Atomic goes inside Microsoft’s new wonder-console. Tech-maestro James Wang examines the machine’s innards, as only he can, while the rest of the boys tear up the games with a full report. Essential reading, even for die-hard PC gamers.
Also: Big Power Supplies. SLI needs grunt and quality power, we look at the best 500w and higher PSUs for your monster gaming rig.
PLUS: The Oil PC tutorial. Master modder Ron Prouse goes completely overboard this time, creating a PC completely submerged in mineral oil. And here’s the fun part – you can build one at home for yourself!
Cover story: Embrace 64-bit now!
Want the ultimate in computing performance? Need more grunt than a field full of army recruits? Then 64-bit is the only way to go.
More memory, more speed, more computational prowess -- there's no situation where 64-bit doesn't trump the totally unworthy 32-bit. Only the most powerful and sexiest PCs (and PC owners) possess 64-bit.
Best thing is -- you can get it right now. And we show you how.
Cover story: Upgrade your PC
Can't play games at a billion frames a second? Excel taking to long to load? Your porn collection burning pins out on your video card? Well, it's time to upgrade.
This month, we take a look at the hottest, most powerful gear available, and tell you where to spend your bucks. Video cards, CPUs, memory -- whatever -- we have the advice you need to build yourself the best dang PC you can.
COVER STORY -- Your Next PCUpgrades are a certainty, but where are they heading in the near future? Get comfy as we reveal the tantalising changes your machine will undergo over the coming years. We cover a bunch of technologies including virtual displays, retinal scanners, advanced graphics processors, VoIP and more!HIGHLIGHTS* Get Linux and Windows running on the same machine real easy.* The beautiful Battlefield 2 uncovered for all the world to see.* We bench the hell out of Intel's gigahertz behemoth -- the Pentium 4 EE 3.73GHz.* Gran Turimso 4 reviewed. Find out why it's still the best console racing sim ever.
PLUSRobot vacuum cleaners you can buy right now; physics processors; Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory; big bad hard drives; the Lara Croft and Mario box office fight; Kevin Mitnick and loads more.
Atomic 52 is onsale nowCOVER STORY -- Your Next PCUpgrades are a certainty, but where are they heading in the near future? Get comfy as we reveal the tantalising changes your machine will undergo over the coming years. We cover a bunch of technologies including virtual displays, retinal scanners, advanced graphics processors, VoIP and more!HIGHLIGHTS* Get Linux and Windows running on the same machine real easy.* The beautiful Battlefield 2 uncovered for all the world to see.* We bench the hell out of Intel's gigahertz behemoth -- the Pentium 4 EE 3.73GHz.* Gran Turimso 4 reviewed. Find out why it's still the best console racing sim ever.
COVER STORY -- Tough PCsComputers, by their nature, are delicate things. To work correctly and efficiently, the environment they reside in must meet specific standards. On the battlefield, the freezing wastes of the Arctic or the deepest parts of space. And that is why there's a special breed of PC. The tough PC. This month, we have a in-depth look at these modern marvels of engineering, custom-made and ruggedised to handle the hardest, hottest, most dangerous environments known to man, and to come out of it all on top -- and still able to play Quake. HIGHLIGHTS· Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion gets the Engine Room treatment.
PLUSAlienware's Area-51m beastly laptop, Creative's Zen Micro and the Dell Axim x50v reviewed; power you PC with the Windows command prompt; the final part to our silent PC project; everything you could possibly want to know about Sony's Cell processor and more!
Issue: 133 | February, 2012