir own websites to portalsthat have more resonancewith webizens. In the case ofthe NBC/News Corp. ventureannounced in April, thatmeans featuring broadcastcontent on MSN, Yahoo,MySpace, and other sites.For CBS, which justrecently announced itsown web strategy, it meanspartnering with forward-looking upstarts such asJoost, Sling, and Brightcoveand emphasizing interac-tivity. The P2P Internet TVsite Joost (still in beta),for instance, incorporatessearch, chat, and IM featuresinto its video player; Sling’sClip + Sling site (also inbeta) works with a Slingboxstreaming device to allowyou to record and sharecontent with others, andBrightcove lets users editand comment on video clips.Being SmartaboutVistaHLet Your Web Browser Do the WalkingOpera 9.2’s Speed Dial feature offers users a novel way to access their favorite sitesow can you turn a big, fast computer into asmall, slow computer? Upgrade Windows!Unfortunately, there’s always a dark side toupgrading. Code bloat in each new version ofWindows erodes our precious RAM and hard-disk space. I still have my Windows 1.0 installdisks: two 5.25-inch floppies. Each disk holds360KB, so the whole installer is less than onemegabyte. Nowadays, one megabyte isn’tenough for the splash screen.But never mind that I’m a pack rat. Mypoint is to assure you that it’s OK not toupgrade to Windows Vista—not immediately,at least. Although long-term resistance toVista is futile, there are good reasons to wait awhile. Your status as a power user need not bethreatened. Real power users aren’t recklesslemmings. Only insecure users succumb topeer pressure and marketing hype by roboti-cally upgrading their systems with the latestof everything. Real power users know whento upgrade.Corporations know, too. They usually waitat least a year after a new version of Windowsis released before updating, by which timeMicrosoft has released Service Hack 1. That’sthe collection of patches that fixes the worstbugs, security holes, and shortcomings. Plus,delaying adoption gives the IT folks enoughtime to test the new OS with all their apps andupgrade the creakiest PCs in the company.My day job is at a 38,000-employee inter-national corporation that only last year beganbroadly upgrading from Windows 2000 toWindows XP. No joke. When I sent my company-loaner laptop to the IT department for repair,it came back with XP Pro—but still with only128MB of RAM. Now it takes 10 minutes toboot, and it runs like a drunken slug.Maybe you crave Vista for its allegedlytighter security, airhead user interface, orDirectSeX-10 graphics. Whatever. That’s finefor your primary power machine. But mostpeople these days have one or more oldermachines, too. Maybe your previous PC is nowa media server, backup system, or hand-me-down to someone. You have my permission tokeep running XP, Windows 2000, or even (inextreme cases) Windows 98. I promise thatMaximum PCwon’t cancel your subscription.Tom Halfhill was formerly a senior editor for Byte magazineand is now an analyst for Microprocessor Report.In the latest version of Opera’s free browser, a new tab launches athumbnail grid of nine websites that you’ve either chosen from yourexisting favorites or entered manually.JULY 2007MAXIMUMPC09 [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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