PC Advisor – May 2016

GET FREE SOFTWARE IN OUR EXPERT ADVICE ONLINE DOWNLOADS ZONE YOU CAN TRUST

Surface Book Why Microsoft’s laptop is the ultimate PC

+ 8 BEST POWER LAPTOPS OF 2016 How to build a PC in 45 minutes

14 tiny PCs that fit in your palm

Just follow our step-by-step guide PLUS:

This Bluetooth tracker will find your lost keys

ISSUE 250 MAY 2016

Specialists in business-class Internet connectivity, SIP and Voice over IP Peregrine Falcon [Falco Peregrinus] The Peregrine Falcon can dive at speeds of up to 242 miles per hour

Our FibreStream® Internet connections transmit data at up to one Gigabit per second

COPPERSTREAM® • Copper Ethernet GEA/EFM Leased Lines • 2Mb to 35Mb • Auto failover (optional) • From £125 per month • Free connection*

FIBRESTREAM® • Fibre Ethernet Leased Lines • 10Mb to 1Gb • Auto failover (optional) • From £300 per month • Free connection*

VSTREAM® • Fibre Broadband (VDSL) • Up to 76Mb • Auto failover (optional) • From £21 per month • Free connection and router on most services*

DUALSTREAM®SF

Whatever your budget, we have a

fast, resilient broadband solution

to suit your business needs.

• SDSLM and VStream® • 2Mb voice and up to 76Mb data • Auto failover • From £99 per month

Sales 0800 319 6010 • Partner Services 0800 319 6500 Innovative • Flexible • Reliable • Supportive

www.spitfire.co.uk *Subject to terms and conditions

IFC_PCAMAY16.indd 71

22/02/2016 15:44

WELCOME Editor Jim Martin Group Managing Editor Marie Brewis Art Director Mandie Johnson Production Editor Rob Woodcock Multimedia Editor Dominik Tomaszewski Consumer Tech Editor Chris Martin Engagement Editor Ashleigh Allsopp Staff Writer Lewis Painter Staff Writer Chris Minasians Staff Writer Mimi Launder Associate Online Editor David Price Associate Editor Karen Haslam Associate Editor Neil Bennett Forum Editor Peter Thomas Editorial Director Matt Egan

[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Contributors Martyn Casserly, Brad Chacos, James Duncan, Preston Gralla, Grant Gross, Andrew Harrison, Cliff Joseph, James Lumgair, Gordon Mah Ung, Paul Monckton, Steve May, Jared Newman, James Nicolai, Ian Paul, Agam Shah, Andrew Williams, Simon Williams, Ira Winkler

Advertising Account Director Tom Drummond Account Director Jonathan Busse Senior Account Manager Gemma Rollason Campaign Support Manager Chris Brown

[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Marketing Marketing Manager Ash Patel Head of Marketing Design James Walker Marketing Assistant Maia Cohen Subscriptions Customer Services

[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Online Online Development Manager Adrian Black [email protected] Web Developer Victor Chong Junior Developer John Copsey Web Developer Dominik Koscielak

Accounts Financial Director Chris Norman Credit Controller Dawnette Gordon Management Accountant Parit Shah

[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Publishing Publishing Director Simon Jary Managing Director Kit Gould

[email protected] [email protected]

Subscribe online: tinyurl.com/subscribepca Subscribe by phone: 0844 844 0232

Subscribe to digital editions: pcadvisor.co.uk/magazines Subscription enquiries: [email protected]

CWO

DD

12 issues

£37.99

£35.88

Six issues

£24.99

£19.99

Europe (12 issues)

£100

£100

Rest of world (12 issues)

£125

£125

What do you think of this issue of PC Advisor? We welcome feedback – email Jim Martin at [email protected] and include the issue number in the subject heading

JIM MARTIN

Portable power Why a laptop should appeal no matter your needs

W

elcome to the May issue of PC Advisor. If you’re thinking of buying a new PC, chances are you’re considering a laptop. But the choice is made more complex these days with the plethora of hybrids which want to offer you the best of both laptop and tablet worlds. When it comes to Windows devices, you’ll find the broadest choice. Microsoft itself has a surprising range, which now includes the Surface Book. It’s like the Surface Pro 4 at first glance, but it’s designed to be a laptop first and foremost, not a tablet with an optional keyboard. You can read our review on page 16, but if you don’t have thousands to spend there are plenty of other hybrids starting from around £250. Not everyone wants a 2-in-1 device, and we’ve rounded up a selection of powerful laptops starting on page 60, which should appeal no matter what your priorities. If gaming is your number one consideration, the Asus RoG G752 and Alienware 17 – pages 19 and 22 – should be on your shortlist. The humble desktop PC isn’t as desirable as it once was, but it’s still the best choice for gaming. And it doesn’t have to cost the earth. While it isn’t always cheaper to build your own, it’s fun and much easier than you might thing. Our step-by-step guide on page 88 will guide you through the whole process, which can take as little as 45 minutes. From a boxful of components to a PC running Windows 10, we explain how it’s done, and you can even use our recommended parts list to build a rig capable of playing the latest games for under £500. Building a PC is something anyone can do, but if you’d rather pay someone else to put together a top-quality gaming system then check out Chillblast’s Fusion Nano Fury on page 25. This is one of the smallest we’ve seen to pack the kind of 3D power you’d normally associate with a massive graphics card housed in a huge tower case. Even the Nano is huge compared to many of the 14 palm-sized PCs that you’ll find on page 82. They may not match the Chillblast’s performance but some can plug into an HDMI port on the back of your monitor and are so small you won’t even know they’re there. They can be cheap, too, starting at just £4 for the Raspberry Pi Zero. We’re fans of all kinds of gadgets, but especially those that make your life easier. Enter the Tile and TrackR Bravo on pages 56 and 57, Bluetooth tags that can be attached to your keys, bike, wallet or pretty much anything and – with the assistance of your smartphone – will help you find it when you lose it. They’re cheap and they also make great gifts, so check out our reviews on page 56 to see which one is the best.

PC Advisor is published by IDG UK IDG UK, 101 Euston Road, London NW1 2RA. Tel: 020 7756 2800 Printer: Wyndeham Press Group Ltd 01621 877 777 Distribution: Seymour Distribution Ltd 020 7429 4000 No material may be reproduced in whole or part without written permission. While every care is taken, the publisher cannot be held legally responsible for any errors in articles, listings or advertisements. All material copyright IDG UK 2016

ISSUE 251 ON SALE 13 APRIL 2016 May 2016 www.pcadvisor.co.uk 3

003 Welcome 250.indd 3

25/02/2016 14:40

CONTENTS

NEWS & ANALYSIS 6

Latest technology news

12 Apple’s battle with the FBI

FEATURES & GROUP TESTS

60

REGULARS & OFFERS 3 Welcome 117 Software downloads zone 118 Subscribe 146 Outbox

60 GROUP TEST: Six of the best laptops 76 How secure is Wi-Fi?

GET FREE SOFTWARE PAGE 117

Subscribe to PC Advisor and

SAVE 50% SEE PAGE 118

REVIEWS 16 19 22 25 27 30 33 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 49 50 52 53 54 56 57 58 59

78 Bright idea: AI light bulbs 82 14 palm-sized PCs 88 H ow to build a PC

TEST CENTRE

Microsoft Surface Book Asus RoG G752 Alienware 17 Chillblast Fusion Nano Fury Huawei Mate 8 Xiaomi Redmi 3 UMI Rome Bluboo X9 Cubot P12 Xiaomi Mi Pad 2 Moov Now MyZone MZ-3 Honor Band Zero Epson son EcoTank ET-2500 Hisense 55K321 Apple TV (4th generation) ation) RHA S500i Skullcandy Grind Nextbase 512G Tile (2nd generation) TrackR Bravo IK Multimedia iLoud fee Total Protection 2016 McAfee

BEST LAPTOPS 62 64 66 68 70 72

Asus ZenBook Pro UX501 Chillblast Akira 3 Dell XPS 15 9550 HP Envy 13-D002NA Lenovo Yoga 900-131SK Toshiba Radius 12 P20W-C-106

16

4 www.pcadvisor.co.uk May 2016

004_005 Contents 250.indd 4

25/02/2016 12:14

CONTENTS WI-FI SECURITY

76

14 TINY PCS

AI IN THE HOME

78

BUILD A NEW PC

88

HOW TO

96 Windows 10: Stop upgrade notifications 98 Windows 10: Go back to Windows 7 or 8.1 100 Windows 10: Delete Windows.old folder

82

101 Windows 10: Get MS Office for free

TEST

ON THE COVER

104 Windows 10: Watch your favourite DVDs

CENTRE

117

16

102 Windows 10: Prepare drivers before installing new OS

TOP 5 CHARTS: BUYER’S GUIDE 121 122 123 124 125 126 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137

88 60

56

82

Laptops Budget laptops Ultraportable laptops Chromebooks Gaming laptops Gaming PCs All-in-one PCs Smartphones Budget smartphones Phablets 7- and 8in tablets 9- and 10in tablets Smartwatches Activity trackers Budget printers/Printers Wireless routers/ Powerline adaptors 138 NAS drives/External hard drives 139 SSDs/Smart thermostats 140 Budget graphics cards/ Graphics cards 141 4K flat-panel TVs/ 4K flat-panel displays 142 e-book readers/Media streamers 143 Games console/ Budget portable speakers 144 Budget headphones/Headphones 145 Power banks/Desktop chargers

004_005 Contents 250.indd 5

106 Connect a 4K display to your PC 108 Record a phone call on a smartphone 110 Stop spam reaching an Android device 112 Open ICS or VCS files in Google calendar 114 Add multiple accounts to Instagram 116 Check if a file has a virus

May 2016 www.pcadvisor.co.uk 5

25/02/2016 12:14

NEWS Keep up to date with PC Advisor news: pcadvisor.co.uk/news

twitter.com/pcadvisor

facebook.com/pcadvisor

youtube.com/pcadvisor

CHRIS MARTIN

AMD reveals which processors you’ll need for VR gaming on Oculus Rift and HTC Vive We finally know which AMD processors can help you explore virtual worlds, reveals Gordon Mah Ung We’ve long known which Intel chips you need to run a virtual reality rig, but AMD’s CPUs have been a mystery – until now. In February, AMD revealed a list of eight CPUs and APUs that will be able to power a VR headset such as the Oculus Rift (pictured) and HTC Vive. Many of the chipss on the list aren’t a surprise. Its flagship eight-core FX-9590 is there, as is the darling of budget gamers, the six-core FX-6350. The company is also certifying its four-core A10-7870K APU and four-core Athlon X4-870K CPU for VR, as well as two recently announced APUs. According to AMD, all of these chips will offer “strong” VR performance. Note that you won’t be able to run the Oculus Rift off the integrated graphics in an AMD APU. The recommended graphics card for VR on the Oculus is still a GeForce GTX 970 or Radeon R9 290.

Why quad-core? None of the chips on offer run at lower clock speeds than 3.9GHz or feature fewer than four CPU cores. That shouldn’t come as a surprise as a 4GHz AMD chip is probably about the equal of a 3.3GHz Intel CPU, which

Oculus recommends as part of its minimum required specifications. But why the need for quad-cores? We’ve asked various hardware vendors about the need for a quad-core chip for VR gaming, and most point to DirectX 12’s thirst for more cores. Gamers know that dual-core chips There’s not a huge difference between a Core i7-2600K and a Core i7-6700K in gaming today

with Hyper-Threading are usually fine for PC gaming tasks. That, however, all changes with DX12, which will offer incredible performance benefits once games fully exploit it.

Do you really need a new CPU? The Rift’s developer says you’ll need an Intel Core i5-4590 or higher. That’s a mid-range quad-core Haswell CPU that runs at 3.3GHz. It’s more efficient than the Sandy Bridge family of chips, though it’s not much faster. So will you really need a new CPU? In short, no. The Oculus Rift doesn’t seem to do much more than check the model and name of the CPU against a list that we suspect isn’t all that complete. The upshot of all this is that if you have hardware you think is too slow for VR gaming, it may make more sense to just wait and see what actually works when the Oculus Rift gets into consumer’s hands, rather than upgrading ahead of time.

6 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news May 2016

006_008 News 250.indd 6

25/02/2016 12:20

WERED BY PO

IT

RE

NK

S

SP

FI

SIP TR

U

Specialists in business-class Internet connectivity, SIP and Voice over IP

Humpback Whale [Megaptera Novaeangliae] The Humpback Whale swims over 15,500 miles while migrating to cool or warmer water

Our SIP Communicator™ hosted phone system enables your staff to work anywhere, with complete flexibility Ideal For: • SME businesses • New start-ups • Multiple locations • Homeworkers • Seamless multi-site working

Benefits • Multiple business call features • Free calls between sites • No up front phone system set up costs • 3 month contract gives maximum flexibility

Cutting edge cloud phone system – save up to 50% against traditional phone system costs.

Sales 0800 319 6010 • Partner Services 0800 319 6500 Innovative • Flexible • Reliable • Supportive

www.spitfire.co.uk

007_PCAMAY16.indd 7

23/02/2016 11:54

News

Vaio, Fujitsu, and Toshiba may join forces to form PC supergroup Japanese PC giants Vaio, Fujitsu and Toshiba set to work together, reports Ian Paul Vaio is in talks with Fujitsu and Toshiba to combine their PC units into a new company, according to Japan Industrial Partners CEO Hidemi Moue. The merger would not include either of Fujitsu’s or Toshiba’s other electronics units. If talks are successful, the newly formed company would follow the strategy already laid out by Vaio. Namely, it’ll begin with creating PCs for the Japanese market, and then move out to serve overseas markets. “The PC market is shrinking, which means there are merits in working together to make the most of research, production volumes and marketing channels,” revealed Moue. In January, market research firm Gartner reported that the PC market fell by 8.3 percent. It’s expected to fall for most of 2016.

What this foretells for Vaio’s newly renewed US business is uncertain. It’s also not clear which brands the new company would use. Vaio expects to be the majority owner of the new company. That suggests we might see combination brands such as Vaio Dynabooks or Lifebooks, or maybe the newly formed PC giant will adopt a new brand name altogether. Moue added that the company may also work on other products such as smartphones. Vaio recently released a Windows 10 phone for the Japanese market. The CIO said Vaio expects to wrap up talks and have an

agreement with Fujitsu and Toshiba by the end of March. Toshiba has not confirmed this, while a Reuters report suggests the company has no plans to pull out of the PC market after its recent accounting scandal. It doesn’t discount the possibility of a merger, however.

Qualcomm’s new chips target low-cost smartphones with premium features, including 21Mp camera support New Snapdragon chips have PC-class graphics, faster LTE and better camera support, writes Agam Shah Low-cost smartphones could be packed with premium features thanks to Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 425, 435 and 625 mobile chips. Users of handsets in the £99 to £399 price range will be able to get PC-class

graphics, superfast LTE and high-resolution cameras in handsets as Qualcomm has moved advanced features from its high-end chips into the new chips. Smartphones with the new chips will be available in the second quarter, according to the company. Qualcomm chips power both Android and Windows handsets, but the company didn’t say if the chips were dedicated for a specific OS. The chips will be part of a new line-up that includes the premium Snapdragon 820, which has many features that can’t be found in the new 425-, 435- and 625 chips, such as support for newer LTE features, WiGig and on-board image recognition. Smartphones with the eight-core Snapdragon 625 will be able to shoot 4K video, and have two high-resolution cameras that can shoot 24Mp photos. The chip has ARM Cortex-A53 CPUs and 802.11ac Wi-Fi. Smartphones using the chip will provide longer battery life as it is 35 percent more power efficient than its predecessor. The

625 is Qualcomm’s first chip made using the 14nm process, in which transistors are stacked on top of each other. The eight-core Snapdragon 435 will beat the LTE speeds on existing low-end and mid-range smartphones. The integrated modem provides download speeds of 300Mb/s and upload speeds of 100Mb/s. The multimedia features aren’t as advanced as those of the Snapdragon 625, but the cameras can take 21Mp photos. The entry-level Snapdragon 425 chip will be used in low-cost handsets shipping in emerging markets like China. The quad-core chips have an older Adreno GPU that supports high-definition video. Handsets will have cameras up to 16Mp. In addition to the new Snapdragon chips, Qualcomm also announced a new X16 LTE modem that can download data at up to 1Gb/s. The chipmaker claims that the LTE modem – made using the 14nm processor – is the fastest in the world today. J


006_008 News 250.indd 8

25/02/2016 12:22

Make sure you’re connected. Simply plug in and enjoy excellent Wi-Fi coverage in any room, from any power socket, with devolo Powerline!

BUY IT! ★★★★★

RECOMMENDED

The devolo dLAN® 1200+ WiFi ac Starter Kit enables Wi-Fi without signal loss anywhere in your home: • • • •

Ideal for HD streaming and higher broadband speeds Plug & Play installation Award winning German technology 3-year manufacturer’s warranty

www.devolo.co.uk

017 Devolo.indd 17

8660_000XX_DEV_Anzeige_210x297_UK_151028_RZ_Magazin PC Advisor.indd 1

29/10/2015 09:27

28.10.15 16:57

News

Asus settles charges over insecure routers The company failed to quickly fix security flaws and notify customers, reports Grant Gross Critical security flaws in routers and cloud computing services offered by Asus put hundreds of thousands of customers at risk, according to the US Federal Trade Commission. Taiwan-based Asus has agreed to settle an FTC complaint that it failed to take reasonable steps to secure the software on its routers, the agency has said. In addition to vulnerabilities in the routers, its cloud services led to thousands of customers’ storage devices being compromised and exposed their personal information, the agency said. The proposed settlement would require Asus to establish and maintain a comprehensive security program subject to independent audits for the next 20 years. The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for a comment. Millions of consumers are connecting new Internet of Things smart devices to their home networks, and router security is important, Jessica Rich, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement. “It’s critical that companies like Asus put reasonable

security in place to protect consumers,” she added. Asus marketed its routers as including security features that could “protect computers from any unauthorised access, hacking, and virus attacks.” But the company failed to address security flaws quickly and did not notify customers of the risks, the FTC charged. Hackers were able to exploit “pervasive security bugs” in the routers’ webbased control panel to change security settings without the owners’ knowledge, the FTC said. Among other design flaws, the company set – and users were allowed to retain – the same default login credentials on every router: username ‘admin’ and password ‘admin’. The company’s routers also featured the AiCloud and AiDisk services, which

allowed users to plug a USB hard drive into the router to create their own cloud storage service accessible from any of their other devices. Those services contained serious security flaws, including the ability for hackers to bypass the AiCloud login screen and gain access to a user’s connected storage without any credentials, the FTC said. In February 2014, hackers used readily available tools to locate vulnerable Asus routers and gain access to more than 12,900 connected storage devices, the FTC said.

MSI first to use Intel‘s mini-STX motherboard Want a mini PC without losing CPU-upgrade privileges? MSI’s Cubi 2 could be for you, says Jared Newman If you like the idea of a small desktop PC, but aren’t satisfied with the performance that NUC kits allow, mini-STX PCs might be the perfect match. We’ll likely see a lot more of these coming down the pipe before long, especially as interest in living room PC gaming ramps up. Intel has been talking about shrinking the socketed motherboard since 2015, and now we’re seeing the first full Windows 10 PCs to sport the new mini-STX technology. Those honours go to MSI and its Cubi 2 Plus desktop range, which starts shipping in March. ASRock also announced bare-bones mini-STX systems in January, but hasn’t started shipping them yet. For Intel, mini-STX is meant to fill the gap between the company’s tiny Intel NUC-based desktops and larger PCs that use Intel’s mini-ITX socketed motherboards. The new form factor is much closer to NUCs in size,

but retains mini-ITX’s ability to upgrade the processor and accommodate a standard desktop CPU fan. Mini-ITX still has the advantage of supporting dedicated graphics cards, however. The Cubi 2 Plus, for instance, measures just 6.1x5.8x2.3in. That’s only about an inch-and-a-half longer and deeper than Intel’s larger NUC kits, while a small mini-ITX enclosure can easily be twice as large. CPU options are also more powerful compared to NUC kits. MSI will offer a choice of Core i3-6100T, Core i5-6500T, and Core i7-6700T processors using Intel’s sixth-generation Skylake architecture. (Currently, Intel doesn’t even offer Skylake-based NUC kits with i7 processors inside.) Other specifications include two DDR4 memory slots for up to 32GB of RAM, one

M.2 SATA slot for up to 256GB of solid-state storage, one 2.5in slot for another HDD or SSD up to 1TB, and 802.11ac Wi-Fi. MSI is also throwing in a USB Type-C port in the front, along with three USB 2.0 front ports, two USB 3.1 rear ports, a top USB 2.0 port with super charging, HDMI, audio jack, ethernet, DisplayPort out, and an SD card reader. There’s no word yet on pricing. J


010 News 250.indd 10

25/02/2016 12:17

210x297 Dedicated Servers Get 1Gbit/s connectivity

Unlimited monthly data transfer

Smart SSD technology NEW

UK data centres and 24/7 support

Dedicated Servers from:

£29.00 per month

£29.00 ex VAT for 3 months then £39.00 ex VAT per month. 12 month minimum term contract. One-off set up of £49.00 ex VAT applies. 6 months discount available on selected servers. See website for terms and conditions

Call 0808 1686 777 or visit fasthosts.co.uk SERVERS • WEB HOSTING • DOMAIN NAMES • EXCHANGE EMAIL

011 Fashosts AD.indd 11 GB145030100006_fasthosts_Hosting_Ad_0316_210x297+5_46L.indd 1

22/02/2016 15:30 19.02. 15:38

NEWSANALYSIS

Apple’s battle with the FBI This complicated case could stretch on for months and have wide-ranging implications, says Susie Ochs The background The FBI has an iPhone 5c that belonged to the San Bernardino gunman, Syed Rizwan Farook, and believe it has evidence inside. The agency can’t access the information because of the phone’s passcode, so on 16 February, the US government issued an order essentially asking Apple to get the data off the phone. Apple posted an open letter to customers on its website explaining its side of the case, prompting government attorneys to file a motion on 19 February disagreeing with Apple’s view of the situation, and asking the court to force Apple to comply. A hearing is scheduled to take place on 22 March. Until then, the lawyers will file more motions, while the two sides also take their case to the court of public opinion. So far, public opinion is not entirely on Apple’s side, but this is only the beginning.

Why Apple won’t unlock the phone That wasn’t what Apple was asked to do. It has no way of unlocking a locked iPhone. It can extract data from a device running iOS 7 or earlier, without having to unlock the phone and has done this before for law enforcement with a proper court order. But starting with iOS 8, the data on an iPhone is encrypted by default as soon as you enable the passcode feature. Since Farook’s iPhone 5c is running iOS 9, the only way to access the encrypted data it holds is to unlock the phone with the passcode. Since the owner of the phone (Farook’s employer) doesn’t know the passcode, Apple doesn’t know the passcode, and Farook is dead, the FBI is stuck trying to crack the passcode through brute force.

What the FBI wants The best defence iOS has against a bruteforce attack is the Erase Data feature, which will wipe all the data on the iPhone after 10 failed passcode attempts. The iPhone has a four-digit pin, which shouldn’t take too long to crack, but certainly more than 10 tries. So the FBI’s request, and the court’s 16 February order, is for Apple to create a sideloadable SIF (software image file) of iOS that can run on the iPhone’s RAM without touching any other data on the device. The FBI wants Apple to sign that software, so the iPhone – and only this iPhone – will run it. Once installed, the software would disable that Erase Data setting. The FBI also wants to try passcodes as quickly as possible, so it wants Apple

to disable the delay between passcode attempts, plus allow passcodes to be inputted by a computer, either through the iPhone’s Lightning port or wirelessly, a feature that has never existed in a publicly shipping version of iOS. That’s a big deal: it’s asking Apple to introduce a new weakness into iOS.

law enforcement to brute-force a passcode, that it wouldn’t be used again. Even if that particular software image file was never shared and promptly destroyed, the courts could use this case as precedent to order Apple to build it again.

Apple’s response

Both this new order and a separate New York case use the All Writs Act of 1789. In fact, in the case going on in the Eastern District of New York, Apple is arguing that extracting data from a drug dealer’s iPhone 5s running iOS 7 is overly burdensome on manpower and resources, as well as an overly wide application of the All Writs Act. According to the 19 February filing in the California case, “The All Writs Act provides in relevant part that ‘all courts established by Act of Congress may issues all writs necessary or appropriate in aid of their respective jurisdictions and agreeable to the usages and principles of law.’” It’s kind of a catch-all, in other words: “As the Supreme Court explained, ‘the All Writs Act is a residual source of authority to issue writs that are not otherwise covered by statute.’” The tests are whether the third party “is not so far removed from the underlying controversy that its assistance could not be permissibly compelled,” that the order “does not place an undue burden” on the third party, and that the assistance is “necessary to achieve the purposes of the warrant.” In the 19 February filing, the government argues that Apple fails all three tests and thus should be ordered to comply.

Apple posted an open letter to customers explaining its position. It reads in part:

“Specifically, the FBI wants us to make a new version of the iPhone OS, circumventing several important security features, and install it on an iPhone recovered during the investigation. In the wrong hands, this software – which does not exist today – would have the potential to unlock any iPhone in someone’s physical possession. “The FBI may use different words to describe this tool, but make no mistake: building a version of iOS that bypasses security in this way would undeniably create a backdoor. And while the government may argue that its use would be limited to this case, there is no way to guarantee such control.”

Is this a backdoor? Opinion is divided, though it should be noted that Apple would maintain custody of the software (and phone), destroy it after its purpose has been served, refuse to disseminate it outside of Apple, and make it clear to the world it does not apply to other devices or users without lawful court orders. As such, compliance with the Order presents no danger for any other phone, and is not “the equivalent of a master key, capable of opening hundreds of millions of locks.” But Apple believes that it is. And it’s a little weird that the FBI wants us to believe that once Apple builds this tool to assist

The All Writs Act

What happens if Apple refuses? If the 16 February order from Judge Pym stands after Apple’s appeal, the company could elevate it through the courts, all the way up to the Supreme Court, which could prompt legislation. J


012_013 Analysis 250.indd 12

25/02/2016 12:29

NEWSANALYSIS

Apple vs FBI James Nicolai rounds up what tech leaders have said about the Apple-FBI dispute so far

S

ince Apple said it would do battle with the FBI over the agency’s request for access to a smartphone belonging to one of the San Bernardino terrorists, tech industry leaders have been weighing in with their views. Here’s a round-up of what tech leaders have said so far, starting with some of the most recent views expressed.

significant challenges in protecting the public against crime and terrorism. We build secure products to keep your information safe and we give law enforcement access to data based on valid legal orders. But that’s wholly different than requiring companies to enable hacking of customer devices and data. Could be a troubling precedent. Looking forward to a thoughtful and open discussion on this important issue.”

Bill Gates Microsoft’s cofounder took issue with Apple’s characterisation that the US government wants a back door to the iPhone. “Nobody’s taking about a back door, so that’s not the right question,” he said. “This is a specific case where the government is asking for access to information. They’re not asking for some general thing; they’re asking for a particular case.” The next day, Gates said headlines stating he “backs the FBI” don’t reflect his position. “I was disappointed because that doesn’t state my view on this,” he told Bloomberg. “I do believe that with the right safeguards, there are cases where the government, on our behalf, like stopping terrorism, which could get worse in the future, that that is valuable. But striking that balance – clearly the government has taken information historically and used it in ways we didn’t expect, going all the way back to say the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover. I’m hoping we can have the discussion. I do believe there are sets of safeguards where the government shouldn’t have to be completely blind.”

ARM CEO Simon Segars Segars, whose company designs the microprocessors in most smartphones, was asked his views at Mobile World Congress. “It’s a complex situation; there are rights and wrongs. We believe users should own


Mark Zuckerberg their data and control who has access to it, but obviously there are some extreme circumstances where that should change.”

Mark Zuckerberg “We’re sympathetic with Apple,” the Facebook CEO said at MWC. “We believe encryption is a good thing that people will want.” In a statement earlier, Facebook said the FBI’s demands would create “a chilling precedent and obstruct companies’ efforts to secure their products.”

Jan Koum, cofounder of WhatsApp “I have always admired Tim Cook for his stance on privacy and Apple’s efforts to protect user data and couldn’t agree more with everything said in their Customer Letter today,” Koum wrote. “We must not allow this dangerous precedent to be set. Today our freedom and our liberty is at stake.”

Google CEO Sundar Pichai Pichai soon followed with a series of tweets. “Important post by @tim_cook. Forcing companies to enable hacking could compromise users’ privacy.” He continued: “We know that law enforcement and intelligence agencies face

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey Dorsey chimed in with a tweet on 18 February. “We stand with @timcook and Apple (and thank him for his leadership)!”

Box CEO Aaron Levie “Apple’s response to the government is something we completely, wholeheartedly agree with,” the cloud storage CEO told TechCrunch. “The world is going to get more complex, so you can’t create weaknesses in software that then will become vulnerabilities in the future.”

Mark Surman, executive director of the Mozilla Foundation “Over the last year, we’ve seen government agencies and law enforcement officials across the globe discussing policies that will harm user security through weakening encryption,” Surman wrote on Medium. “This includes the so-called Snoopers Charter in the UK and calls by agencies like the FBI for tech companies to create backdoors into encrypted communications… While it’s hard to discuss internet policy in the context of horrific and tragic events, there is no question [the] FBI’s request [is] an overreach. If granted, it both undermines everyday security for internet users and would set a precedent for further weakening of encryption. J

25/02/2016 12:30

News: Analysis

Apple’s free publicity could backfire Apple is positioning itself as a defender of your privacy, but when you extend its arguments to their logical conclusion, it comes out looking like its incapable of protecting its secrets, argues Ira Winkler

A

s the battle between Apple and the FBI over providing access to an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino terrorists rages on, Apple has been trying to turn the situation to its advantage by garnering all the free publicity it can get. Even the Justice Department, in a filing in federal court, called Apple’s statements a “public brand marketing strategy”. In its campaign, Apple is mustering all the fear, uncertainty and doubt it can. In the open letter to its customers, it states that “the government would have us write an entirely new operating system for their use. They are asking Apple to remove security features and add a new ability to the operating system to attack iPhone encryption, allowing a passcode to be input electronically. It would be wrong to intentionally weaken our products with a government-ordered backdoor.” The fear, uncertainty and doubt factor in that statement is “weaken our products”. It is grossly misleading, the plural suggesting that the FBI wants Apple to make this back door a standard part of iPhones. That’s false. What the government has asked is that Apple modify software to remove a feature that was not present in earlier versions of the software, and then install that new software on the single phone used by the terrorist. Apple can then destroy the software. More contradictory to Apple’s claims is that the FBI has specifically stated it does not intend to cause a weakening of the consumer product, so this case cannot be used as a precedent. A section of Apple’s statement is titled: ‘Could Apple build this operating system just once, for this iPhone, and never use it again?’ Although that is what the government is requesting, Apple’s phrasing makes it sound ridiculous. The fear, uncertainty and doubt continues, with Apple saying, “Law enforcement agents around the country have already said they have hundreds of iPhones they want Apple to unlock if the FBI wins this case.” That might be the case, but it has zero relevance. Each of those cases could be resolved only with a court order of its own, regardless of what happens with the San Bernardino iPhone. Even if this case were not in front of the court at the moment, any state, local or federal law enforcement agency could bring a similar case forward. Gaining access to locked data is a legitimate law enforcement

issue, and whatever your personal beliefs, all police officers have a responsibility to attempt to collect all information that is legally possible to collect. In other forums, Apple has been claiming that if the US requires it to cooperate in providing access to the phone, all other governments around the world will then expect the same sort of cooperation. This is a false claim. Apple’s winning its case in the US would do nothing to stop another country from initiating a similar action. But of all of Apple’s arguments, the most ludicrous, or perhaps the most damning of its much-touted security prowess, is revealed in this response to the government’s request for a key that could unlock one phone: “Apple would do our best to protect that key, but in a world where all of our data is under constant threat, it would be relentlessly attacked by hackers and cybercriminals. As recent attacks on the IRS systems and countless other data breaches have shown, no-one is immune to cyberattacks.” First, Apple is already relentlessly attacked by hackers and criminals. I would like to hope that Apple has better security practices than the IRS. But when you unpack this statement, you are left with the impression that we should not trust any of Apple’s software or products. You have to assume that, should it write the software that the FBI wants, it would be among the

most protected software in the company. If Apple is concerned about this software being compromised, what does that say about all of its other software? Even assuming that a bad guy gets hold of just the software that law enforcement wants created, it would have to be signed by Apple’s security certificate to load on any phone. If the criminal gets a copy of the software and it has already been signed with the certificate, Apple could revoke the certificate. But if a bad guy gets hold of the digital certificate, then the whole Apple software base is at risk, and this feature that the FBI wants bypassed is irrelevant. What we have here is a policy issue about the level of cooperation that law enforcement can force upon software vendors. While Apple has a responsibility to take reasonable steps in the interest of its business, I expect the government to win. But I don’t know that this is the better outcome. What I do know is that Apple is attempting to generate unreasonable fear, uncertainty and doubt to sway people to its position. Apple is also using the situation to promote its brand with free advertising. I have to assume the slump in iPhone sales will improve, given how the government implies that it’s so secure, it needs Apple’s to help it compromise it. Luckily for Cook, so far few people realise that he is arguing that Apple can’t keep its software secure. J



25/02/2016 12:35

News: Analysis

Why Apple is doing the right thing for the wrong reason Apple wants the public to think it cares about our privacy. However, what it really cares about is its market share, particularly in China, writes Preston Gralla

I

n Apple’s encryption standoff with the US government, the company is portraying itself as standing up for the rights of privacy. It’s taking the high road, the company says, and is on the side of those who want to be free from an invasive government. But despite its posturing, this is not for the company a fight about the rights of individuals against the power of governments. Instead, it’s all about market share and the bottom line – an example of the company doing the right thing for the wrong reason. CEO Tim Cook’s open letter is filled with high-minded ideals. “We feel we must speak up in the face of what we see as an overreach by the US government,” he wrote. “Ultimately, we fear that this demand would undermine the very freedoms and liberty our government is meant to protect.” The Justice Department fired back a few days later in a court filing asking a federal judge to force Apple to provide help in cracking the San Bernardino terrorists’ iPhone. The government tartly noted that Apple’s opposition appears “to be based on its concern for its business model and public brand marketing strategy.” The government is right about Apple’s motivation, even though it’s wrong to ask the tech giant for help in accessing the phone. Apple is worried about losing market share if it gives in to the government – particularly its market share in China. Consumers in China spent $59 billion on Apple products last year, making it the company’s second-largest market, trailing only the US. The New York Times notes that


in China, “the iPhone, the company’s top seller, has become both a status symbol and a form of personal security, given how difficult the device is to break into in a country where people increasingly worry about hacking and cybercrime.” Apple is worried that if it makes it easier for the US government to get around encryption on the iPhone, then the Chinese government will ask for the same thing. That would make the iPhone lose its lustre in China, and hurt sales. As for Apple really caring about the personal rights of the Chinese people, it has shown for years that it has no concern for them. It’s been a willing partner with Chinese government censors, helping make sure that people can’t bypass the ‘Great Firewall’ with their iPhones, and blacking out news or information the Chinese government doesn’t want its citizens to read. In 2010, for example, Apple pulled apps from its store in China that mention the Dalai Lama or the Uyghur activist Rebiya Kadeer. It was a particularly ironic move, given that the company had used the Dalai Lama, an icon of freethinking, in order to sell Apple products in its ‘Think Different’ ad campaign. When our sister publication Macworld asked Apple why it banned the apps, Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller responded in an email, “We continue to comply with local laws. Not all apps are available in every country.” No high–minded ideals about freedom there. Apple has continued to do the Chinese censors’ bidding. In 2013, Apple banned the OpenDoor app in China, which lets iOS users bypass the Great Firewall. That same year, Apple pulled the Free Weibo app from the

Apple’s Hong Kong store App Store in China. The app allows people to read censored comments on China’s popular microblogging platform, Sina Weibo. In October 2015, Apple disabled its news app in China. The app can be downloaded only in the US, though it works in other countries – except in China. All this shows that Apple is fighting the US Justice Department because it’s good business to do so, and not because it stands for the rights of individuals against the power of governments. So yes, commend Apple for taking this stand against government intrusion. But don’t think for a minute the company is on your side for principled reasons. Its principle is to fatten its bottom line. This time around, that makes it fall on the side of privacy. But there’s no way of knowing where it might lead in the future. J

25/02/2016 12:35

REVIEWS LAPTOP

From £1,299 inc VAT

Microsoft Surface Book

Contact n

currys.co.uk

Specifications

13.5in screen (3000x2000) with 3:2 aspect ratio; Windows 10 Pro; Intel Core i5 or Core i7 Skylake 6th-gen processor; Up to 16GB RAM; up to 512GB SSD; 2x full-size USB 3.0 ports; full-size SD slot; 8Mp rear camera, 5Mp front camera; front- and rear-facing microphones; front-facing stereo speakers; 802.11ac Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.0; MiniDisplayPort; Surface Pen; five-point multitouch trackpad; 312.3x232.1x13-22.8mm; 1.58kg (724g, tablet; 860g, keyboard)

Build: Features: Performance: Value:

The Surface Book is the first laptop Microsoft has ever made. The Surface Pro 4, which we reviewed in our February issue, was designed to be tablet first, laptop second. The Surface Book takes a laptopfirst, tablet-second approach, with a 13in detachable touchscreen and a full-size, sturdy keyboard.

Price Prices range from £1,299 up to £2,249, so the Surface Book is not a budget laptop. It’s not outrageous, but it’s more expensive than a key rival, the MacBook Pro, which will set you back £999 for the 13in model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB storage. You need to spend £1,999 on the 15in model to get a discrete AMD Radeon R9 graphics card; the rest have Intel Iris Pro Graphics. Although you’re paying a lot, it’s worth pointing out that it comes with the Surface Pen – a stylus – in the box. The Surface Book’s screen is also detachable from the keyboard, allowing it to be used as a tablet. There’s also an extra battery in the keyboard for extended periods away from mains power. If the price is looking like too much to your frowning wallet, then don’t stop reading just yet.

Microsoft is offering a trade-in deal where you can get up to £400 off. For that you’ll need to hand in a MacBook Pro, though you can get £375 off with a Surface Pro 3 and, £250 for an iPad and £175 for any Core i laptop.

Design Like the latest Windows logo, the Surface Book is very angular. It is a slightly unusual shape for a laptop – the screen has a 3:2 aspect ratio – but we soon got used to it. The case is made from a magnesium alloy, which Microsoft says is lighter and more durable than aluminium. That said, at 1.58kg, the Surface Book is heavier than many of its rivals. Opting for a non-GPU model will save only around 60g, which is not noticeable. As we’ve touched upon, the Surface Book comes in two parts: the tablet element – the Clipboard – and the keyboard dock – the Laptop. They come in at 724and 860g respectively.

The most striking part of the design the ‘Dynamic Fulcrum Hinge’. It looks a bit like a watch strap crossed with an accordion and unrolls when you open up the Surface Book. As well as being slightly mesmerising, it serves an important purpose: balance. We’ve seen many tablets with keyboard docks simply topple over, but that’s not the case here. The hinge is stiff enough to hold the tablet section securely and stop it wobbling too much when you use the touchscreen. Don’t be fooled into thinking the hinge can go all the way around even though it looks like it might. Since the device is a little top heavy, the hinge doesn’t go back as far as others or a regular laptop. What you can do it take it off, spin it 180 degrees and pop it back on to achieve a similar result. Magnets attach the tablet to the keyboard when shut and they hold nice and firm, though you can still, with a bit of practice, open the

The most striking part of the design the ‘Dynamic Fulcrum Hinge’, which looks a little bit like a watch strap crossed with an accordion

16 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews May 2016

016_018 Microsoft Surface Book 250.indd 16

25/02/2016 10:53

REVIEWS device up with one hand. There’s a reasonably-sized recess, so you can fit in a finger or thumb. The shape of the hinge means that from the side, there’s a gap between the keys and the glass of the screen. This might annoy some from a design perspective, but it stops any marks or scratches being left on the display by the keys. Around the edge of the tablet is a small gap for cooling, and the buttons and ports are positioned nicely around both sections. There are no USB ports on the tablet section, but this is a laptop first, and tablet second. The other major design feature is hidden away. That’s because it’s the mechanism that connects the two parts together. While previous two-in-one hybrids we’ve seen use

simply fall apart when the battery is flat either. It’s clever stuff. Like the Surface Pro 4, the Surface Pen attaches magnetically to the side of the Surface Book. The stylus is included in the price. During testing, we found typing on the backlit keyboard to be a very pleasant experience and the trackpad to be large, responsive and accurate. Our only complaint is the small Return/Enter key.


PCMark 8 Home

Performance As mentioned already, the Surface Book has an unusual 3:2 aspect ratio. The 13.5in PixelSense display has a resolution of 3000x2000 pixels, resulting in a crisp 267ppi. It’s a stunning screen with great viewing angles, colour reproduction (100 percent coverage of the sRGB

Around the edge of the tablet is a small gap for cooling, and the buttons and ports are positioned nicely around both sections magnets or a simple clip system, the Surface Book takes things to a new level. Microsoft has implemented a ‘Muscle Wire Lock’, which uses an electrically charged nickel titanium alloy wire called ‘Nitonal’. This can change shape and then snap back based on the electricity applied to it. When docked, the mechanism holds on to the tablet tightly. To release it, you need to press a button on the keyboard. Even pulling the two apart with plenty of force resulted in only the smallest amount of movement with the system active – we tried really hard to pull them apart. It’s handy that you can use the detach button without logging into Windows and the two also don’t

Geekbench 3

colour gamut) and brightness. It’s an IPS panel that uses a ‘negative photo-aligned liquid oxide display’, which in essence means that during construction, the layers are carefully aligned to increase contrast and image quality. This technique is also used in TVs and the iPhone 6, though the downside is that the display on the Surface Book is very reflective. That brightness (more than 400cd/m2) will be needed to combat this. In charge of running Windows 10 Pro is a sixth-generation Intel Skylake processor. You can choose from a Core i5 or a i7 chip, depending upon how much horse power you think you’ll need. Both

Core i5 models come with 8GB of RAM, so you’re paying extra gets you double the storage and the nVidia GPU – and it’s probably worth the extra £300. On the Core i7 side of things, you’ll get the discrete graphics whichever model you choose, so your main decision to make is 8GB of RAM with 256GB or double up with 16GB and 513GB. We benchmarked the Core i7 model with 16GB of RAM and got some tasty numbers back – you can check above along with the results vs the Surface Pro 4. The line-up of ports on the Surface Book is what you’d expect from an ultrabook laptop. You get two USB 3.0 sockets, an SD card reader and Mini-DisplayPort. As mentioned earlier these are all on the keyboard dock, so the only port on the tablet section is the headphone jack. We were surprised to see that Microsoft has decided not to include a Type-C port as found on the Razer Blade Stealth. It’s still early days for the reversible connector though, so it’s not the end of the world. The Surface Book also offers 11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, dualmicrophones, an 8Mp rear

25/02/2016 10:53

Reviews

the tablet from the keyboard dock, and therefore the nVidia GPU with the Surface Book powered on and Windows functional. It’s unknown how Microsoft has done this but it’s likely to be down to nVidia’s Optimus technology. You might get a pop-up message asking you to close software down first, though, as we discovered.

Surface Pen

camera and a 5Mp front facing webcam. We’re particularly impressed with the front-facing speakers with Dolby audio, which sound great with an unexpectedly large sound stage.

GPU The nVidia GPU hidden within the keyboard dock is the Surface Book’s secret weapon – available on all but the entry-level model. It’s a custom GeForce GPU and when docked you get the full support. Take the tablet away from the keyboard and you’ll be using the integrated Intel HD Graphics. Although it’s a custom card, it’s similar to a GeForce 940M with 384

CUDA cores, 945MHz clock speed, 40Gb/s of memory bandwidth and a 64-wide memory bus. The Surface Book also offers 1GB of GDDR5, instead of the much slower DDR3. It’s impressive for a device this size. The big question you’re probably wanting answered is: “Do I need a Surface Book with the GPU?” The answer is probably yes. Partly from a price point of view because if you’re going to spend more than £1,200 on a Surface Book, then you may as well spend a further £300 to get the GPU. We say probably because it’s only going to be worth it if you want to do gaming on the device or need to get through heavy workloads. The Surface Book can’t compete with purpose-built gaming laptops, but you can use it to game. For example, running Tomb Raider on normal settings at 1280x1024 resolution results in a decent 71fps. Dirt Rally can be run on higher settings with the same resolution compromise. Remember this is an m-class GPU. Even if you’re not going to play games on the Surface Book, you might want the GPU if you’re going to be video editing, for example. It’s impressive is that you can detach

The first thing you’ll notice about the Surface Pen is that it finally has a place to call home. With the Surface Pro 3, it needed to be forced into a fabric loop stuck on to the side of the keyboard, which meant it always got left behind or misplaced. Now, you can attach the new Surface Pen to the side of the Surface Book with a satisfying snap thanks to built-in magnets. The new Surface Pen has good pressure sensitivity too, up from 256 levels in the previous model to 1,024. That’s still not as impressive as the Wacom Cintiq Companion 2’s 2,048 levels of sensitivity, but will certainly be sufficient for most users. You’ll find a right-click button on the side of the new Surface Pen and an eraser on the end, making it more practical to use. Pressing and holding on the top brings up Cortana, so you can get the voice-assistant to help you achieve further tasks without requiring use of the keyboard or trackpad. Different pen tips are available for note-taking, writing, sketching, drawing and shading.

Verdict It’s expensive, but the Surface Book is an amazing piece of technology combining excellent (and unique) design, top-notch build quality and high-end specifications. Battery life is amazing and there’s a lot you can do with the nVidia GPU model. The big question is can you afford one? J Chris Martin



25/02/2016 10:54

Reviews

GAMING LAPTOP


Asus RoG G752

Contact n

asus.com/uk

Specifications

17.3in (1920x1080) IPS matt anti-glare display; 2.7GHz Intel Core i7-6820HK; (3.6GHz boost); nVidia GeForce GTX 980M; 8GB discrete GPU; 32GB 2133MHz DDR4 RAM; 512GB SSD 1TB SATA HDD; Gigabit ethernet; 802.11b/g/n/ac; dual-band 2x2 MIMO; Bluetooth 4.0; Blu-ray drive writer; 4x USB 3.0; 1x USBC; Thunderbolt; HDMI 1.4; mini DisplayPort; Kensington Security Slot; SDXC card slot; stereo speakers; 1.2Mp HD webcam; single mic 3.5mm headset jack; UK tiled keyboard with numberpad; two-button trackpad; 66Wh lithium-ion battery; 428x334x43mm; 4360g


If you have a lot of cash to spend and want a large, no-compromise gaming laptop, you only really need to consider a few names. The ‘big brand’ option is the Alienware 17 (see page 22), the latest model is once again top-notch, but the Asus RoG G752 offers a very similar package – including a 17.3in screen – with less of the ‘brand tax’ that comes with Alienware. That doesn’t mean it’s cheap, but it does make it one of the very best laptops in the world for hardcore gamers. Even if the look is likely to have even more of a Marmite effect than 2016’s terrific RoG G751.

Price The G752 is a high-end gaming laptop, as powerful as Asus makes without heading into frankly odd territory with something such as the RoG GX700. That’s a laptop with a desktop-grade GPU, but also needs a giant water cooling carbuncle on the back to use all of its power. You don’t need to spend £2,000 to get hold of a G752, though. Just like last year, Asus offers a wide array of configurations to suit different budgets. In the UK that starts with the £1,299 G752VT, which has a GTX 970M. That’s a great card,

but a major step below the GTX 980M you get in the G752VY, which costs £2,129 and is the version Asus sent us for review. The full part code is G752VY-T7049T. This specification will be overkill for many, especially since it includes 32GB RAM, which can be considered an ‘upgrade too far’ for pure gaming purposes, beyond future-proofing. But let’s see what it can do.

Design This latest wave of gaming laptops is not a quantum shift over what was released in 2015. The top gaming chipset is still an nVidia GeForce GTX980M (albeit with more RAM) and while Intel’s latest Skylake processors are great, their focus is more about improving efficiency than raw power. To still give you the sense that the RoG G752 is a full generation ahead of the G751, Asus has jazzedup the design a bit. The first thing you’ll notice is the colour scheme. In 2015 Asus went for red on black, with a classic gamey look: big grilles, aggressive lines. While the RoG G752 shape hasn’t changed too much, and the hot rod grilles return, we now get faux brushed metal plastic on the interior and

some orange highlights added to the staple red to diversify the colour palette. The lid is topped with metal, but the rest is plastic. Whether you’ll like the design or not is a personal thing. We prefer the look of 2015’s model, which was a lot simpler and makes the RoG G752 smack of a very conscious effort to stand out and look new. When even the Alienware 17 is making you look like you’ve gone too far with ‘gamer’ design, it’s time to check yourself. One positive side-effect of Asus’ strong desire to please is that the RoG G752 now comes bundled with a whole load of accessories. You get a gaming mouse, a headset and a rucksack, which is thankfully a lot less loud ’n’ proud than the laptop itself. The package is worth £100plus judging by Asus’s own figures. Asus has also managed to shave a few millimetres off the G752. It’s 48mm thick to the G751’s 53mm, although in reality the difference isn’t that important. This is still a very big and heavy laptop you are not going to take around in a rucksack unless you really need to. The weight depends on the spec you go for, but our review model comes in at just under 4.5kg. May 2016 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews 19

019_021 Asus RoG G752 250.indd 19

25/02/2016 10:34

Reviews

Connectivity The main idea behind all this bulk is that it lets the G752 manage heat better, but it also gives plenty of room for a wide array of connections. You get four USB 3.0 ports, plus HDMI, Mini DisplayPort, Gigabit Ethernet and a USB-C socket. This is Thunderbolt 3-compliant, and offers super-charged bandwidth to let you hook up to a docking station without using a big proprietary connector on the back like some old business laptops. Not everyone is going to need one of these docks, but as phones are starting to use USB-C instead of Micro-USB, any laptop without one is soon going to look dated.

Keyboard Being so chunky also means the G752 doesn’t have to use wafer-thin key action. It’s much deeper than the norm, similar to what we saw in the Alienware 17 recently. Laptops like this don’t need to have a severe click to each key, able to provide excellent feedback with a softer but meatier-feeling approach that’s more like a keyboard you might buy for a desktop. However, this is still an excellent keyboard, and a great fit for work and gaming. The G752’s anti-ghosting tech means you can press 30 keys at once and all of them will register. It also has a red backlight.

Other little tweaks include specific buttons for the built-in game capture and the system monitor app, and a relatively discreet row of macro keys up above the keyboard. As with just about any other 17in gaming keyboard, it uses a full keypad to the right, which means you don’t work in the centre of the screen, but are shunted to the left. In some laptops this can feel uncomfortable, but the G752 feels good regardless, and a lot of this comes down to the high-quality trackpad. It’s an ultrabook-size, has a smooth surface and separates the buttons out. These buttons are big, and have a pretty deep action, a bit like the keyboard keys. They’re almost spacebar-like. This is one of the nicest, largest touchpads used in a dedicated gaming laptop. It’s far bigger than the one in the Alienware 17, for example.

Display When Asus announced the G752 in late 2015 it looked like we’d get a 4K version, but at the time of writing Asus has no plans to release it in the UK. That means we’re reviewing the 1080p version. With the matt finish, it’s easy to initially be unimpressed by the G752, as it tends to make colours look less punchy than a glossy display. But our colorimeter tells a different story. The Asus covers 104 percent of the sRGB colour gamut,

and 71 percent of Adobe RGB. Calibration is excellent too, with Delta E just 0.13. Its shades are spot on straight out of the box, and using a colorimeter to alter the colour balance barely changed a thing. We recorded a maximum brightness of 379cd/m2, which is impressive, working hand-in-hand with the matt screen coating to mean you can use it in bright rooms, or even outdoors. Not that you’re going to want to take the RoG G752 out and about with you, mind. This is an IPS screen too, so you can look at it from an angle and everything will look fine, unlike TN panels. From an angle blacks take on a blue character, but that’s common to all the matt 17in gaming laptops I’ve seen recently. This is also a G-Sync display. G-Sync is a hardware alternative to the VSync software used to stop graphics tearing when you play games. VSync is great, but is always going to cause a performance hit. There’s no performance hit with G-Sync as it uses a dedicated chip that matches the screen’s refresh rate to the GPU’s frame rendering, so that you don’t get any ugly tearing. So while the screen is ‘only’ 1080p, it still has high-end hardware, and is great for gaming. And for gaming, the lack of 4K isn’t a dealbreaker. With the current generation of mobile GPUs, 1080p is as high as you can go while being assured great performance at max settings in today’s top games. We asked Asus about its decision not to release the 4K machine in the UK. “At the moment we have no plans to release a 4K version of the G752. This might change in future based upon customer feedback,” Asus told us. “A lot of other people out there that might have a negative experience [with the 4K G752] because they don’t understand why their game is running poorly on default settings.” When you’re dealing with something like GTA V or The Witcher 3, that makes an awful lot of sense. There are still good arguments for a 4K display, though. Even if you end up running most games at 1080p, a 4K display gives you a much sharper-looking desktop, which is a bonus if you’re going to work on the machine or, say, edit photos as well as playing games.


019_021 Asus RoG G752 250.indd 20

25/02/2016 10:34

Reviews

Some older games would work just fine at 4K resolution too, such as Skyrim (although fans might say using the many power-hungry graphics mods would be a better use of the power). If you’re desperate for a 4K gaming laptop, alternatives include the Acer Predator 17 and Alienware 17. However, it seems most 4K laptop displays are glossy, which are arguably not as practical.

Performance The version of the G752 we’re looking at is tremendously wellspecified. As well as nipping above the HQ-series of CPUs, this year most gaming laptops come with an Intel Core i7-6820HK, which is faster and overclockable, and has 32GB of RAM. Dell won’t even let you spec out the Alienware 17 with that much RAM. Of course, RAM isn’t going to be a gaming bottleneck at 16GB (or even 8GB for the most part) in this sort of system. 32GB will be handy for juggling lots of data in programs such as Photoshop, though. Doing the calculations, this 32GB Asus RoG G752 costs just £20 more than the 16GB RAM Alienware 17 that otherwise has the same specifications. Given that upgrading from 8GB to 16GB costs £110, an extra 16GB is worth a lot more than £20 in Alienware-speak. In this top-end model, you also get 512GB SSD, which is split into two partitions for some reason, a Blu-ray writer and a 1TB hard drive. The SSD is terrifically fast, its (up to) 1561MB/s write and 2196MB/s read speeds among the fastest you’ll see in any SSD. The GPU is the same 8GB GDDR5 nVidia GeForce GTX 980M you’ll find in just about every gaming laptop worth buying at this price point. While it’s fundamentally similar to the GTX 980M used in the old G751 from last year, that was the 4GB RAM version. If you own a top gaming laptop from 2015 and have an urge to upgrade, it’s worth waiting for an nVidia Pascal-powered model. That’s the next generation of GeForce graphics cards to obsess over, due to be unveiled fully in mid-2016. The GTX 980M is spot on for 1080p gaming, though. In the 3DMark Fire Strike test, it scored a terrific 8249 points. That’s

significantly better even than the Gigabyte P37X v5, which had a similar GPU but a slightly lesser CPU and less RAM. With this sort of laptop you can run any game at max settings, and get great results at 1080p. We’ve tried it with demanding classics such as The Witcher 3, Metro 2033 and Crysis 2, and it sails through them maxed out. This is a laptop that makes you feel like you can play anything. Because you can. It’s also a great workhorse thanks to the generous amount of RAM. In PCMark 8 Home it scored 4184, and 13823 in Geekbench 3. The only way to get more power right now is to find one of the few laptops that uses a desktop CPU. And that won’t help you in squeezing out more gaming performance. Raw performance can be looked at as something you get by just stringing together some top-end components and flicking the power switch. But how the Asus RoG G752 handles that power is more specific to this laptop. A great cooling system means it doesn’t heat up the underside of the laptop up too much, and that the fans don’t need to rev too hard even though there’s a good amount of heat to dissipate. We found that even at around 20 percent volume, the internal speakers didn’t struggle to compete with the fans during gaming. A pair of large, low rpm fans kick air out of those large outlets on the G752’s back, at a rate you don’t see in the average laptop. This is one of the key draws of the G752: great cooling for quiet, relatively cool running.

Battery life What the laptop doesn’t get you is good battery life, even though it uses a latest-generation Intel Skylake CPU. Playing a film on loop at 120cd/m2 brightness (an unusually low 23 per cent on this display) it lasted four hours 37 minutes. That’s much worse than the Alienware 17, which lasted for six hours 16 minutes playing the same file. When playing games you shouldn’t expect much more than an hour. It’s classic gaming laptop stamina. Like the design, it’s not geared for use anywhere but on a sturdy surface near a plug. Finally, let’s tackle the speakers. It’s hard for a laptop of this size not to disappoint, because while the size of the thing elevates your expectations, all that space is used to max out power and reduce heat, not make the thing sound better. The RoG G752 sounds fine, with a little more low-mid bulk than ultraskinny laptops. But not much, and top volume is not that impressive. Compared with the Alienware 17, the Asus has clearer, better-extended treble, but much less sense of the fortified mids/bass you get with the Alienware. Neither is worth swaying your decision for, mind.

Verdict The RoG G752 is one of the few laptops that can justify being almost 5cm thick and a monstrous 4kg. This almighty body lets it fit in everything that makes a gaming laptop great, from quiet-running fans to the fastest mobile GPU money can buy right now. J Andrew Williams

May 2016 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews 21

019_021 Asus RoG G752 250.indd 21

25/02/2016 14:24

Reviews

GAMING LAPTOP


Alienware 17

Contact n

alienware.co.uk

Specifications

17.3in (1920 1080) IPS matt anti-glare; 4.1GHz Intel Core i7-6820MHz; 4 cores nVidia GeForce GTX980M; 8GB GDDR5; 16GB 2133MHz DDR4 RAM; 1TB 7200rpm SATA HDD; 512GB SSD; gigabit ethernet; 802.11b/g/n/ac; 2x2 MIMO; Bluetooth 4.0; 3x USB 3.0; 1x USB-C; Thunderbolt; HDMI 1.4; Noble Security Slot; SDXC card slot; stereo speakers; 2Mp webcam; dual mic; 3.5mm headset jack; UK tiled keyboard with numberpad and macro keys; two-button lit trackpad; 31Wh lithium-ion battery, removable; 430x292x34.4mm; 3780g


If the latest Alienware 17 laptop was a video game character, it would make the ground shake when it walks. It would have a million hit points and a weapon so powerful it threatens to unbalance the whole game. But its dialogue would also be incomprehensible to the casual gamer. This is an almost-perfect laptop for the hardcore crowd. Masses of power, great heat management, a high-quality display and clever ways to turn into a desktop gaming rig make this one of the best gaming laptops. However, to some the price, weight, bulk and short battery life will push the Alienware 17 to the bottom of their shortlist, below some of the excellent 15in gaming laptops we’ve reviewed.

Whether this should be of any concern depends upon how much of a bargain hunter you are. The price difference between the comparable Asus, Acer and Alienware rivals doesn’t generally measure in the hundreds of pounds.

Design As with every previous version of the Alienware 17, this laptop is huge, heavy, cumbersome and not for anyone ashamed about their appreciation of games. It’s the sort of laptop you might see an extra from a thriller listed on IMDb as

element, part of the ‘AlienFX’ lighting system, which allows you to pick a different colour for each lit element if showing off is your bag, or turn off all the lights if that strikes you as a bit vulgar. It’s never going to look entirely normal, but you can tone down its appearance if all the bright lights you see in promo shots don’t appeal. The Alienware 17 is best thought of as a desktop PC, rather than a portable laptop. It’s extremely heavy and very large. While it will fit in a large rucksack, you simply aren’t going to want to carry it around

Price

It’s never going to look entirely normal, but you can tone down its appearance if all the bright lights you see in promo shots don’t appeal

Nothing too drastic has changed in Dell’s pricing for 2016 – Dell owns the Alienware brand. None are cheap, and there is a premium over what is perhaps this system’s most dangerous rival, the Asus RoG G752 (see page 19). Prices start at £1,350 for the GTX 970M GPU version and £1,650 for the GTX 980M version. While those are familiar starting costs, both the Acer Predator G9-791 and Asus G752 get you an extra SSD for the price at the lower end.

‘hacker nerd no. 4’ using. It’s bold and aggressive. If you find that sort of aesthetic embarrassing, this probably isn’t for you. It extends from the visuals on the lid to the font on the keyboard and even the way the Alienware logo lights-up on the front. What really makes the Alienware 17 stand out even among gaming laptops is that its trackpad is illuminated. And it isn’t to help you find it. It’s clearly a show-off

much. Even moving it from room to room is enough of an exertion, although you probably go to the gym more than we do. It weighs 3.78kg and is 35mm thick: similar specs to the 2015 version. While this laptop has plenty of power, you can also plug into it what Alienware calls a ‘graphics amplifier’. This is a separate box that holds a desktop-grade GPU, most likely a GeForce GTX 980, and lets you plug in accessories such as a hard drive,


022_024 Alienware 17 250.indd 22

25/02/2016 13:01

Reviews

keyboard, and so on. It turns the laptop into a desktop rig with just one cable. The port is on the back, next to an HDMI socket. When the amplifier alone costs £250 and a desktop GTX 980 around £500, it’s no trifling upgrade, though. The laptop itself has a reasonable array of connections. You get three USB 3.0 ports, along with USB-C/Thunderbolt, HDMI, ethernet and a full-size SD card slot. There’s an assumption you’re not going to be messing around with old VGA ports here. Such outmoded ports have no place in 2016.

Display New for this year is the option of a 4K display (see below image). It’s a £250 upgrade that is arguably more useful if you want to use the Alienware as a ‘productivity’ PC as well as a gaming rig. Why? Well as powerful as the Alienware 17 is, you won’t be able to play The Witcher 3 at 4K at 60fps and maximum detail settings. 4K has other benefits, such as much smoother-looking fonts on the desktop, the ability to view and edit UHD video, and see more detail in photos without zooming in. Alienware, sent us the regular Full HD version of the laptop, which is the only way to get this system with a GTX 980M for significantly under £2k. However, there’s much to like. Image quality from the IPS, matt-finish panel is excellent, with deep blacks, carefully calibrated colours, great viewing angles and very high maximum brightness. It covers 106 percent of the sRGB colour gamut and 73 percent Adobe RGB. The pre-calibration Delta E of an impressively low 0.14 (average) shows Alienware has put great effort into getting this screen looking fantastic fresh out of the box. Reports suggest the 4K display offers even better colour performance in terms of digging even deeper into the Adobestandard colour spectrum. The decision not to use the usual glossy finish is a wise one. Instead of mirror-like reflections,

bright objects are turned into much less offensive diffuse white spots you can fairly easily ignore while playing, particularly when maximum brightness goes up to 365cd/m2. As ever with the Alienware 17, it’s not a touchscreen and there’s a raised bezel rather than the pure flat screen design that is very common in thinner, lighter laptops.

forget, you can make the Alienware 17 trackpad glow pink if you like. There’s a real sense of assured self-confidence to this laptop. You might accuse it of being loud-looking and expensive, but it has found its own design archetype. And it’s rivals like the Acer G9-791 that are copying it, not the other way around.

Keyboard

In terms of performance and specifications, the base model starts with a GTX 970M, but you can choose the top spec version with the GTX 980M. The cheaper model don’t have an SSD, and the standard 1TB HDD doesn’t seem to have a hybrid SSD cache, resulting in pretty uninspiring read/write speeds. You really want an SSD in such a high-performance machine as it can have a detrimental effect on game-load times. Entry-level specifications also include only 8GB of RAM. While that’s currently enough to avoid causing a bottleneck in virtually ever game right now, we imagine anyone after such a high-end laptop would expect 16GB these days. The Asus and Acer alternatives almost universally ship with 16GB, after all. It’s a sneaky way for Alienware to keep it’s entry prices looking a bit more appealing, of course. The version of the Alienware 17 we tested has an Intel Core

The big and bulky style works well for the keyboard and trackpad. The Alienware 17 has very deep satisfying key action that almost feels more like that of a mechanical keyboard than the ubiquitous feather-light chiclet keys we spend 99 per cent of the year tapping. They feel great, for both gaming and just typing. While deep they’re not at all stiff or fatiguing. The trackpad’s keys use a similar mechanism. They sit below the pad itself, side-stepping all of the trackpad niggles that are so common in Windows laptops. Left- and right buttons are totally separate, and while this style might take a little tiny for those use to integrated pads to bed into, it’s otherwise totally frustration-free. While you’re browsing and so on, a tap on the non-clicky pad can also be used to act as a mouse button press. A two-finger press acts as a ‘right’ button key. And, let’s not

Performance



25/02/2016 13:01

Reviews

i7-6820HK CPU, 16GB RAM, a 1TB hard drive and a 512GB SSD. This means the total comes to £1,988, but still without the 4K screen. The 4K model has a 512GB SSD and 16GB RAM as standard and costs the same amount. Power is immense. While Asus has managed to outdo the Alienware 17 with the utterly RoG GX700, which has a desktop-grade GTX 980 (not the ‘M’ version), it also uses a massive cooling carbuncle on its back to make this possible. Point-scoring projects aside, this is among the most powerful gaming laptops in the world at its top spec, which is more-or-less represented here. We have all the most important stuff bunged-in: 16GB RAM, the top-end CPU and top GPU. We tried The Witcher 3, cranked it up to the Ultra setting and found it to be playable. Plus, it looks great. For reference, the GTX 980M sits just a little below the impressive desktop-grade GTX 970, making it a perfect match for pretty much any current game at 1080p. Keep your expectations in check if you’re going for the 4K version: rock-solid 60fps won’t be possible in all titles. We also recorded scores of 13651 in Geekbench 3 (multicore), 3400 in PC Mark 8 (Home) and 8311 in 3D Mark Fire Strike (2287 in the more demanding Ultra version). Naturally, other GTX 980M laptops get close, but little else does.

Let’s also not overlook the fact that this configuration is more powerful than many desktop gaming PCs, even if you can pick one of those up for quite a bit less with similar specifications.

benchmark, emulating casual use, it lasted three hours 59 minutes. That is respectable for an outright gaming laptop, if not even nearly close to enough for a full day’s work. It can scale down even

Point-scoring projects aside, this is among the most powerful gaming laptops in the world at its top spec, which is more-or-less represented here As the Gigabyte P37X proves, you don’t necessarily have to be chunky to fit in these sorts of components. However, The Alienware 17 also handles the heat like a pro. Almost half of the underside and the rear of the laptop are given over to heat outlets for the fans. Even when subjected to an hour of The Witcher 3 at Ultra settings, the Alienware stayed reasonably quiet. To be clear: the fans do run all the time, but they’re generally not distracting, and generally don’t cause any obvious case vibration. The time when the fans do often get louder is when the laptop is charging. The large charger must pump juice through at quite a rate. Battery life varies massively. Alienware uses dynamic power management to get reasonable stamina with very light use. With the PC Mark ‘Home’ battery

further when simply playing video, though, lasting for an impressive six hours 16 minutes playing a looped MP4 movie. Before you get too excited, things take a dive radically when you actually use the GTX 980M GPU. Playing The Witcher 3 with all the visuals ramped up, most likely using 100 per cent of the GPU’s power the whole time, the Alienware 17 switched itself off thanks to low battery level in just under an hour. Finishing things off, the Alienware 17 has decent speakers, but like so much else in this laptop, they prioritise gaming over other uses. They fire out of the front edge, and provide a chunky sound, with a cleat attempt to bulk up the lower frequencies in order to give a bit more weight to explosions and the like. With music, they sound boxy, with a coloured-sounding mid-range and slightly limited treble clarity.

Verdict The Alienware 17 is one of the best gaming laptops money can buy. Great performance is really a given with an Alienware box, but what really impresses is its smart use of large, quiet, low revolutions per minute fans. It can work hard without showing it is doing so on the outside. The lingering concern is one around price, another Alienware staple. While its base specifications appear at first competitive, by leaving out the expensive but likely popular 16GB RAM and SSD upgrades, most people’s desired configurations are still going to end up rather pricey. J Andrew Williams



25/02/2016 13:01

Reviews

GAMING PC

£1,379 inc VAT Contact n

chillblast.com

Specifications

3.5GHz Intel Core-i5 6600K 4.4GHz OC CPU; Corsair Hydro H75 cooler; 16GB Crucial 2133MHz DDR4 RAM; 250GB Samsung SM951 PCIe SSD, 1TB Seagate SSHD; Corsair CS 650W 80 Plus Gold Rated PSU power supply; Asus Z170I Pro Gaming motherboard; Windows 10 (64-bit); AMD Radeon Fury Nano 4GB graphics card; Gigabit, 802.11ac Wi-Fi; 6x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0, 2x USB 3.1; HDMI 1.4, 3x DisplayPort, PS2, Optical SPDIF; Raijintek Metis case (modified); 5 years labour, 2 years parts labour, collect and return; 190x277x254mm


Chillblast Fusion Nano Fury Powerful gaming PCs commonly come with big, beefy graphics cards requiring correspondingly cumbersome and unwieldy system cases which really don’t look good in a typical living room. If you want something closer to the size and convenience of a console system, you will usually have to make large sacrifices when it comes to graphics power, which would probably negate one of the main reasons to go with a PC system in the first place. Chillblast’s Nano PCs have for a long time offered a good balance of size and performance, by making use of small form factor Mini ITX components. The system case, motherboard and graphics card are all considerably smaller in size than in a desktop PC, making them easier to transport to LAN parties, or to tuck away next your living room TV. What you gain in compactness, you often lose in terms of reduced internal expansion room, fewer motherboard slots, and crucially for a gaming system, a limit on the size of the graphics card you can fit in the case. Previous high-end models have used the popular GeForce GTX 970 from nVidia (including 2015’s Chillblast Fusion Nano), which optionally comes in a Mini ITX format, but the GTX 970 is a few steps down from the top of the ladder when it comes to performance.

Price With the new Fusion Nano Fury, Chillblast has replaced the GTX 970 with the R9 Nano from AMD – a graphics card packed with AMD’s top tier R9 Fury graphics technology, but specially re-engineered to fit into small form factor PCs. The result is a Mini ITX PC capable of previously unheard-of gaming performance, although it does come with a 38 percent price premium of the nVidia-based model. That means it will cost you £1379.99 from Chillblast’s website. That sort of money can buy you a lot of traditional desktop PC, or a gaming laptop. So you really need a good reason to want a compact gaming PC, as you’ll get better value from a full-size machine. Don’t forget that the

Fusion Nano Fury is backed by Chillblast’s five-year collect and return warranty, the first two years cover both parts and labour. It’s also available in various colours: red, blue, black, green, gold and silver/grey.

AMD Radeon R9 Nano AMD’s R9 Nano is a curious graphics card, which might not make much sense at first glance. Priced and specified as a top-tier graphic card, it’s based on the same ‘Fiji’ chipset as the company’s flagship R9 Fury, but its stricter power limits prevent it from running flat out at the highest possible speeds. Based on a 28nm manufacturing process and featuring 4GB of AMD’s ultra-fast 4096-bit High Bandwidth Memory, the R9 Nano offers all the same features as its full-sized stablemates. These include Virtual Super Resolution for squeezing 4K-like quality on to lower-resolution screens and genuine 4K support on UHD displays. It also delivers

enough performance to play several games at these ultra-high resolutions. It comes with the same 4096 stream processing units found in the flagship R9 Fury X, but uses only a single eight-pin power connector rather than two – limiting the total power available to the board. This causes the card to throttle back on performance to stay within its reduced power consumption parameters and is the main reason why the R9 Nano is slower than the R9 Fury X with such similar internal hardware. The R9 Nano therefore isn’t the right choice for a standard-sized PC where better performance can be had without the power and cooling constraints imposed on the smaller model. This means when buying a compact system such as this, your first priority has to be size, with performance coming a close second. Put one in a Mini-ITX case, however, and you have a card that thoroughly outclasses anything else in its category. May 2016 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews 25

025_026 Chillblast Fusion Nano 250.indd 25

25/02/2016 10:27

Reviews

Design If you’ve not used a Mini ITX PC before, then you may be surprised at just how much smaller they can be than a standard desktop model. The Chillblast Fusion Nano Fury is housed in a Raijintek Metis system case and looks undeniably cute, with a clean, minimalist design and expensive brushed metal texture. The case has been modified by Chillblast to include a ‘blowhole’ (actually a suckhole) in the roof. This allows external airflow directly on to the graphics card. It can also provide a bit of a hazard for any small items that may fall on to the case, as there’s no dust filter or mesh protecting it. There is however, a fan guard in place which will prevent the same happening with larger objects. A pair of USB 3.0 sockets is also provided on the top of the case, installed either side of the usual headphone and mic ports. The righthand side of the case consists mostly of a window, through which the internal components can be seen, although much of the view is obscured by the power supply. Space is at a premium here, so there’s no optical drive bay and no room for any additional externally-facing card slots one the graphics card is in place. Overall, we were impressed with the external build quality and design of the Nano.

Features Inside the case, we find a highlyspecified system, with an Asus Z170I Pro Gaming Mini ITX motherboard with a 3.5GHz Intel Core-i5 6600K processor installed, overclocked to 4.4GHz. The CPU is cooled by a Corsair Hydro H75 liquid cooler and the system comes with 16GB of Crucial 2133MHz DDR4 RAM.

CPU cooler, so this is definitely not a system designed to be upgraded internally, unless it’s by replacing components. The most you could do would be to fit a second 2.5in drive for some extra storage space.

Performance The Chillblast Fusion Nano Fury performs very well indeed. A PCMark 8 Home result of 5369 points places it among the fastest Core i5-6600K based PCs we’ve tested, despite its small physical size. It also runs relatively quietly, although we did notice that the graphics card emits a noticeable whine when under heavy load. It comes not from any fans, but rather from the electrical coils on the board. This seems to be an unfortunate aspect of the R9 Nano’s design and one you’ll just have to live with. Thankfully, it only becomes noticeable during flat-out gaming when here are likely

Space is at a premium, so there’s no optical drive bay and no room for any extra externally-facing card slots one the graphics card is in place High speed storage comes in the form of a 250GB Samsung SM951 PCI Express SSD, with a 1TB Seagate SSHD hybrid drive providing additional capacity. With all of these components in place, there’s very little room to manoeuvre, especially with the twin fans fitted to the radiator of the

to be many other sounds going on to drown it out. Storage performance (PCMark 8 Storage score: 5084 points) is also particularly good, thanks to that Samsung PCI Express SSD, so if you install your larger games on this drive you should experience reduced loading times.

However, it’s really the gaming performance we’re interested in and here the Fusion Nano Fury doesn’t disappoint. Compared to a similarly specified PC fitted with a GeForce GTX 970, Alien vs Predator frame rates leap from 91- to 167fps at 1080p. It’s a similar story across the board, with the R9 Nano comprehensively trouncing the GeForce GTX 970 over a wide range of benchmarks and seemingly pulls further ahead the more you throw at it in terms of desired resolution and quality settings.

Verdict The Fusion Nano Fury may be expensive, however, it’s also one of the fastest gaming PCs you can get in this form factor and capable of delivering high-performance gaming in a living room friendly PC. If you’re going to use it on a 4K TV, then be aware that the lack of HDMI 2.0 support will limit your refresh rates to 30Hz – to get 60Hz, you’ll have to use a DisplayPort output to a PC monitor. There’s no need to have a 4K TV to take advantage of the extra processing power however, as the VSR feature can squeeze much of the 4K goodness into a standard 1080p output – and without the 30Hz limitation. Chillblast’s PC is excellent value for those who need it, though there’s less incentive to buy such a system unless space is tight, or you envisage frequently moving the Nano Fury from place to place. J Paul Monckton


025_026 Chillblast Fusion Nano 250.indd 26

25/02/2016 10:27

Reviews

SMARTPHONE

£429 inc VAT

Huawei Mate 8

Contact n

consumer.huawei.com/en

Specifications

6in (1920x1080, 368ppi) capacitive touchscreen; Android Marshmallow 6.0; HiSilicon Kirin 950 octacore processor (quad core at 2.3GHz + quad-core at 1.8GHz); Mali T880 GPU up to 900MHz; 3GB RAM, 32GB storage or 4GB RAM, 64GB storage; 16Mp main camera, dual-LED flash, support for 1080p video at 30fps, 720p at 120fps; 8Mp secondary camera; 802.11ac dual-band Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.2; GPS; NFC; FM radio in certain models; 80.6x157.1x7.9mm; 185g


Huawei is churning out phones at an amazing pace at the moment, especially, so when you consider the company is also behind the Honor brand. It was the first to launch a ‘force touch’ screen ahead of the iPhone 6s, although even if you want a Mate S Press Touch in the UK it’s still virtually impossible to buy one nearly four months later. The Mate 8 goes down a different route, pairing a 6in Full HD screen with Huawei’s latest HiSilicon Kirin 950 processor and a huge battery to offer considerable power and longevity at a reasonable price. For some people, that’s the ideal formula for an Android phone, while for others, it’s too big and too low resolution at a price that’s almost as expensive as the Google Nexus 6P.

Price We were sent the 32GB dualSIM model (NXT-L29) for review, but the UK model (NTX-L09) is single-SIM only: the second SIM slot has to be used for a microSD card to expand the 32GB of storage. There’s no 64GB model (with 4GB of RAM) on offer – yet. The single SIM model means just one price: £429 from the official Vmall online shop (tinyurl.com/ jh8v9kd). There are two colours to choose between: Moonlight Silver or Space Gray. The first has a white

screen bezel, the second black. The ‘unique’ mocha brown isn’t an option over here, and neither is champagne gold. For the entire time we’ve been reviewing the Mate 8, it has been ‘Sold out’ on Vmall, so don’t expect to be able to actually buy one.

Design If you’ve already seen or owned one of Huawei’s other phones, you’ll instantly recognise the Mate 8. It’s like a bigger Mate 7, but the styling

black, but in an app with a light background, it’s very obvious. Overall, the Mate 8 is pretty much the same size as an iPhone 6s Plus, yet with a noticeably bigger screen. It’s no easier to use the screen with one hand – slightly more difficult, in fact, but if you’re after a big-screen phone, this is one of the most compact 6in handsets around. The metal unibody has chamfered edges and a gently curved back, which makes it

Build quality is up to the usual excellent Huawei standard, and the phone arrives with a plastic shell case in the box and a screen protector means it can be hard to tell at a distance which of the companies handsets you’re looking at. The thin side bezels are the biggest clue it’s the Mate 8: the phone is cleverly designed so that it appears to have none at all, but there’s a plastic surround between the screen and the aluminium chassis. And the screen isn’t as large as the black portion: as you can see in the photo below there’s a border of 2- to 3mm all around it. It’s not noticeable on the black model, or when the background is

feel surprisingly thin. At the bottom are two grilles, although only one is for the loudspeaker. Oddly, Huawei has decided to stick with Micro-USB rather than use USB-C. That’s better from a compatibility point of view, but it’s not as future-proof. Around the back is a circular – rather than square on the Mate 7 – camera bezel, and a fingerprint reader below that. There’s also a dual-LED flash. As with other Huawei phones, the fingerprint reader is in exactly the right position so your finger falls on it when you May 2016 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews 27

027_029 Huawei Mate 8 250.indd 27

25/02/2016 10:47

Reviews

Geekbench 3

GFXBench Manhattan

pick it up, and you just need to touch it to wake the phone. You don’t have to press the power button first. Build quality is up to the usual excellent Huawei standard, and the phone arrives with a plastic shell case in the box and a perfectly applied screen protector. The screen itself may have ‘only’ Full HD resolution, but that’s still 367ppi. And if you don’t know what the numbers mean, it’s more than enough not to see individual pixels or jagged lines. It’s bright at 500cd/m2 and has great colours, contrast and viewing angles. It lacks the absolute latest in screen technology, but it’s perfectly good at this price.

Performance

GFXBench T-Rex

SunSpider*

* lower is better

The Kirin 950 processor is Huawei’s own design and has eight cores, with four running at up to 2.3GHz for when you need maximum performance and four 1.8GHz cores for times when efficiency is the priority. You get some say as to which is used as there are three power plans on offer: Performance, Smart and Ultra. The latter is much like the extreme modes you may have used on HTC or Samsung phones: only basic call and text functions are available to make the battery last as long as possible in an emergency. Performance, though is what most buyers will be looking for, and the Kirin 950 delivers is in spades. In Geekbench 3, it scored 6193 in the multi-core test, beating the previous chart-topper– the Galaxy Note 5 – by over 1000 points. It also smashed the Antutu benchmark, scoring 90895. This isn’t a core test for us, and has recently been changed, so this score looks artificially higher than phones which were tested using the older version. The Mali T880 GPU isn’t as impressive, and will be considered mid-range among 2016 flagships. It managed only 16fps in GFXBbench’s Manhattan test and 38fps in T-Rex. The new Car Chase test was a virtual slideshow at 6.1fps. Bearing in mind that the screen has only 1920x1080 pixels, these aren’t impressive numbers. You’ll still be able to play your favourite Android games, but if gaming is a priority, your money is better spent elsewhere. The Kirin 950 has a couple of other benefits which aren’t so

obvious. First, it’s quick enough for real-time encryption and also to make the fingerprint scanner twice as quick as on the Mate 7. Huawei says it can also detect 10 percent more area and has ‘fingerprint friction ridge matching’ with three levels of security. In our tests, the scanner was lightning fast – like the iPhone 6s, but it didn’t like it unless we placed a finger square-on to the sensor. Battery life is good though. You can’t remove the 4000mAh, 15.3Wh battery, but it should last two days with relatively light use, or a full day with heavy use. In the Geekbench battery rundown test with the screen set to our normal 120cd/m2, it lasted an unprecedented 10 hours 15 minutes. Its nearest rival is the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, which lasted eight hours 39 minutes.

Software The phone ships with Marshmallow 6.0 and Huawei’s Emotion UI 4.0. EMUI is as iOS-like as they come, and Huawei’s additions and tweaks are useful on the whole. There are various optimising utilities which aim to keep the Mate 8 running at top performance all the time and another built-in feature is the document ‘scanner’, which automatically straightens images of documents when you take a photo. However, there’s also plenty to be frustrated by, such as the notification menu, which presents very little information and forces you to make a second tap on ‘Shortcuts’ in order to get to quick settings such as Wi-Fi, brightness and the main settings. There’s a split-screen mode that lets you run two apps at once, but probably not the apps you want to use. Only the default Email, Videos, Gallery, Notepad, Files, Calculator and Calendar apps work, not Gmail, YouTube or any Google apps. And if you try to play a video in one window, it will force the phone to landscape and play a cropped portion of the video. Overall, this feature is too buggy and limited to be worth anything. Like iOS, there’s no app tray, so you’re forced to keep all apps on multiple home screens or squash them onto one inside multiple folders. You can enable Google Now, and there’s also Now



25/02/2016 10:47

Reviews

100 percent zoom before software update

Original image On Tap, which is one of Android Marshmallow’s best new features.

Cameras It’s been reported that Huawei has invested almost $100 million on developing an image processing chip to go alongside the camera, which on the Mate 8 has a 16Mp Sony sensor. As well as focusing fast, it also enables ‘more accurate colour shading’ and ‘higher clarity’. Yet, the Mate 8 can only shoot in slo-mo at 120 frames per second (fps) at 720p, and it’s not possible to enable the ‘stabiliser’ at top resolution of 1080p at 60fps – the option is greyed out unless you select 1080p at 30fps or lower. For more on that, see below. And it’s also disappointing that a ‘flagship’ can’t shoot video at 4K these days. Worse still, the camera produced blurry, smudgy images no matter what we tried. Huawei said it was aware of the problem and issued a software update to fix it. We’ve now had time to try this update (B133) and while it does improve things noticeably, the resulting photos are still softer than we’d expect, and not a patch on the Nexus 6P’s. The original photo (shown above) looks okay, but when you zoom in to check focus and clarity, it’s not as good looking. Above right is a 100 percent crop of a photo taken before the update, where you can clearly see a problem. The next image reveals the difference after the update, but details – such as the roof tiles – are still soft and poorly defined. Brickwork is still smudgy. To illustrate the point, we’ve added a similar photo taken on the Google Nexus 6P. As you can see, there’s more detail and the

image is sharper. This is a real shame because – in theory – the Mate 8 should have a camera to rival the superb Nexus 6P (which doesn’t have OIS). At the front is an 8Mp selfie camera that takes decent shots and the app has many beauty enhancements that you may – or may not – want to employ.

Video quality Video quality is reasonably good if you use the 1080p at 60fps. However, as our side-by-side test revealed there’s something funny going on with the stabiliser. We had assumed it would use the Smart OIS, but this appears to be a feature reserved (as it was on the iPhone 6 Plus) for photos shot in low light. Instead, the video stabiliser seems to use the image processor to stabilise footage after it’s shot – in much the same way as YouTube does when it detects shaky video. The result is that you end up with zoomed in, blurrier looking – but stable – video. This is disappointing, as we’d far rather have optically stabilised video which works at all frame rates. To get the best quality from the Mate 8, you need to disable the stabiliser and keep the phone as still as you can.

100 percent zoom after software update

Photo taken by the Google Nexus 6P

Verdict In many ways, the Mate 8 is an excellent smartphone. It has a big, high-quality screen and is well made. It isn’t the most stylish of phones, but it’s fast (unless you’re talking about games) and has decent battery life. The camera is a disappointment in terms of limitations and outright quality – even with the latest software

update. For £20 more, the Nexus 6P is a compelling alternative with a higher-resolution screen, a better camera and plain Android Marshmallow. Battery life isn’t as good and there’s no microSD slot, but these are sacrifices many will be happy to make. J Jim Martin May 2016 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews 29


25/02/2016 10:47

Reviews

SMARTPHONE

£114 inc VAT

Xiaomi Redmi 3

Contact n

xiaomi-mi.com

Specifications

5in HD (1280x720) screen; Android 5.1 with MIUI 7; Qualcomm Snapdragon 616 octa-core (4x 1.5GHz, 4x 1.2GHz) processor; Adreno 405 GPU; 2GB RAM; 16GB storage; microSD support up to 128GB or dual-SIM, dual-standby functionality (one Micro-SIM, one NanoSIM); UK 4G support for 1800- and 2600MHz networks; 802.11ac Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.1; GPS, GLONASS; IR blaster; 13Mp rear camera with LED flash; 5Mp front camera; 4100mAh battery, charges over Micro-USB; 139.3x69.6x8.5mm; 144g

The Redmi 3 is a 5in budget smartphone from Chinese phone maker Xiaomi, and not officially sold in the UK.

Price Build: Features: Performance: Value:

If you do want to get your hands on a Xiaomi Redmi 3 in the UK, you’ll need to pick one up from a third-party grey-market site such as GearBest (gearbest.com), which supplied our sample for review. It charges £114.95 with free shipping to the UK for the 16GB Redmi 3, but you should note that all phones shipped from China to the UK are liable for import duty. Not all parcels will be pulled by customs, but if yours is then you must pay the charge.

Redmi 3 vs Redmi Note 3 Xiaomi products aren’t officially sold in the UK, and as such us Brits aren’t very well accustomed to how its naming schemes work. Redmi is the company’s budget line-up, while Mi is its flagship range. So this Redmi 3 sits below the plastic Xiaomi Mi 4c (the upgraded Mi 4i), though it isn’t simply a compact version of the Redmi Note 3 phablet. There’s not a huge deal of difference in the pricing of these two Xiaomi phones, with the Redmi 3 costing £114.95 and the Note 3 £128.53, both from GearBest. But almost everything else is different.

The most obvious differences are in the build. The Xiaomi Note 3 is a gorgeous and smooth fully metal phablet with a large 5.5in full-HD panel and a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner. By comparison, the Redmi 3 is a part-metal, partplastic phone with a diamondpatterned rear, a 5in HD screen, no fingerprint scanner and a single LED flash in place of the Note 3’s two. Inside the differences continue. Xiaomi’s Note 3 is powered by an octa-core Helio X10 chip with PowerVR G6200 graphics and 2GB of RAM, while the 2GB Redmi 3 is fitted with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 616 and Adreno 405 graphics. Both feature 16GB of storage, but only the Redmi 3 has a microSD slot for up to 128GB of additional storage. One thing the two Xiaomi phones have in common is large-capacity batteries. With 4000mAh inside the Note 3 and a surprisingly huge 4100mAh inside the Redmi 3, battery life is a key selling point for the cheaper phone. You usually get what you pay for and, as we’ll discover in this review, that’s very much the case with the Xiaomi Redmi 3 and Redmi Note 3. We’d recommend the Note 3 over the Redmi 3, but fans of smallerscreen phones or those on a tighter budget or with a need for microSD support might prefer to check out this cheaper Redmi 3.

Design The first thing you’ll notice about the Redmi 3 when taking it out the box is that this is a plasticky feeling phone, which is these days the warning call of a cheap phone. The top and bottom rear panels are plastic, while it’s actually quite difficult to tell whether the middle panel is plastic or metal (it’s metal) because it is so thin and plasticky feeling. The other telltale sign is its width, and this 8.5mm smartphone is about average for the price. The design is pleasant though, with a diamond-patterned rear case and a chrome-effect metal trim around the screen that at least from the front makes it look similar to its bigger brother. Thanks to its 5in screen it fits comfortably in the hand, and we absolutely can’t argue with its build quality – this phone feels and looks well made. There’s no creaking, no flexing, no sharp edges and no gaping holes. A camera and single-LED flash lie flush with the phone’s case at the top left corner on the rear. Down the bottom you find a speaker grille, with a small plastic lip intended to raise it from the desk. The setup is otherwise pretty standard for an Android phone, with volume and power buttons on the right edge, Micro-USB at the bottom and a 3.5mm headphone jack at the top. A SIM tray pops out from the left edge of the Xiaomi Redmi 3,


030_032 Xiaomi Redmi 3 250.indd 30

24/02/2016 13:00

Reviews

and allows you to choose between using two SIMs or a single SIM plus a microSD card. We’ve seen this setup in several Chinese phones before, and it’s useful for those who need to use dual-SIM functionality only when they go on holiday. For those who want to manage two SIMs every day, the inability to also add a microSD card will likely prove frustrating. One thing we can’t get our heads around is that this phone weighs only 144g and yet it has a 4100mAh battery inside. That’s significantly higher in capacity than most Android phones and, given that this phone has only an HD screen and some mid-range hardware inside it offers remarkable decent battery life. The screen might be only HD in resolution, but it’s perfectly clear at 1280x720 pixels, adequately bright and has realistic colours (which you can tweak to your desire) and strong viewing angles. More important for many users who are disappointed with the way phones seem to be getting only larger these days is that the screen is just 5in. It’s a perfect fit for the palm, and we really like the one-handed mode built into MIUI 7. This lets you shrink the screen area to just 3.5- or 4in with a simple gesture. Clearly it’s of more use in the Redmi Note 3, but some users will appreciate it even in this smaller model.

Performance The Redmi 3 runs the Qualcomm Snapdragon 616 64-bit octa-core processor, which is an upgrade over the Snapdragon 615 that was seen in budget- to mid-range phones such as the Vodafone Smart Ultra 6. This chip has four cores clocked at 1.5GHz and four at 1.2GHz, and integrates the Adreno 405 GPU. Xiaomi pairs it with 2GB of RAM. The 615 was the first commercial Qualcomm octa-core processor to combine LTE and 64-bit capabilities, and the 615 builds on this with improved performance and superior connectivity with X5 LTE. Although the two phones are not directly comparable, given that they run different software and the Vodafone has a higher-resolution screen, the Xiaomi Redmi 3 did turn in higher performance in our benchmarks. For example, in Geekbench 3, which records overall processing performance, the Xiaomi

turned in 3045 points against the Vodafone’s 2469. We also ran AnTuTu – another overall performance benchmark – on the Redmi 3, and recorded 33,175 points. When compared to Xiaomi phones the Redmi 3 scored close to the Mi 4c in Geekbench (3045 against 3233), but fell way behind in AnTuTu (33,175 against 54,250), but it was way off the Redmi Note 3, which turned in 4597 points in Geekbench 3 and 46,924 in AnTuTu. Until recently we used SunSpider to measure web browsing JavaScript performance, but now that this benchmark is no longer supported we are using JetStream in its place. As we collate more results from this test the results will become easier to interpret. The Xiaomi Redmi 3 scored 19.019 points in this test. GFXBench is used to measure graphics. We tend to find phones with lower screen resolutions will do better in these tests, and you should take that into account when you read that the Xiaomi Redmi 3 turned in 24fps in T-Rex and 11fps in Manhattan. By comparison the Mi 4c recorded 34- and 15fps respectively, the Redmi Note 3 22- and 8fps respectively, and the Vodafone Smart Ultra 6 14- and 6fps respectively. Nevertheless, these are very good scores for a budget phone, and you shouldn’t have any problems playing games (although you may have to jump through a few hoops to download them, as we’ll come to in the Software section of this review). In terms of battery life, the Xiaomi Redmi 3 is remarkable. Its combination of (relatively)

low-resolution screen, low-power hardware and a big battery powered it to the second highest battery score we’ve ever seen in Geekbench. The Redmi 3 turned in nine hours 50 minutes, and we’ve seen only the Huawei Mate 8 score higher. The Xiaomi Redmi 3 doesn’t support Quick charging or wireless charging, but that’s not a particular surprise at this price.

Connectivity For a budget smartphone the Xiaomi Redmi 3 is an excellent phone for connectivity. Not only does it support an IR blaster, but also dual-SIM functionality and microSD. But there is a catch. The Xiaomi Redmi 3 is unable to support both two SIMs and a microSD at once, since it uses the same slot for its second SIM as it does the microSD card. If you plump for microSD, you can add up to 128GB to the Redmi 3’s 16GB of built-in storage; if you opt to use it as a dual-SIM phone instead you should note that it operates in a dual-standby fashion and accepts one nano-SIM and one Micro-SIM. The Redmi 3 is a 4G phone, though UK O2 users (and those of any mobile operator that piggybacks on O2’s mobile network, such as GiffGaff) should note that it does not support the 800MHz band. Since O2 relies entirely on this band for its 4G coverage, customers won’t be able to receive anything more than 3G using this smartphone. The Xiaomi does support the 1800- and 2600MHz 4G bands, which is good news for customers of other UK mobile operators. (Always be sure to



24/02/2016 13:00

Reviews

HDR off

HDR on check whether a phone is supported by your network before you buy.) Other connectivity specifications include GPS with GLONASS and Bluetooth 4.1. GearBest’s product listing states that the Redmi 3 supports 802.11ac Wi-Fi, but other sources claim it supports just single-band 802.11b/g/n.

Cameras The Redmi 3, in common with many other Chinese budget Android phones, is fitted with a 13Mp camera and LED flash at the rear, plus a 5Mp selfie camera. There are some nice additions to the Camera app, such as real-time previews of filters, but more importantly the quality of the camera isn’t bad. Although our standard test shot of the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel looks rather drab and dreary (above left), switch to HDR mode (above right) and it comes alive. Viewed at 100 percent this smartphone was unable to retain all the detail, such as the individual bricks, but we were impressed by how good a job it did. You can just about make out the road name, for example. The Redmi 3 also supports fullHD video and time-lapse recording modes from its primary camera.

Software Because Xiaomi phones aren’t intended to be sold in the UK, out of the box they aren’t the easiest of devices to get set up for UK users – especially those who don’t really know what they’re doing. In fact, we wouldn’t recommend a Xiaomi phone to these type of users. The main reason for this is that the Google Play store is not preinstalled. Xiaomi has its own software and apps for all the things

you’d usually get from Google, but language will be a barrier if you don’t speak Chinese. You’ll notice this even without trying to download apps, since many of the preinstalled apps are in Chinese, and so are some of the characters on the keyboard. There are ways around all of this, of course. To add Google Play you download the Google Installer apk file from tinyurl.com/py6bfnr and sideload it either to the Downloads folder or to a microSD card (one isn’t supplied by GearBest, so factor this into the cost if you want one). Tap on the file in Tools, File Explorer to install it, then launch the Google Installer. Inside the app you’ll see a link to install Google Play (you may not be able to read the writing but you should recognise the icon for the Play store). Tap on this and you’ll be prompted to also install the Google Services Framework and a couple of additional files. Tap on the phone icon at the bottom of the screen to do this. Now when you try to open Google Play you should be prompted to enter your Google account details. The alternative to this is to simply sideload the apk files for any app you want to install, as we did with the AnTuTu 3D benchmark, which is convinced it isn’t compatible with Xiaomi phones. We use a APK downloader Chrome extension to download the file directly from Google Play on our PC, then sideload it to the phone. The next problem you need to tackle is the keyboard, and the easiest solution is to install the Google Keyboard. As for any apps preinstalled on the phone, simply drag them toward the top of the screen and a trash can will appear with the option to uninstall them.

This is a key part of the MIUI 7 operating system preinstalled on the Xiaomi Redmi 3, which is based on Android 5.1 Lollipop. The familiar app tray is gone, and instead everything is laid out on the home screen. This approach is more reminiscent of iOS than Android, but it’s easy enough to organise the clutter into folders to prevent the home screens from looking untidy. MIUI 7 is a nice operating system with several extras over standard Android. For example, you can change the colour of the LED for different types of notifications, you can change the font and its size, there’s the aforementioned one-handed mode, and nice things such as the ability to automatically lock the screen when you place it in a pocket. The pull-down notification bar has also been tweaked. When you drag down from the top of the screen you’ll see quick settings and must swipe left to access notifications. A pinch on the home screen brings up options to move apps, add widgets and alter the wallpaper and effects (the transitions as you move between home screens). We also like the Child mode, which lets you allow access only to certain apps installed on your phone before handing it over to the kids.

Verdict The Redmi 3 is a very decent budget Android phone, but it isn’t intended for a UK audience and doesn’t come with Google Play installed out of the box, so we wouldn’t recommend it for those not familiar with Android. It has a plasticky but decent build, with good performance for the money. J Marie Brewis



24/02/2016 13:01

Reviews

SMARTPHONE

£113 inc VAT

UMI Rome

Contact n

umidigi.com

Specifications

5.5in HD (1280x720) AMOLED screen with 2.5D curved glass; 1.3GHz MediaTek MTK6753 64-bit octa-core processor, ARM Mali-T720 GPU; 3GB RAM; 16GB storage; microSD support up to 64GB; 8Mp (interpolated to 13Mp) Sony IMX179 rear camera with dual-LED flash; 2Mp front camera with LED flash; Android Lollipop 5.1 with Rootjoy; supports UK 4G bands 3, 7 and 20 (800/1800/2600MHz); dualSIM, dual-standby (both Micro-SIM); dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.1; GPS; 2500mAh battery (claimed 12.5 hours screen-on time, 8.8 hours 4G web browsing); 153.8x77x7.9mm; 177g Build: Features: Performance: Value:

UMI phones were until recently available only from third-party Chinese distributors such as Coolicool.com, which supplied our UMI Rome for review. It offers the phone from its EU warehouse with free shipping at £113.59, or you can take a gamble and buy the Rome from the Chinese warehouse for £85.19. Be aware that you may have to pay import duty when shipping the UMI Rome from China, however. UMI phones are also now available in the UK via Amazon. They usually cost a little more from Amazon, but at the time of writing the Rome was on offer at £112.55 with free UK delivery.

something a lot tougher that at least looks premium. As we’ll discover later in this review, the UMI Rome is very much a mid-range phone sold at a budget price. As such there are both highs and lows, the most obvious of which are found in its design. Our review sample came in a shiny Champagne Gold, but the Rome is also available in black. The golden metal frame is complemented with a glossy

even central, which hurts our OCD – but more importantly, why on earth is it there? It’s worth pointing out that the Home button is a touch button and does not feature a built-in fingerprint scanner. If we were reviewing a UK phone at this price the omission of a fingerprint scanner would be expected, but we’ve been spoiled by a run of cheap Chinese phones with fingerprint scanners, and usually

Design

The UMI is a good-looking phone and the 2.5D curved glass, rounded corners and tapered rear edges allow it to feel manageable in a single hand

Out of the box we had an interesting first impression of the UMI Rome. It was absolutely freezing cold – ice-cold to the touch. We actually felt a bit sorry for the postie, because it must have been nearing arctic conditions outside for the pretty well-wrapped Rome to cause our fingers go numb. The reason for it feeling so cold is the metal frame, which is something that even now we can’t say is a given for most budget- or even mid-range smartphones. This is one advantage of buying a Chinese phone – you get to ditch the plasticky builds we see in most cheap UK phones for

gold plastic rear, but on closer inspection the bands scattered around the frame to improve signal prevent it from sitting entirely flush. It spoils what would otherwise been an appealing and premium design, although we do appreciate the ability to remove this cover and access the removable 2500mAh battery and dual-SIM- and microSD slots. Something else that spoils the design is the bizarrely placed microphone below the screen, randomly situated to the bottom right of the Home button. It’s not

located in a more convenient rear position. That the UMI Rome doesn’t have one at all seems odd. It’s most certainly not all bad, though. Out of the box we thought the UMI to be a good-looking phone and, despite being a rather large phablet at 153.8x77mm and 177g, the 2.5D curved glass, rounded corners and tapered rear edges allow the UMI to feel manageable even in a single hand. The Rome is just 7.9mm thick, which is thin for a phablet and super-skinny for a £100 phone. The camera juts out a little at the May 2016 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews 33

033_035 UMI Rome 250.indd 33

25/02/2016 11:02

Reviews

complaint of AMOLED is that it can be less visible in bright sunlight, and the UMI Rome’s display could be a tad brighter.

Performance

rear, but at least is positioned topmiddle to make it less likely to rock on a flat surface. Something that’s relatively rare among smartphones is the front-facing flash (there’s also a dual-LED flash at the back). Taking selfies, conducting video chats and even just checking your appearance can therefore be more effective in low light, although it’s a shame the selfie camera is rated at only 2Mp. Again, even at this price we’re becoming accustomed to 5- or even 8Mp cameras. Another plus point is that the speaker grilles face out from the bottom rather than the rear of the phone. The UMI also features a 3.5mm headphone jack and supports FM radio with a pair of earphones plugged in. AMOLED is an unusual screen technology to find in the UMI

Rome, with the majority of phones using IPS or, if they’re really cheap, basic TFT LCDs. AMOLED is seen on Samsung phones in the form of SuperAMOLED, and is considered to be more energy efficient with no requirement for a

In general processing performance, the UMI Rome is faster than some of the UK budget phones you could also be considering, such as Vodafone’s Smart range or the Moto E or G. With general performance on par with the two-year-old HTC One M8, we’d say this is a budget phone with mid-range performance. In real-world use the UMI Rome is neither fast nor slow; it is quite capable for everyday tasks. We found most apps launched quickly, and the continuous controlling home screens and app tray gave the perception that navigation was perhaps faster than it was. We ran the UMI Rome through our usual benchmarks to find out exactly what its 1.3GHz MediaTek MTK6753 octa-core 64-bit

In general processing performance, the UMI Rome is faster than some of the UK budget phones you could also be considering, such as the Moto E or G backlight. Contrast is unbeatable, viewing angles are excellent, and colours are vivid. The 5.5in display on the UMI Rome is a great choice, with a thin black border edging the screen. Although it’s ‘only’ HD in resolution, with 1280x720 pixels, we found it to be plenty clear. One

processor, ARM Mali-T720 GPU and 3GB of RAM was capable of. We use Geekbench 3 and AnTuTu to measure overall performance, and here the Rome recorded 2805 and 35,921 points respectively, making it a close match for the similarly priced Bluboo X9 (see page 36). We also ran GFXBench graphics tests, with the Rome scoring 4fps in Manhattan and 9fps in T-Rex; and the JetStream web-browsing test, where it managed 19.904 points. In terms of storage you get 16GB onboard, which is more than the 8GB you might expect at this price. There’s also a microSD card slot that will accept up to 64GB of additional storage. UMI has fitted the Rome with a 2500mAh removable battery that, for most users, should be good for a full day’s use (UMI claims you’ll get 12.5 hours of ‘on-screen’ time, or 8.8 hours of 4G web browsing). However, if you need to eke out every last bit of juice there’s also an ultra power saving mode. There’s no support for fast- or wireless charging, as you would expect.


033_035 UMI Rome 250.indd 34

25/02/2016 11:03

Reviews

Auto mode

Connectivity We mentioned earlier that a clear advantage of buying a Chinese phone is the build quality in relation to the price. The other advantage is that the vast majority of these phones are dual-SIM. The UMI Rome is a dual-standby model that accepts two Micro-SIM cards, allowing you to more easily manage separate tariffs for work and play, or for whatever reason you like. The UMI Rome is also a 4G phone, and importantly it supports all three 4G bands used by the UK’s mobile operators. Also on the connectivity specs sheet are dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1 and GPS; missing are NFC, OTG and an IR blaster.

Cameras The UMI Rome is billed as featuring a 13Mp Sony IMX179 rear camera with dual-LED flash, and a superselfie camera with its own flash. The latter should be ideal for taking selfies or conducting video chat in low light, but unfortunately the camera is rated at only 2Mp and the flash itself doesn’t make a huge difference to performance. The front camera is actually an 8Mp model, which uses software to boost to 13Mp. There is a dual-LED flash here, which works better than the one at the front. All the usual modes and options are present, including real-time filters. You can see our test shots of the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel (above), first on auto mode and then with HDR. It was an admittedly dull day, but we weren’t overly enthused by the Rome’s photography

HDR on capabilities. It’ll do fine for the odd snap when you don’t have a camera to hand, but the image is very soft in areas with a lot of detail missing.

can install what you wish. We like the continuously scrolling homeand app tray screens, and the customisable Smart Wake gestures

The UMI Rome doesn’t feature the Rootjoy branding, although it is evidently from the preinstalled SuperSU app a rooted phone Software The majority of UMI phones we review are advertised with support for Rootjoy, which lets you hook it up to a PC to quickly back up contents and install custom ROMs. The UMI Rome doesn’t feature the Rootjoy branding, although it is evidently from the preinstalled SuperSU app a rooted phone. Out of the box there are very few preinstalled apps, although full Google Play access means you

are a neat addition, but this is otherwise a stock implementation of Android 5.1 Lollipop.

Verdict You can hardly fault the UMI Rome at this price, but while it offers mid-range performance at a budget price, you can still get more for your money elsewhere. It has a mostly pleasing design but, up close, shows some signs of costcutting. J Marie Brewis


033_035 UMI Rome 250.indd 35

25/02/2016 11:03

Reviews

SMARTPHONE

£98 inc VAT

Bluboo X9

Contact n

bluboo.com.cn

Specifications

5in full-HD (1920x1080, 440ppi) 2.5D JDI IPS display; Android 5.1 Lollipop; 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6753 64-bit octa-core processor, Mali-T720 GPU; 3GB RAM; 16GB storage, plus microSD support; 4G (FDD-LTE 800/1800/2100/ 2600MHz), dual-SIM dualstandby (one full-size, one Micro-SIM); dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.0; GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS; HotKnot; rearmounted fingerprint scanner (0.5-second recognition); 13Mp rear camera with LED flash; 5Mp front camera; 2500mAh removable battery; 71.5x7.9x145mm; 166g


Bluboo is a Chinese brand, and is shipped to the UK from third-party sites such as GearBest (gearbest. com), which supplied our review sample. GearBest has a UK warehouse, and buy can buy the Bluboo X9 from here for £100.92 – at least you can usually; right now it’s out of stock. GearBest also stocks the X9 in its Hong Kong warehouse at the cheaper price of £98.67. Shipping to the UK is free, but you should note that you may be asked to pay import duty when your parcel arrives.

Design In common with the Cubot P12 we review on page 38, the Bluboo X9 is among a growing number of Chinese phones that are available significantly cheaper than UK mid-range phones, yet look far more expensive. Were you to buy a smartphone with a similar specification on the UK High Street you’d more than likely walk away with a plastic handset with an HD screen; by comparison, this Bluboo X9 has a stylish gold-colour chiselled metal frame with a soft-touch black plastic removable rear panel, while the 5in full-HD IPS display appears jet black in standby. The black and gold effect is certainly stylish, although the X9’s design is not without complaint. The rear cover is difficult to remove

without it feeling as though the plastic hinges will snap, and the screen is a magnet for fingerprints. But we do like the 2.5D curved edges to the glass, which makes the transition between metal and glass much smoother. We’re not overly keen on the CE and recycling legends printed on the rear, á la Apple – surely these could have gone under the rear cover. But one thing we do like on the Bluboo’s back is its fingerprint scanner, which is housed in the same gold surround as the phone’s 13Mp primary camera and LED flash. We tend to find this positioning more convenient than those built into the Home button because it falls under your finger naturally as you hold the phone. You can wake the screen and unlock it with a single press, and recognition is quick.

Switched off you can only just make out where the screen begins and the bezel stops; turn it on and this full-HD (1920x1080-pixel) JDI IPS panel is a beauty for a £100 phone. With a pixel pitch of 440ppi it’s incredibly clear, and the black theme runs right through to the apps tray. Even whites seem a little grey, although the screen is plenty bright and colours are fine. Viewing angles are excellent, too. Below the screen are the three usual Android buttons, but only the home button is marked out with an X, lighting up as you tap it, and opening up the multitasking menu with a long press. If you don’t want to use the fingerprint scanner to wake the phone there’s a power button on the right edge, and the X9 supports customisable smart wake gestures

One thing we do like on the Bluboo’s back is its fingerprint scanner, which is housed in the same gold surround as the phone’s 13Mp camera The rear cover snaps off to reveal a removable 2520mAh battery, dual-SIM (one full-size, one Micro-SIM) and microSD slots. The battery has a plastic tab for easier removal; it looks cheap and is unnecessary, but at least is hidden from view most of the time.

(confusingly through an app rather than the Settings menu). This power button sits beside a volume rocker, while a 3.5mm headphone jack and Micro-USB charging port sit up top. We were pleased to find the speaker firing out sound at the bottom rather than the rear of the phone.


036_037 Bluboo X9 250.indd 36

25/02/2016 11:07

Reviews

Auto mode

Performance While you shouldn’t expect flagship performance from the Bluboo X9, it’s certainly faster than what you’d get in the UK from the likes of Vodafone’s Smart range or Motorola’s Moto E or Moto G. In fact, when we ran it through our usual Geekbench test it performed only a little behind the HTC One M8 and iPhone 6 with 2818 points scored. That’s just the one test, though, and the Bluboo fell down elsewhere – particularly in graphics. It’s easy to place too much emphasis on benchmarks, however, and especially when it comes to cheap phones such as this. For most tasks the Bluboo X9’s 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6753 64-bit octa-core processor and 3GB of RAM are more than up to the job. You’ll find a small amount of lag with the usual suspects, such as launching the camera, but at all other times operation feels fluid. In our other benchmarks, the Bluboo scored 36,570 points in AnTuTu, 12fps in GFXBench T-Rex (4fps in Manhattan), and 19.785 in JetStream. None is outstanding, but at this price none is an issue either. Arguably more impressive at this price point is the 16GB of built-in storage, plus support for storage expansion via microSD. You’ll be lucky to get 8GB for the same money in the UK. The Bluboo is fitted with a 2520mAh removable battery that should be good for a full working day. It doesn’t support fast- or wireless charging, which can hardly be expected in any case.

Connectivity The Bluboo X9 has the most important connectivity bases

HDR on covered with dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS with GLONASS. However, it lacks the likes of NFC (MediaTek’s sort-ofbut-not-really equivalent HotKnot is present) and an IR blaster. One of the clearest benefits of buying a Chinese phone such as this is its support for dual-SIM operation. This is a dual-standby phone that can simultaneously accept a fullsize- and a Micro-SIM, allowing you to use two separate tariffs to best suit your needs. It’s also a 4G phone, and the X9 supports all three UK bands: 800-, 2100- and 2600MHz (aka Bands 3, 7 and 20). It’s said to be using LDS antenna tech for improved signal stability, and we certainly had no problems in our tests. Don’t forget the fingerprint scanner either, which is usefully back-mounted and far from standard at this price point.

Cameras For a £100 phone, it’s difficult to find fault with the photography specifications. With 13Mp and an LED flash at the rear, and 5Mp at the front, on paper the Bluboo is miles ahead of some of its UK rivals. But there’s more to it than the sheer number of megapixels, of course. We tried the X9’s camera and found it did a very reasonable job, even despite the miserable January weather outside PC Advisor’s Euston office. Zoomed in to 100 percent the Bluboo X9 managed to retain

more detail than many of the 13Mp cameras we try, although it also introduced a fair bit of noise. On the whole, though, colours were realistic and the Bluboo X9 does an acceptable job. You can see our test shots of the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel above.

Software The Bluboo X9 runs a nearly stock version of Android 5.1 Lollipop, but with the addition of Smart Wake gestures. These are customisable, allowing you to draw a character on screen-off and automatically wake an app of your choice; or you can stick to the likes of double-tap to wake. (Look for the Smart Wake app in the app tray; you won’t find it in the Settings menu.) Very little software is preinstalled, but full access to Google Play means you can install whatever you like. There’s a file manager and apps for music, video and browsing the web, plus a handful of Google apps and AppLock, which usefully lets you lock down only the apps you specify rather than the entire phone.

Verdict Bluboo might not be well known over here, but its X9 is a stylish phone that packs in both a fingerprint scanner and a 5in full-HD screen for just £110. General performance is capable, and there’s plenty of space here for all your apps and media. J Marie Brewis

This is a dual-standby phone that can simultaneously accept a full-size- and a Micro-SIM, allowing you to use two separate tariffs May 2016 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews 37

036_037 Bluboo X9 250.indd 37

25/02/2016 11:07

Reviews

SMARTPHONE

£74 inc VAT

Cubot P12

Contact n

cubot.net

Specifications

5in HD (720x1280, 294ppi) IPS fully laminated display, 1300:1 contrast, 450-nit brightness; Android 5.1 Lollipop; 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6580 quad-core 32-bit processor, Mali 400mp GPU; 1GB RAM; 16GB storage; microSD slot supports up to 32GB; dualSIM dual-standby (both Micro-SIM), 850/900/1800/ 1900MHz 2G GSM, 900/1900/2100MHz 3G WCDMA; GPS, A-GPS; Bluetooth 4.0; OTG; 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi; HotKnot; 8Mp (interpolated to 13Mp) rear camera with f/2.0 aperture, LED flash; 5Mp (interpolated to 8Mp) front camera; 2200mAh removable lithiumpolymer battery; 71.5x8.1x143.9mm; 165g Build: Features: Performance: Value:

Cubot isn’t a brand we’ve come across before, but its P12 is a well-designed budget Android smartphone that costs just £75. At this price there are both hits and misses, as we see here.

Price At just £74.99 from Amazon with free UK delivery, the Cubot P12 is cheaper than all but one of the devices in our best budget phones round-up, and yet it looks more expensive than many of them. There are some drawbacks associated with buying a phone this cheap, for example 4G connectivity is not supported, but on the whole the Cubot P12 appears at first glance to be a real bargain. In the UK, the Cubot’s most fearsome rival is the £79 Vodafone Smart Prime 6. The Vodafone is a 4G phone while the Cubot is not, but in other respects the P12 has the upper hand, both networkunlocked and with a better overall specification. However, given the fact that Cubot is a relatively unknown brand in the UK, especially when compared to Vodafone which has numerous stores across the country, it wouldn’t surprise us to see many readers plump for the Smart Prime 6 instead.

Design Upon removing the Cubot P12 from its box, we were immediately

impressed by its design. You just don’t get phones this cheap that look this good. (Well, until now.) The P12 has an aluminiummagnesium metal frame that makes it appear much more expensive than many of its budget plastic rivals, and adds durability to its design. Sure, there’s still some plastic to be found with a removable rear cover, but this is held tight to the phone without feeling flimsy, and gives welcome access to the also-removable 2200mAh lithium-polymer battery, and dual-SIM and microSD card slots. The relatively thin 8.1mm frame adds weight to the illusion that this is a premium phone. Perhaps weight is the wrong word, however, since the Cubot P12 is just 165g. That’s an ideal weight for it to feel substantial in the hand and yet not overly heavy. With a 5in screen, the Cubot is simple to operate in a single hand. The screen is an IPS panel, which offers realistic colours and good viewing angles, with a 1300:1 contrast ratio and 450 nits brightness; it’s also fully laminated, and we like the effect this creates. The HD resolution of 720x1280 pixels means it offers a pixel density of 294ppi, which is really not bad at all for a budget phone. Not only does it match the Vodafone Smart Prime 6, but it’s not far off the iPhone’s 326ppi. Text is sufficiently clear, and videos and images look good.

The screen isn’t edge-to-edge, but the bezels are reasonably slim. Below this you’ll find touch buttons for Android’s usual options, although the Cubot is only a toucher taller than the Vodafone at 143.9mm; the only physical buttons are a volume rocker and power switch on the P12’s right edge. At the phone’s bottom is a Micro-USB port for charging, and at the top a 3.5mm headphone jack that you’ll likely be more inclined to use than the phone’s rear-mounted speaker – despite a small nipple that intends to raise the phone’s speaker from a surface, we found sound somewhat muted and slightly muffled even when the speaker wasn’t obscured by a palm or a desk. The P12 is available in black or white and is supplied with a free screen protector and clear case in the box.

Performance The Cubot isn’t as impressive on the inside as it appears from the outside, but at £75 you can’t argue with the specification and, for many people, it will prove quite capable of the day-to-day tasks they wish to achieve. We found it fast enough to navigate and use, and in many respects its spec sheet offers more enjoyable reading than that of the Vodafone Smart Prime 6. Both the Cubot and Vodafone have relatively low-power processors, with the Cubot fitted


038_039 Cubot P12 250.indd 38

25/02/2016 10:22

Reviews

with a 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6580 quad-core processor and the Vodafone with an also quad-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 CPU, and each have 1GB of RAM. There wasn’t a huge difference between the two in our benchmarks, with the Vodafone taking the upper hand in Geekbench 3 (1401 against the P12’s 1186), but the Cubot mastering AnTuTu with 24,807 points against the Smart Prime’s 21,842. In our graphics tests, the Vodafone took back the lead, scoring 13fps in GFXBench 3’s T-Rex component and 6fps in Manhattan. Meanwhile, the Cubot wouldn’t run Manhattan and mustered only 4fps in T-Rex. That’s not to say you can’t play casual games on this phone, just don’t expect it to handle anything too intensive. We now use JetStream rather than SunSpider to judge browsing performance, since the latter is no longer actively supported. However, we did run SunSpider on the P12 so we could more accurately compare it to the Vodafone, since we don’t have JetStream scores for the Smart Prime 6. In SunSpider, in which a lower score is better, the Vodafone scored 1301ms, and the Cubot 1726ms. In JetStream, where a higher score is better, the P12 recorded 13.605. In terms of other core hardware, the Cubot wins on storage, with double the Vodafone’s 8GB allocation (of which around 5GB is available to the user) with 16GB (of which around 11GB is available). Both accept storage expansion through microSD, the Smart Prime 6 by up to 64GB and the P12 by up to 32GB. The Cubot’s battery is lower in capacity than the Vodafone’s, at 2200mAh against 2500mAh, but it is removable, allowing you to swap in a spare (or you could use a power bank). With very similar hardware onboard, battery performance should be just a little lower than that of the Vodafone, which claims to offer 18 hours of talk time – you might just about get two days from it with moderate usage. As you would expect at this price, there is no support for wireless- or quick charging.

disappoints. It lacks 4G, which is in essence mobile data at Wi-Fi-like speeds. The Vodafone does support 4G, and for only £5 more. If your contract doesn’t include 4G or you can’t access it in your local area in any case then this might not bother you as much as it does us. On the up side, though, unlike the Smart Prime 6 the Cubot P12 doesn’t force you to use the Vodafone network (neither must you buy a top-up at the point of purchase, increasing the overall cost). You can use any network that supports its frequencies (850/900/1800/1900MHz 2G GSM, 900/1900/2100MHz 3G WCDMA); in fact you can use two, since this is a dual-SIM dual-standby phone (both Micro-SIM). The Cubot P12 is also lacking an IR blaster and NFC (you do get the HotKnot equivalent, although it plays with only other MediaTekpowered phones). It supports 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, USB OTG and GPS.

Cameras On paper the Cubot offers a better camera setup than does the Vodafone, which to be fair wouldn’t be too difficult to beat with its 2Mp front camera and 5Mp rear camera with LED flash. By comparison, Cubot claims to offer 8Mp at the front and 13Mp at the rear, with a 0.5A LED flash. Actually, this is using software interpolation; what you really get is 5- and 8Mp cameras, although this is still better than those of the Vodafone. With either phone you’ll find support for full-HD video recording

and all the usual camera modes and features. For example, the P12 supports real-time colour filters, a 20-shot burst mode, smile shot, face detection, HDR and more. Our test shots were acceptable for a budget phone, up to the job for the odd snap but not about to replace a proper camera. We found colours to be fine but detail is fuzzy when you zoom in.

Software In common with the Smart Prime 6 the Cubot runs Android Lollipop; it’s not the latest Android operating system, but Marshmallow is not yet widely available to devices other than Google’s own Nexus line-up. We prefer the software setup of the P12, however, which has none of the preinstalled bloat the Vodafone does (mostly Vodafone apps, to be fair). You’ll find an FM Radio (also available with the Vodafone), a file manager, an email client, browser and music app, plus full access to the Google Play store and several key Google apps preinstalled. The P12 also supports air gestures for making phone calls, taking photos, moving between home screens and more, plus smart wake gestures such as a double-tap to wake the screen or the drawing of a character onscreen in standby mode to launch an app.

Verdict We can’t argue with the immense value for money offered by the Cubot P12. The lack of 4G support is disappointing, but the spec sheet otherwise offers impressive reading at this price. J Marie Brewis

Connectivity Connectivity is the one area where the Cubot P12 both shines and May 2016 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews 39

038_039 Cubot P12 250.indd 39

25/02/2016 10:22

Reviews

SMARTPHONE

From £144 inc VAT

Xiaomi Mi Pad 2

Contact n

xiaomi-mi.com

Specifications

7.9in (2048x1536, 326ppi) IPS touchscreen; Android 5.1 Lollipop with MIUI 7.0; 2.2GHz Intel Atom X5-Z8500 2.2GHz quadcore processor; Intel HD Graphics; 2GB RAM; 16/64GB storage; 8Mp main camera; 5Mp front camera; 802.11ac dualband Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.1; Type-C USB; 6190mAh non-removable battery; 133x200x7mm; 322g


Xiaomi products aren’t readily available in the UK, but the firm is making a name for itself by making top-spec devices at budget prices. With Apple setting the standard for many, the Chinese firm’s latest tablet is its answer for the iPad mini.

Price Our review unit – a gold, 16GB model – came from Gearbest (gearbest.com) and costs £144. The silver Mi Pad 2 is an extra £5. There’s also a 64GB, which costs £162. That’s a small price to pay for a decent storage upgrade. Those prices are excellent, especially when the site offers free shipping. However, be aware that you’ll need to pay import duty, which for this tablet is £26. The total you’ll pay is, however, still under £200 for the entry-level model, which is a lot of bang for your buck.

Design While the original Mi Pad looked like a tablet version of the iPhone 5c with its colourful plastic rear covers, the firm has really ramped things up a notch with the Mi Pad 2. The second generation of its small-screen tablet has an aluminium chassis which, as we’ve said, comes in either silver or gold.

Our review Mi Pad is gold, and the effect is subtle. Indeed, in certain lighting it doesn’t look gold at all. There’s no escaping the fact that the Mi Pad 2 looks like the iPad mini, but to a large extent it was always going to. We’re not sure we could make a 7.9in tablet with a metal case and glass front without it looking similar. The lack of a physical home button and bevelled edge help differentiate the two, though the Mi logo on the back with ‘Designed by Xiaomi in Beijing’ etched below is perhaps not to everyone’s taste.

tablet is both thinner and lighter than its predecessor at 7mm and 322g, making it very svelte, although not as much as the iPad mini 4.

Performance Some of the Xiaomi Mi Pad 2’s specifications don’t help it get away from its similarity to an iPad mini. Namely the 7.9in screen and matching resolution of 2048x1536 resolution, resulting in Apple’s ‘Retina class’ pixel density of 326ppi. The excellent display offers a crisp image with good contrast,

The aluminium case has a smooth finish, which is nice to touch, though it can be a little slippery, and the rounded edges look stylish Whether this bothers you enough to affect whether you buy one is a personal decision, but we’re impressed with the design and build quality of the Mi Pad 2, especially when you consider how much cheaper it is than an iPad mini. The aluminium case has a smooth finish, which is nice to touch, though it can be a little slippery, and the rounded edges look stylish. The

vibrant but not garish colours, and great viewing angles. There’s plenty of brightness available too, and a reading mode that is accessible via the quick settings. The entry-level model offers 16GB of storage, of which 11GB is available. There’s no microSD card slot for expansion though, so we recommend spending the extra to get the 64GB Mi Pad 2. Whichever


040_041 Xiaomi Mi Pad 2 250.indd 40

23/02/2016 16:26

Reviews

model you opt for, you’ll get 2GB. In the engine room, Xiaomi has switched from nVidia to Intel for the processor. The Mi Pad 2 comes with an Atom X5-Z8500 64-bit 2.2GHz quad-core chip, which has Intel HD Graphics GPU. During testing, we found performance to be extremely good, with minimal lag. iPad benchmarks are difficult to beat but as you can see, the Mi Pad 2 outpaces the iPad mini 4 in Geekbench 3 and is just shy on the graphics side of things. Xiaomi has reduced the capacity of the battery from 6700- to 6190mAh, but that’s still large for a tablet this size. The iPad mini’s is around 1000mAh smaller. Battery life is a plus point for the Mi Pad 2. It managed an impressive seven hours 49 minutes, with a score of 4696 in Geekbench 3, which is more than an hour better than the iPad mini 4. For the price, it’s no surprise that the Mi Pad 2 doesn’t come loaded with extra gizmos and gadgets such as a fingerprint scanner or NFC. It does, however, have 11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1 and a reversible USB Type-C port, which provides faster charging than Micro-USB. Like its predecessor, the Mi Pad 2 has an 8Mp rear camera, though without an LED flash, and a 5Mp front camera. We’re not particularly impressed with either. Most of our photos were blurred, despite holding the device steady. The Xiaomi comes with a wide selection of filters, though with limited camera modes such as HDR.

These must be placed on home screen panels as there is no app menu with which to hide them. A bar at the bottom, which is always visible, holds four icons, though you can add up to six. Swipe left from the main home screen and they’ll disappear, revealing a hub of widgets, which includes a calendar, clock, calculator, search bar and media controls. In true Android fashion these can be rearranged or removed as you please. The settings menu is also laid out in a very similar fashion to iOS, with a bar down the left side, while the drop-down notification panel is nothing like stock Android. It still provides notifications and quick settings, and you swipe horizontally to switch between the two sections. Unlike iOS, Android requires a navigation button and these come in the form of capacitive back-lit buttons below the screen. Overall, the user interface is pleasant to use and has a stylish and intuitive design. It’s just more like iOS than Android, which might not be what you’re looking for. You can, of course, tweak things to get it looking and running the way you like. Plus, you can download apps from the Google Play store. You’ll probably also want to download a keyboard as we found the default one to be confusing.

Verdict Whether Xiaomi intended it or not, the Mi Pad 2 is an Android tablet

Geekbench 3

GFXBench Manhattan

GFXBench T-Rex

JetStream*

* higher is better

disguised as an iPad mini. This may disgust you or be exactly what you’re looking for. Either way, we can’t deny that this is a well-made, stylish tablet, with decent specs for the price. You’re best off getting the 64GB model and if the iOS style user interface is a turn-off, remember that Android is highly customisable. J Chris Martin

Software The Mi Pad 2 is a bit different to most tablets when it comes to software because you can choose which operating system you want. It comes with either Android or Windows 10, though not the ability to switch between the two as was rumoured before its launch. Our review tablet came with Android, so we can’t comment on what it’s like with Microsoft’s OS, but it’s worth noting that the Windows model is only available with a 64GB Mi Pad 2. The Android model runs 5.1 Lollipop and Xiaomi’s own MIUI 7.0 user interface. At a glance this looks far more like iOS than it does any other Android tablet. This is because the software uses a grid of icons, which are square with rounded corners. May 2016 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews 41

040_041 Xiaomi Mi Pad 2 250.indd 41

23/02/2016 16:26

Reviews

ACTIVITY TRACKER

£59 inc VAT

Moov Now

Contact n

welcome.moov.cc

Specifications

Android and iOS compatible; waterproof; activity- and sleep tracking; guided workouts; real-time corrective coaching, acceleration-, rotation- and orientation sensor; swim stroke recognition; 28mm diameter; 6g

There’s no shortage of options when it comes to activity trackers, but that makes choosing the right one tricky. Moov Now is an affordable option that adds a new dynamic into the mix. In essence, it acts as a coach to assist you during workouts, though it can also track your daily activity and sleep. Build: Features: Performance: Value:

Design There’s no getting away from the fact that the Moov Now is ugly. We were not impressed with our black and white review unit. Other colour options include Aqua, Red or Black. There are two elements to the tracker. The first is the disk, which on its own is modern and pleasing to the eye, but add it to the black

rubber band that attaches it to your wrist and it’s not so good. In terms of practicality and comfort, the Moov Now ticks all the right boxes. It’s very comfortable to wear and easy to put on and adjust to your wrist size, which is something that can’t be said for many other activity trackers we’ve tried. We’ve been wearing the Moov for weeks, including while asleep, and it’s showing no signs of wear or tear so far, which is impressive.

Performance A durable and comfortable design is all well and good but what can the Moov Now actually do? To find out, you’ll first need to pair your Moov Now with your iPhone or Android device using the Moov app and a Bluetooth connection. Setup is easy – it’s a

an office. It’ll make you think about going out for a lunchtime stroll rather than eating at your desk, that’s for sure. We’d like to see more detailed information about our daily activity, though. It doesn’t track steps like most activity trackers do – instead you’ll see a breakdown of your most active minutes in a scrollable timeline that leaves a lot to be desired. You will see an estimate of how many calories you’ve burned though, which is more useful. We didn’t miss the step count. The tracking of active minutes motivated us enough to take the stairs rather than get the lift, and to walk home rather than get the bus, so it achieved the same goal that a Fitbit or similar would in this case. But we know that many people would be disappointed not

Where the Moov Now really excels is in its coaching, and if you like quick workouts at home, this tracker is the perfect solution case of adding your age, weight, height and so on, and you’re done. Pressing the surface of the Moov will sync it to your phone, plus it will occasionally sync itself throughout the day automatically. Wearing the Moov Now every day will track your activity. The default target is 30 active minutes, and you’ll be surprised how tricky it is to meet that goal when you work in

to be able to see how many steps they’ve taken and compare that with friends, so we imagine it’ll put many off buying. And there’s no social element involved either. Even without the step count, we could still compare active minutes and workout statistics with others, so it’s a shame that’s missing. Wear the Moov Now at night and you’ll wake up to see how long you


042_043 Moov Now 250.indd 42

23/02/2016 16:07

Reviews

slept for and how much of that was restorative sleep. It’s interesting, but not essential and again the data is limited, so we’re not sure how useful this feature is. Where the Moov Now really excels is in its coaching, and if you like quick workouts at home, this tracker is the perfect solution. The app offers a ‘get toned in under 10 minutes’ workout that has different move sets to help change things up from day to day. You simply need to wear the Moov Now on your wrist and start the workout. It’ll then show you videos to follow for each move and track whether or not you’re completing the moves by monitoring the movement of your wrist. It’s clever and surprisingly accurate, although it is easy to trick, but if you don’t cheat you’ll find yourself aching in the morning but looking forward to trying again. Not least because you can progress through almost 100 levels and win achievements as you go. Plus, you’ll see your previous bests and other statistics that your competitive side will strive to beat. But it doesn’t stop there. The Moov Now can also coach you through activities such as running, cycling, swimming (it’s waterproof) and boxing. There are workouts designed to help you improve your running efficiency, speed endurance and interval training, and for boxing and swimming you’ll be able to monitor and analyse laps and monitor calories burned. When running or cycling, during which you’ll need to place the Moov

Now around your ankle, a voice coach will prompt you with helpful hints like ‘take shorter strides’, ‘be lighter on your feet’, ‘change gear’ and more. You’ll hear real time statistics, too. And these workouts also have difficulty levels, although not as many, which you can switch between as and when you choose. The downside is that you always need to have your phone with you to use the Moov Now for workouts, which for iPhone 6 Plus owners or those with a large Android phone, is less than ideal. But having the phone means you’ll get GPS-based information like pace, distance and time. The battery life of the Moov Now is great. It can last for up to six months because it uses watch batteries, which are easy to replace and cheap to buy.

Verdict The Moov Now is one of the most interesting activity trackers we’ve tried. It puts workouts and coaching first and the basic activity and sleep tracking second, which isn’t a bad thing. The voice coaching is motivating, though it’s the levels, achievements and personal bests that’ll keep you coming back for more. It’s a shame that the activity and sleep tracking is so limited, so if that’s what you’re looking for in an activity tracker you’ll want to look elsewhere, but for runners and cyclists of any level and for people who enjoy quick workouts at home, £59 will go a long way here. J Ashleigh Allsopp


042_043 Moov Now 250.indd 43

23/02/2016 16:07

Reviews

ACTIVITY TRACKER

£129 inc VAT Contact n

welcome.moov.cc

Specifications

Android and iOS app; Live display of data via smartphone app, watch or ‘in gym’ displays; stores up to 16 hours of activity; records and uploads time/ effort/calories/ heart rate/ MEPs; 99.4% accurate to an EKG/ECG machine; wirelessly uploads data when in range of designated MyZone facilities, or within range of your smartphone; connects with cardio equipment and third-party apps; Bluetooth, ANT and analogue communication protocol; washable strap; water resistant

MyZone MZ-3 With an ever increasing number of fitness trackers coming on to the market, we certainly weren’t considering a heart-rate monitor strapped to our chest. The MyZone MZ-3 Belt (a slightly misleading name as the device is worn around your chest) is an activity tracker that is set to change the way you consider your beats per minute. Once registered and strapped on, you listen for the beep and begin your exercise of choice and prepare to reap the benefits it offers. With accurate beats per minute measurements, calorie burn, maximum heart-rate calculation and the all-important MyZone Effort Points (MEPs), you will be able to track your cardio fitness. And if you have even the slightest competitive edge, you’ll become addicted to challenge both yourself and the rest of the community.

Price


The MyZone MZ-3 costs £129. The company also offers a sports bra for £49, which comes in three sizes (small, medium and large) and features an integrated strap, which the manufacturer says offers “greater comfort and support for the wearer”. You can also buy replacement straps directly from MyZone, which cost £9.99. If this sounds expensive there are a variety of third-party fitness companies and operators that offer up to £50 off when purchasing through their websites. There is a catch, though: buying through a third party in this way will mean that the company in question will be able to some of the health data collected via the device. This is anonymous and is for further development of the services and activities MyZone offers.

Features Let’s get this straight: the MZ-3 is a heart-rate tracker. It’s not a fully featured activity tracker like the Fitbit Surge, or anything else that has built-in GPS, altimeter and other sensors. You are not going to see the number of flights of stairs you climbed, nor the number of steps you took – or the distance travelled. It isn’t a standalone product, either, and will ideally be paired via

Bluetooth to a phone or compatible watch. You can also sync data to a PC using its proprietary USB cable. As an alternative to many wearable devices the MZ-3 outputs on a analogue 5.3KHz radio frequency, which is compatible with a lot of conventional cardio equipment in your local gym as well as analogue heart rate watches. With such a variety of pairing options the MZ-3 should suit many people, and with up to 16 hours of data storage, you even have the option of exercising free from your smartphone (you can sync the data afterwards). The MZ-3 really comes in to its own when paired with the free MyZone app, which is freely available for Android and iOS and includes apps on Apple Watch and

Android Wear smartwatches. Along with the expected calorie burn total and highly accurate heart rate measurement (which MyZone claims is 99.4 percent of the medicalstandard EKG’s), the ‘Effort Stream’ displays the current percentage you are exercising at, which in turns rewards you with your MEPs. While other wearables will measure heart rate (many of them less accurately than the MZ-3), they don’t reward you as much for effort. It’s this reward of receiving MEPs is what really sets it apart from its competitors: the gamification of your heart rate. In essence, the higher your heartrate zone and the time you spend within that zone determines that amount of points you are rewarded.


044_045 MyZone MZ-3 250.indd 44

23/02/2016 16:23

Reviews

You are them able to challenge yourself by attempting to achieve monthly targets or, by using the social aspect of the app, you can enter challenges with other MZ-3 users. Currently, you can only challenge friends in your network as there is no access to MyZone’s global network. If you are reading this and feeling worried that your obscenely fit

unobtrusive and fully adjustable, ensuring that it will fit you. It remains comfortable throughout your workout. After considerable use over the past few months, we are yet to experience any discomfort or irritation and have found washing the strap and keeping the device clean is pretty much effortless. It’s worth noting that the tracker itself is water resistant.

If you are of a competitive nature, then this device not only plays to it, but draws you in to the neverending cycle of extra effort to grab those MEPs friend is going to outperform you, you need not worry as everyone is handicapped according to their ever evolving heat rate and so there’s always a measure of fairness. This is a feature missing from other systems – notably Fitbit – which only seem worried by the number of steps you take. For some people, they will never beat their friends or family who walk to work, or run every day. With the MyZone, you’re rewarded for effort. This does mean that the fitter you get, the harder you will have to work to achieve those high MEP scores. Its fair to say that this will draw on everyone’s competitive edge – no matter how small that may be – in anyone who uses it. Battery life is claimed to last as long as seven months. Although we cannot verify this, we have been using the MZ-3 three- to four times per week since November and the battery currently stands at 87 percent. This adds a lot of weight to those claims, and with this mammoth battery life (either visible through the app or plugged in to your PC), you won’t have to worry about running out of power half way through a workout.

Whether or not you hate proprietary USB cables, it’s clever that it connects to the device via the same popper fitting as the strap. In short, the design is simple and robust, with no fiddly features that run the risk of snapping off or getting damaged. The obvious downside is the lack of a display, but this is intentional, and as long as you realise this before you buy it, it isn’t really a negative at all.

MyZone app The app is integral to the overall user experience and although you are able to pair your device with conventional fitness equipment and your PC, not using the app through a smart device would mean missing out on its engaging and easily accessible features. By using the app you are able to view the live feed from your ‘effort stream’, which displays your current bpm, calorie burn, MEPs and effort percentage. As well as being able

to see the great features during your workout, the app also enable you to view your friends’ recent work outs, look at your personal activity calendar, enter and set up new challenges; and see your overall MEPs for the week, month and year. If you are so inclined, you can even take pictures and log your food, which personally is not a feature we would use, but we are sure will appeal and be beneficial to some people. The app provides all the metrics and features you would expect. The downside is that it is not as polished as it could be. When you compare it to other apps such as Nike+, it lacks the slick design you might expect. Plus, we have experienced some lag when uploading information post workout, as well as the home screen not loading on occasion when starting the app.

Verdict The MZ-3 has engaged us from the outset and has consistently challenged us to work harder to achieve our personal goals. If you’re looking for a device that tracks your activity throughout the day and even through the night, then the MZ-3 probably isn’t for you. However, you can partner it with a smartwatch in order to enjoy the additional activity tracking benefits not found in the MZ-3 itself. It’s fair to say the goals of the MyZone in comparison to other fitness wearables are simple but effective: to challenge you to improve your effort and enjoy the benefits of being fitter. If you’re serious about getting fit, then this is must-have. J James Duncan

Design With a simple design, the MZ-3 doesn’t feel like something that would break easily and with a robust fitting between the strap and the module – two poppers that fix the device directly to the belt – the MZ-3 leaves you confident in its overall quality. As you would expect, the strap comes in multiple sizes (extra small, standard and extra large), is May 2016 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews 45

044_045 MyZone MZ-3 250.indd 45

23/02/2016 16:23

Reviews

SMARTWATCH/ACTIVITY TRACKER

£45 inc VAT

Honor Band Zero

Contact n

hihonor.com

Specifications

Supports Android 4.4 or iOS 7.0 and later; 1.06in (128x128-pixel) PMOLED screen; 128KB RAM; 512KB storage; Bluetooth 4.0; IP68 waterproof; 70mAh battery, charges over POGO Pin; 244.4x38x9.5mm (large); 25g


The Honor Band Zero is a hybrid fitness tracker and smartwatch under £50. At this price it’s understandably less fully featured than some rival devices, but it may well be all you need. Our review unit was supplied by Gearbest, which offers the watch in black, white or Khaki (more like cream) for £45. Shipping is free if you’re prepared to wait (faster paid options are available), but keep in mind that any tech you have shipped from China to the UK may incur import duty.

search for Huawei Wear. Once installed, let it pair with the Zero and it will automatically update the language, time and date accordingly.

Design The Honor Zero is a circular smartwatch that can display a digital or analogue clock face on its PMOLED touchscreen. The plastic design is neither as bulky nor as cheap-looking as some, with a stainless steel brushed-metal-effect surround and a diamond-patterned

The Band Zero is also a basic activity tracker, able to count how many steps you’ve taken and estimate how many calories you have burned UK setup Out of the box our Honor Band Zero was configured to use Chinese language, and the time and date were incorrect. Given that the instructions were in Chinese, the menu options on the watch were in Chinese, and the QR code in the quick setup guide took you to the Chinese version of Huawei Wear, we were initially a little stumped as to how to use the Honor Band Zero. It’s easy, though. You just launch Google Play on your phone and

TPU hypoallergenic band. Our sample is black, although the Zero also comes in white or khaki. The watch face has a diameter of just 1.06in, with a 128x128-pixel resolution that’s ideally suited to its monochrome display. We found the touchscreen reasonably responsive with a twist of the wrist or a doubletap on the screen. Weighing just 25g, this is a lightweight band you’ll barely notice on your arm, which is more than we can say for many fully featured smartwatches.

One of the best things about the Honor Band Zero’s design is its IP68-rated dust- and waterproof protection. You don’t need to take off the Zero when you jump in the shower or go for a swim; in fact its built-in sleep tracking means you’re intended to take off this watch only when it needs a recharge – which falls short of the claimed four days at between two- and 2.5 days in our experience, and the Zero will go from, erm, zero to 100 percent in a touch over an hour. Our least favourite aspect of the design is its need to charge over a Pogo pin plug. You’re unlikely to have more than the one cable that is supplied in the box and, given that the battery lasts only a couple of days, you’ll need to either carefully plan when you will recharge it or carry around the cable. Next to the Pogo pin connection on the device’s rear is a small reset button; you can also restart (or reset) the Zero from the onscreen Settings menu, but there are no physical buttons on the device.

Smartwatch We should make it clear that despite its tie-in with the Huawei Wear Android app on your smartphone (the Zero also works with iPhones running iOS 7.0 or later), this is no


046_047 Honor Band Zero 250.indd 46

23/02/2016 16:43

Reviews

Android Wear watch. You cannot download new apps or watch faces to it, for example, and it won’t bring up any information from your phone other than notifications. It has to be said, though, we were impressed by the number of apps installed on our phone that the Honor Band Zero could tie into to bring up notifications. As well as notifying you with a gentle vibration when you get a new text, email or phone call (at which point it will display the caller’s name and number onscreen), you can also set it up to receive notifications from WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, games and more. But they are just notifications, and once you’ve read them they disappear from the watch. A Do not disturb mode is supported should these notifications wake you at night. Plus, there’s the whole timekeeping functionality, which many basic activity trackers do not provide, and through the Huawei Wear app you can set an alarm, too.

Activity tracker The Honor Band Zero is also a basic activity tracker, able to count how many steps you’ve taken and estimate how many calories you have burned in doing so, plus track your light- and deep sleep cycles. You’ll also get a gentle nudge if it’s been a while since you last got up and did some gentle exercise which, working in a office environment, can be a tad annoying. With no heartrate scanner or modes other than running or walking that’s pretty much it in terms of fitness tracking.

We were initially dubious of the sleep tracking, since the Honor Band Zero can judge whether you’re awake or asleep and in a light- or deep sleep cycle only by how much you move. On the one occasion we took off the watch at night in an attempt to fool it the Zero was clever enough to know we weren’t in a coma, but at other times when we were merely glued to the TV screen late in the evening it thought we were asleep. So while it’s not entirely accurate, on most occasions you’ll know the rough times at which you fell asleep and woke up, and it’s the tracking between these stages that can be useful. You don’t need the Huawei Wear app to tell you how many steps you’ve taken or calories you’ve burned in a day, nor how long you

slept the night before, since this is available from the watch itself. However, the app is useful for comparing data over the month, and for tracking those aforementioned light- and deep sleep cycles. The Huawei Wear app also lets you input your basic details – your gender, height, weight and birth date – and set a fitness goal. And it will tie into UP by Jawbone, which is more functional with a personal coach and the ability to keep a food diary and compete with friends.

Verdict For under £50 you can’t really go wrong with the Honor Band Zero if all you need is a basic watch with some smartwatch and activity-tracking functionality. J Marie Brewis


046_047 Honor Band Zero 250.indd 47

23/02/2016 16:43

Reviews

MULTIFUNCTION DEVICE

£229

inc VAT

Epson EcoTank ET-2500

Contact n

epson.co.uk

Specifications

4-colour (CMYK) inkjet printer; 5760x1440dpi print resolution; 2400x1200dpi scanner resolution; Wi-Fi, USB; 100 sheets A4; 169x489x300mm; 4.6kg


Epson changed the business model for inkjet printers in 2015 when it introduced its first EcoTank model. For decades, printer manufacturers have enticed us by selling their printers at attractively low prices, and then making a killing with the high cost of their replacement ink cartridges. In contrast, the printers in Epson’s EcoTank range cost a lot more than conventional inkjets, but they do away with ink cartridges and replace them with large, refillable ink tanks that offer a much lower cost per page over the lifetime of the printer.

Price It’s a great idea, but the high price of those early EcoTank models – typically starting at well over £300 – would have put them beyond the reach of many home users and small businesses. This year’s secondgeneration of EcoTank printer are still fairly expensive, but the new ET-2500 costs £229 when bought directly from Epson, and you can buy it for £199 from John Lewis, which brings it more into line with conventional inkjet printers. Like all the EcoTank models, the ET-2500 is a multifunction device that includes printer, scanner and copier functions, along with both Wi-Fi and USB connectivity. It’s not the most elegant printer we’ve ever seen, as the large ink tanks bolted on to the side of the device look ungainly, and add several inches to the overall width of the printer. There’s no internal paper tray

either, so you have to feed paper in through a tray that protrudes from the back of the printer. The lower price of this model involves a few other compromises, too. There’s no LCD control panel, no option for duplex (two-sided) printing, and no support for Apple’s AirPlay for iOS devices, although Epson does offer its own iPrint app, which is available for iOS and Android devices. The lack of duplex printing is particularly disappointing for a printer in this price range, and you’ll have to step up to one of the more expensive EcoTank models if you need that specific feature.

Performance It’s not the fastest printer around either, although its speeds of 7.5 pages per minute (ppm) for mono text documents and 4ppm for textand-graphics should still be perfectly adequate for most home users. Print quality is good too, with smooth, clean text that looks very close to laser quality, and excellent colour graphics and photo output. But, of course, it’s the printer’s running costs that make it stand out from the crowd. The price of the ET-2500 includes four bottles of ink – cyan, magenta, yellow and black – that should last for 4000

pages of black text, and 6500 pages of text-and-graphics. When those inks run out you simply buy new bottles of ink and squirt them into the tanks on the side of the printer. Each bottle costs £7.99, which works out at about 0.2p per page for black text, and 0.4p for colour. That’s drastically cheaper than any conventional inkjet printer from rivals such as HP or Canon – and also undercuts options such as HP’s Instant Ink subscription scheme. The only drawback is that you need to use the printer on a regular, daily basis over a period of two- to three years in order to make the most of those savings. However, Epson offers a three-year warranty on all its EcoTank printers, so the ET-2500 is built to last.

Verdict If you only need a printer for occasional use at home, you might be better off opting for one of the many conventional inkjet printers that are now on sale for less than £100. But if you need a reliable workhorse printer for daily use at home or in a small office, then the low running costs and three-year warranty of the EcoTank ET-2500 ensure it will save you money in the long run. J Cliff Joseph

Epson’s EcoTank range does away with ink cartridges and replaces them with large, refillable ink tanks that offer a much lower cost per page


048_049 Epson/HiSense 250.indd 48

23/02/2016 16:48

Reviews

4K TV

£699

inc VAT

Hisense 55K321

Contact n

hisense.co.uk

Specifications

55in (3840x2160) screen; 20W (2 x 10W) speakers; built-in Freeview HD, satellite; 7-day EPG; 4x HDMI, 1x SCART/ Component/composite; Digital audio coaxial, headphone jack; 10/100 Ethernet, Dual band Wi-Fi; 2 USB 2.0/ 1x USB 3.0, CI slot; 1239x717x83mm; 17.3kg


The Hisense 55K321 is just the kind of set likely to make you do a double-take on the high street. It’s a 4K 55in TV priced at just £699. So what’s the catch? Cosmetically, the set is neat if understated. It has a small grey bezel and wears matching plastic boots (there is no pedestal). To the rear, you’ll find four HDMI inputs, SCART, component and AV phono inputs, plus a digital optical audio output for use with a soundbar and a trio of USBs (one a fast 3.0 variant for timeshifting – pausing live TV – to an external HDD). Networking comprises ethernet and dual-band Wi-Fi, giving you the option of the less congested 5GHz wireless band, as well as the more conventional 2.4GHz. The tuner choice is Freeview HD or satellite. It should be noted that only two of the four HDMIs are HDCP 2.2 compatible (inputs 3 and 4). This may prove a limitation if you plan on investing in a variety of 4K sources, be they set top box, UHD Blu-ray or nVidia Shield. The copy protection is standard and compatibility is essential. The Hisense Smart TV platform is somewhat light when it comes to catch-Up TV services, offering only BBC iPlayer and the corporation’s News and Sport apps. There’s also a 4K-enabled Netflix client, plus Amazon Video, Chili Cinema video

on-demand, Viewster and a variety of other euro-centric streaming services and games. The K321 comes with an excellent media player for connected USB thumb drives and networked NAS or PCs. Video compatibility is broad, and includes MKV, WMV, MP4, AVI and MOV, while audio covers MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC and FLAC.

Performance Image quality is ostensibly fine given the price point, but there are caveats. To see the screen at its best, use native 4K content from Netflix. Ridiculous 6, the Adam Sandler western, is one of the better streams available from Netflix, rich in texture and colour. Make a point of dropping back the sharpness to 10 on the fuel gauge, to avoid excess ringing. Black level performance is also good. Backlight uniformity is above average considering the price, with only slight unevenness evident from edge-lighting. Shadow detail is plentiful and blacks are smooth without undue pixel fizz. When viewed in a room with ambient light, the image looks suitably contrasty. The set also boasts Hisense’s Ultra Smooth Motion processing technology, but its implementation here proves of limited use. None of the modes actually retain motion detail, their main raison d’être being

to smooth out panning judder. As a consequence, the panel can look a little smeary. With Ultra Smooth Motion turned off, the set is unable to display motion resolution above 600 lines, and there’s some horizontal panning judder. Switching the processing to Low doesn’t improve detail and the panning judder looks worse. The Middle and High modes simply add unwanted motion artefacts to the mix. This limited resolution undermines the 4K value of the panel a tad. The real benefit of 2160p on the K321 is the lack of any pixel grid structure, rather than absolute clarity. For the record, the screen is 2D only. It’s unlikely though, that the absence of 3D will be much missed by many buyers. Audio performance is surprisingly good. The set has volume and while not particularly stereophonic, is loud enough for general use. Power consumption is low, which is also good. Running standard colour bars, we measured the set at just 124.8W

Verdict Overall, you can’t knock the Hisense 55K321 for value. If you want a big UHD screen that £699 price is a steal, but this isn’t a set to buy if you want to make the most of 4K sports. J Steve May May 2016 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews 49

048_049 Epson/HiSense 250.indd 49

23/02/2016 16:48

Reviews

MEDIA STREAMER

From £129 inc VAT Contact n

apple.com/uk

Specifications

A8 processor; 802.11ac Wi-Fi with MIMO; 10/100 Ethernet; Bluetooth 4.0; Infrared receiver; Apple/ iTunes account required; HDMI 1.4; USB-C; Video Formats: H.264 video up to 1080p, MPEG-4, Motion JPEG; Dolby Digital 5.1 and Plus 7.1; Siri remote included; 35x98x98mm; 425g


Apple TV (4th generation) Apple has had three years to come up with a new model and says its fourth-generation Apple TV is the future of television. It’s all about apps. Unlike previous models, you can now browse an app store and install whichever apps and games you like. Of course, this isn’t revolutionary as other streamers and, indeed, TVs have had apps for years. Gaming on a media streamer isn’t new either. Amazon’s Fire TV streamers let you play casual games, as does Google’s Nexus Player.

Price Previous models have managed to stay under the magic £100 barrier, but the latest Apple TV costs £129 for the 32GB model and a whopping £169 for the 64GB model. That’s a lot compared to the competition, which is generally under £80. Amazon’s 4K-capable Fire TV is £79.99, for example, while the Roku 4 – not yet officially available in the UK, but also toting 4K support – costs $129, and assuming it does launch this side of the pond, should be under or near to £100. If you don’t need 4K, the Fire TV stick is a snip at £35, while the Roku 3 box costs under £60.

Design The new box looks a lot like the previous two models, albeit a third taller. You still don’t get an HDMI or ethernet cable in the box. You probably won’t need the latter as your Wi-Fi may well be quicker – the wired port is limited to 100Mbit/s. Dropping the optical S/PDIF port will be a source of annoyance for some and in its place is a USB C socket, which is for restoring the box’s software should the need arise. If you were relying on an optical audio output for connecting headphones, then note that this new Apple TV allows you to connect Bluetooth headphones. The remaining port is an HDMI 1.4 for hooking up to your TV or A/V receiver. The biggest design change is the new Siri Remote. Surprisingly, it’s not all that obvious how to use it, until you figure out – or explain to family and friends – that the top section is a touchpad and giant button, the Menu button acts as

a ‘back’ button and the one with a TV icon is the home button. It communicates via Bluetooth, but can also use infrared. It should automatically learn to control your TV’s volume – it did with our Panasonic TV – but you can ‘teach’ it if that fails. As long as your TV uses the HDMI-CEC standard, it should all work fine, and you can power on your TV when you wake up the Apple TV using the remote. The Siri part is possibly the best feature. It takes what Amazon does with voice search and takes it further. You can look for TV shows and programmes, but you can also bark more generic commands such as “show me action movies” and then refine the results by saying “just the ones with George Clooney” or “only the good ones”. And while you’re watching a video, you can say “rewind 30 seconds” or “what did she just say”. The latter is clever as it skips back 10 seconds and turns on subtitles, so you’re left in no doubt what you missed the first time. You can also say the name of an app or game to launch it, the name of an artist or album to play music without swiping through menus. You can ask for a weather forecast too, though there are no web searches as you get on an iOS device. The internal battery is said to last a couple of months – longer than we’ve been testing out the Apple TV – and it charges using a standard

Lightning cable in a couple of hours. You do at least get one of those in the box. Setup is easy if you have an iPhone or iPad. Once you tell the Apple TV you have one, you just hold it near the box to pair it and some settings, such as your Wi-Fi password, will be synced automatically. It’s also far easier to type your Apple ID and password via the app than using the poorly designed on-screen keyboard, which is a pain to use with the Siri remote. In under five minutes you’re ready to start installing apps and streaming videos. A short demo video – as you get on the Amazon Fire TV – wouldn’t go amiss, but you’re left to your own devices.

Interface, apps and games The fancy new interface, which runs on the new tvOS, is great to look at, but it’s not really a huge departure from what’s gone before it. Navigation by swiping on the touchpad is a love or hate thing. If you don’t need to scroll much it is fun to start with, but – contrary to what you’d imagine – isn’t as quick or accurate as using a remote with buttons and a direction pad. You can rearrange icons as you like, and you can even put your favourites in the top row – previously reserved for Apple’s apps and content. Netflix is missing to start with, but you can install it from the App Store.


050_051 Apple TV 250.indd 50

23/02/2016 16:51

Reviews

Entering email addresses and passwords, as you have to when you sign into an app such as Netflix is a tedious process. The letters are all on one line, and it takes a few swipes to go from one end to the other. At launch the old Apple Remote app for the iPhone didn’t work with the new Apple TV, but in December Apple released an update to fix this, and it makes it a whole lot easier to enter search terms and passwords. The YouTube app has the right idea, though: it gives you a unique code to enter at youtube.com/ activate, so you don’t have to enter any detail at all. Instead you grab a laptop, iPad or iPhone, and it’s a painless process to sign in. What we do like is that, unlike on other media streamers, the Siri search will include apps such as Netflix in the list of results. So if you hold the remote’s Siri button and say “Breaking Bad”, you’ll see results from Netflix, as well as iTunes. It doesn’t work in all apps, though, so you’ll have to use the BBC’s awkward on-screen keyboard to search within iPlayer, or resort to the Remote app on your iPhone. You can’t search for apps in the App Store using your voice, either, which seems like a missed opportunity. What’s strange is that Apple still doesn’t have a video streaming service to go alongside its Music streaming. Even if you don’t subscribe to Apple Music, you can stream music you’ve bought in iTunes and access iTunes libraries on computers on your home network. One niggle is that although music will continue playing in the background, you can pause it but not restart it with the play/pause button. If you want to carry on listening you have to go to the home screen and then launch the music app again. Playing games with the Siri remote can be good fun, but only really as a novelty. Some games use the accelerometer (Asphalt 8, for one), which means it works much like a Nintendo Wii remote, while others, such as Jetpack Joyride, Crossy Road and Badlands just use the touchpad’s button. You can buy an optional wrist loop to prevent accidents where the remote would otherwise fly out of your hand. For more serious fare, you’ll want a Bluetooth gamepad – a few third-party controllers are supported. You can’t pair more than

one Siri remote, but certain games including Crossy Road allow you to use an iPad or iPhone with the game installed as the controller for a second player. Family-oriented games make the most sense on media streamers, and Fibbage XL is certainly one to try when friends are round. At £7.99, this and quite a few other games are more expensive than you might expect, but equally there are many cheaper – and free – options. It’s well worth checking if the app is more affordable on your iPhone or iPad as some apps are universal, so you can head to the Purchased section of the App Store when you first set up your Apple TV to see what you can install from the list of apps you’ve bought before. Currently, the App Store is relatively limited when it comes to games: it isn’t simply the same selection you’ll find on your iPhone. The voice search doesn’t always recognise what you’re trying to say. Siri thought we were trying to say “find bitch XL” when searching for Fibbage and when asking for “ITV player” Siri launched BBC iPlayer. The fact is, iPlayer is pretty much the only catch-up TV app available in the UK at the moment. There’s no ITV Player, no All 4 and no Demand 5. However, there’s a third-party app that gets around this and another workaround is to use AirPlay and stream video from any number of apps (not Sky Go, though) on your iPhone or iPad. The app situation will surely change over the next 12 months, but it puts the Apple TV at a

disadvantage when other streamers – Amazon and Roku to name but two – have the full suite of UK catch-up TV and more. The level of game quality is similar to Amazon’s Fire TV box, but you’re not going to get the same experience on the lesserpowered Roku devices. It’s hard to know whether 32GB is ‘enough’ or not, and unlike the Amazon Fire TV, there’s no microSD slot for adding more storage when the internal stuff fills up. It’s also hard to know how much storage is free. Under Settings > General > Manage storage you only see a list of installed apps, how much space they’re using up and a bin icon so you can delete them. Again, this is easy to fix and we’re sure that updates will arrive that sort out these and other complaints. A small consolation is that Apple has spent a lot of time, effort and – presumably – money to produce some of the most stunning screensavers we’ve ever seen. The slow-moving aerial scenes, which include a night-time flight over Central London, plus views of the Great Wall of China are great for impressing friends.

Verdict For some people – mainly those with iOS devices and no second- or third-generation Apple TV – the new box is a great media streamer and games machine. However, there’s no escaping the high price and limited selection of apps. Ultimately, this new Apple TV has potential, but right now that potential is far from realised. J Jim Martin


050_051 Apple TV 250.indd 51

23/02/2016 16:51

Reviews

IN-EAR HEADPHONES

£39

inc VAT

RHA S500i

Contact n

rha-audio.com/uk

Specifications

Micro dynamic (model 140.1) drivers; 16Hz to 22KHz frequency range; 16 ohm impedance; 100dB sensitivity; 1/5mW rated power; 1.35m cable; 14g

The S500i’s understated design is a refreshing take on affordable earphones. They also come with an in-line mic that works with both Android and iOS devices. Build: Features: Performance: Value:

Design Within the elegantly designed package, you’ll find the S500i earphones, six pairs of ear tips (Sx2/Mx2/Lx2) and one pair of small double-flange ear tips, an ear-tip holder, a soft carry pouch and a shirt clip. Given its low price, you’re given a lot of extras for your money. The RHA’s build quality and design is impressive too – we particularly like the brushed aluminium earbuds. The S500i

also has a regular gold-plated straight 3.5mm jack and a fabrictype of cable. We were, however, disappointed to hear microphonics during testing (undesirable noise caused by the components of the earphones), and were forced to use them over-the-ear to eliminate this. This is something you’ll need to take into account if you’re considering purchasing these. The headline feature here is the three-button in-line mic, which works flawlessly with iOS devices. You can use it to adjust the volume, play and pause tracks, and even change the song you are listening to by double- or triple-clicking on the centre button. Unfortunately, when we used the earphones with an Android phone, we were unable to increase and decrease the volume. Crucially, we found the earphones comfortable to wear for prolonged listening due to their lightweight and minimalistic design. However, we noticed a lack of passive noise isolation, which affected us in our daily commute.

Sound quality The S500is provided a very sharp and mid-centric sound. During our testing, we found the bass quality to be a little overpowering – there was a bloated emphasis in the midbass region, but a lack of extension through the sub-bass, which meant

we heard a large bass slam without much low-end extension. The mids are definitely its main asset. We found them to be well presented and they provided good tonality. Its highs were also well presented, with great extension through the high frequencies and a lively sparkle. However, we did find them to be a little sibilant, where they would cause ear fatigue after an hour of listening. Finally, we found its soundstage to be somewhat lacking and felt this might be due to its small housing design. Due to the S500i’s small size, the in-ear drivers had little room to breathe, and therefore provided a somewhat small and narrow sound, which was a shame given all its potential. Overall, we were impressed by its sound quality, given its price tag and would recommend them to anyone looking for minimalistic designed earphones, which have an emphasis on the mids; especially to those who want to upgrade their sound quality over the stock earbuds provided by leading phone manufacturers.

Verdict The RHA S500is provide excellent value for money, and they’re highly affordable. With the mid-centric sound and minimalist design, we were impressed by the overall package. J Christopher Minasians


052_053 RHA/Skullcandy 250.indd 52

23/02/2016 16:56

Reviews

ON-EAR HEADPHONES

£27

inc VAT

Contact n

skullcandy.co.uk

Specifications

40mm speaker driver; 33 Ohms impedance; 20Hz to 20KHz frequency; 98db sensitivity; gold-plated right-angled 3.5mm jack; 1.2m cable length; 170g (without cable)

Skullcandy Grind Comfortable on-ear headphones are hard to come by, as they either have a very strong clamp or a set of thin, small-diameter headphone pads. The Skullcandy Grind is the exception: an on-ear pair that, unlike its competitors, comes with a large 40mm driver that has a flat ear pads, a detachable cable, and also have the ability to take calls and control your smartphone’s music.

Design


The build quality is good, and it’s a surprise to see a detachable 3.5mm cable at this price. The Grind is terminated by a gold-plated rightangled 3.5mm jack that plugs into them on the lefthand side. The cable of our review unit was made out of a colourful braided fabric, which looked great but caused microphonics (undesirable noise caused by the components of the earphones) when brushed against clothing. This isn’t normally an issue for most headphones which, unlike earphones, often negate cable noise through their headband assembly. Unfortunately, that’s not the case here. Skullcandy’s Grinds come in a variety of different colours and therefore the cables also differ based on the headphones’ colour scheme. We can only comment on the cable we tested. Moving to the headphones themselves, we found them to be well designed, especially with their one-button control, which Skullcandy calls TapTech. This can be used to answer or reject calls, play and pause music, and skip tracks. The button is placed at the bottom of the headphone’s left-side driver, where it’s easy to press and use. This is great for those using the headphones with mobile phones, as it makes listening to music easier and less of a hassle through busy commutes. The headphones have a set of soft, rounded pads, which don’t have an indent as other on-ear headphones do. This means the Grinds are very comfortable, since no matter the size of your ears they sit softly on them. However, when it comes to noise isolation and sound leakage (when music can be

heard by people around you), these headphones have serious issues.

Sound quality We were pleasantly surprised by the audio quality of these headphones. Powered by its 40mm drivers, the Grinds sound good, especially in comparison to other on-ear headphones around this price. We found them to have a decent sub-bass extension, where they would produce a reasonable amount of deep bass before being cut-off in the lower-end frequencies. Its mid-bass slam was tuned correctly, where it wasn’t overpowering the mid-range, nor did it lack impact. However, we did find the mid-bass to be a little uncontrolled, where it lacked refinement and precision. The mids are a little recessed and therefore sound pushed back, which gives the Grind headphones a slightly V-shaped sound. The highs are reasonably well extended, but

rolled off at the top-end, which is a shame as this means there’s a lack of sparkle at the top-end. Finally, its soundstage provides a reasonably open sound, which adds a decent width to music. Unfortunately, we did find the sound to be a little shallow and lacking in depth. This is down to its physical driver cup size, which is flat and therefore doesn’t give the drivers room to produce a deep soundstage. Overall these headphones don’t produce an audiophile-grade sound, but given their price provide a good fun-sounding set that can be enjoyed without discomfort.

Verdict The Skullcandy Grinds provide a great value-for-money sound, which coupled with its removable cable design, one-button remote, comfortable pads and their funky design make them a good value buy at £27. J Christopher Minasians

Skullcandy’s Grinds come in a variety of different colours and therefore the cables also differ based on the headphones’ colour scheme May 2016 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews 53

052_053 RHA/Skullcandy 250.indd 53

23/02/2016 16:56

Reviews

DASH CAM

From £179 inc VAT

Nextbase 512G

Contact n

nextbase.co.uk

Specifications

2.7in 140-degree wideangle lens with polariser; GPS logging: night mode; speed camera alert; 4.6 hours recording time; 4m car charger, suction mount; HDMI cable; miniUSB cable; 113x63x36mm


With prices starting from around £15, it’s well worth investing in a dash cam. However, while the cheapest models have the bare minimum of features, top-end models offer a lot more in addition to higher-resolutions and better image quality.

the dash cam. There’s a new 32GB version of the Go Pack, which will go on sale soon, but you can use any microSD card, as long as it’s fast enough to record 1080p video. That usually means class 4 or better, but we’d recommend opting for a Class 10 card from a well-known brand.

Price

Design

When we say top end, we mean it. The iN-CAR CAM 512G – to give it its full name – costs a whopping £179. However, you can buy the 512G from Halfords for £159. You don’t even get an SD card: the optional Go Pack costs £15 from Halfords and includes an 8GB San Disk microSD card, a full-size SD adaptor and a carry case for

Unlike some smaller dash cams, the 512G has a big 2.7in widescreen display. That obviously makes it bulkier and it may mean you can’t hide it behind your rear-view mirror. We found the suction cup – as with all suction cup mounts – wouldn’t adhere to the tinted area around our test car’s mirror, so it wasn’t an option anyhow.

In those cases, it can either go below or to the side, but if you choose the latter it will probably obscure the passenger’s vision. A 4m power cable is provided, which plugs into your car’s accessory socket. Sensibly the USB port which is used for power and data is on the top edge, so you can keep the wiring as neat as possible: the cable should be routed around the headlining, down the A-pillar and then somehow to your 12V socket. You can buy a permanent wiring kit if you don’t want the power lead taking over the socket, but you’ll probably have to have it installed professionally. The camera itself is well made and the lens is covered by a circular polariser – the sort usually reserved for high-end cameras. You should rotate this when necessary to cut down on reflections and glare: used correctly it improves image quality. The buttons are big and easy to press, but it’s not obvious what does what. With the helpful and well-written manual you’ll quickly get the hang of it, even if having the OK button for selecting things out of the way on the top edge. The mini HDMI port and microSD slot are hidden behind flaps, and the SD slot is recessed too far to be able to remove the card – we had to resort to pushing it with a pair of tweezers to remove it. Aside from setting the time and date (which isn’t really necessary as it’s obtained automatically via GPS),


054_055 Nextbase 512G 250.indd 54

23/02/2016 16:03

Reviews

Day mode

there are no settings to change: the 512G comes ready to go. It creates a new video file every three minutes, records at the highest quality (1920x1080) and has motion detection turned off. As well as built-in GPS, it has a G-sensor which records g-forces. All this data is played back in the supplied software, so you can see your speed, location on a map and the g-forces (for identifying the direction of impact) as well as the video. In the camera’s settings you can choose individually whether or not date, speed, GPS info and the Nextbase logo are stamped on the video. You can even enter your car’s registration, which can be included on the video. The screen can be set to go blank after a certain time, or to display a compass and your speed. A built-in battery lasts for around five- to 10 minutes: it’s not intended for recording, but to ensure the recording can be saved before the camera powers down. It’s also useful if you need to remove the 512G from its mount and take video or photos outside the car following an incident. We’ve mentioned motion detection. This is a feature you’ll find on many dash cams, and can record footage when there’s movement in front of the lens. You have to enable this manually when you park up, and bear in mind that it can drain your car’s battery, so it’s best to get the camera permanently installed with its own battery if you want to use this feature.

range delivers an image that’s more lifelike. Be sure to watch them full screen at 1080p resolution (select this using the cog icon). You can’t always make out number plates when you pause the footage on a PC, especially when driving at higher speeds or when cars are too far ahead. That’s partly down to the wide-angle 140-degree lens which captures a lot of the scene in front but also means objects are smaller than on dash cams with narrower fields of view. Audio is good, although on the loud and boomy side. At night, there’s the expected drop in quality. However, the dynamic range is still better than average and this means more detail is brought out in dark areas. As we’ve seen on most dash cams, you can pretty much forget about getting number plates: detail is too blurry of cars coming in the opposite direction (including parked cars) but you should be able to read those of cars you’re following – if they’re close enough. Identifying the cause of a collision shouldn’t be difficult, unless it happens behind you. Even then, the g-force data should help.

Night mode

At the top quality, each threeminute file takes up 350MB, so an 8GB card is enough for just over an hour’s footage. Loop recording means the oldest files will be overwritten when the card fills up, but you can press the emergency button to lock the video being recorded currently. Recording starts automatically when the camera gets power. Just make sure your car’s 12V socket isn’t powered even with the keys removed. If it is, you’ll need to remember to plug it in before you set off, and unplug it when you park.

Verdict As an overall package, the Nextbase 512G is one of the best, but at this high price it doesn’t offer enough of a jump in image quality over cameras around £100. If you can afford it, it won’t disappoint, but the Asus Reco Classic is better value at £99. Some insurers will give you a discount when you take out a policy if you have a dash cam: Nextbase cameras are most approved lists, so it may be better value for you than the Asus which isn’t on any lists that we know of yet. J Jim Martin

Image quality During the day, image quality is very good. The combination of a sharp lens, filter and Sony Exmor sensor adds up to detailed footage with great colours. Even in miserable dingy conditions where other dash cams struggle, the wide dynamic May 2016 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews 55

054_055 Nextbase 512G 250.indd 55

23/02/2016 16:04

Reviews

BLUETOOTH TRACKER

£19

inc VAT

Contact n

thetileapp.com

Specifications

Requires compatible iOS or Android device with Bluetooth 4

Tile (2nd generation) Tile is a Bluetooth gadget that helps you track and find things when they’re lost, just like the similar TrackR Bravo (see opposite). We first heard about Tile way back in June 2013. It turned out to be a very successful crowdfunded project, raking in $2.5m from thousands of people wanting a way to keep track of their precious items. Apparently in a life time, the average person spends about 153 days looking for misplaced possessions and valuables, and we all know you tend to realise you’ve lost something when you have the least amount of time to find it.

Price


Tile is finally officially available in the UK, so you no longer have to pay the $21 shipping charge from the US (almost as much as the $25 Tile). This means you can buy a Tile from Amazon for £19.89. You can also buy the tracker from Tesco, we’re told, though it’s not listed online. If £20 sounds pricey, you can buy a pack of four from Amazon for £49.99 and split them with some friends and family. It will be available from other leading retailers across the UK from March. Note the internal battery lasts about a year but is not replaceable, so the Tile is in effect a consumable: you replace it every 12 months.

Setup and use The first thing you’ll notice is that it’s larger than you thought it would be. We did, at any rate. It’s not too big to attach to a key ring, but at around 5.5mm it’s twice the thickness of an average key and wider than most car key fobs. Unlike at launch there’s now an Android app, which requires Android 4.4 or later. You can use a Tile with an iPhone or iPad has Bluetooth 4.0 or later. The app is free, and there’s no subscription. It’s easy to pair the Tile: you press the ‘e’ and it plays a short tune to let you know it’s in pairing mode. You just find it in the list of available Bluetooth devices and tap on it. Once paired, you’ll need to create a free account through the app. It then works much like the Find My iPhone app in that you can see when

the Tile was last ‘seen’ – in other words, when it had Bluetooth contact with your iPhone or iPad – and a map of its location. If you were to lose the object to which the Tile is attached, you can go to its last known location and start searching. Bluetooth 4.0 LE’s range is bigger than you might think at up to 150 feet, so you don’t have to be right on top of the Tile before the app can connect to it. Until it’s in range, the app will show ‘Out of range’, but when it connects, a green Find button appears. This causes the tile to play a Donkey Kong-style tune, which is pretty loud. In a quiet house you’ll easily track it down, but it’s harder if you’ve lost it near a busy road. It’s still not obvious in the current version of the app that you can tap the Tile icon inside the green circle to display a distance gauge showing whether it’s near or far. The segments fill up as you get closer to the tile, but there’s no indication which direction to go. As we mentioned at the start, there’s a new feature in the secondgeneration version: find my phone. This is a bit more convenient than Apple and Google’s systems as you can press the ‘e’ on your Tile and your phone will play a loud tune even if it’s on silent. That saves you from having to log into the respective website or find another iOS device to track your missing one. Returning to tracking capabilities, if you return to the place the Tile was last seen and you’re still out of range, there is another way to find it, but it relies on other Tile users. It’s called Community Find, and it’s a really clever system. Whenever the Tile app is running on anyone’s phone or tablet, it logs the location of any other Tiles that it detects. You wouldn’t know that, as no information is shown apart from the location of your own Tiles (you can have up to eight of your own connected to the app). Everything is done anonymously. Should another Tile owners lose theirs and your app picks up the location, this will be relayed to them

via their app even though there was no direct Bluetooth connection. There are some obvious stumbling blocks here. One is the user base. Until lots of people who live and work near you own Tiles, you won’t benefit from Community Find. If you live in London, though, you’ve a good chance of being in the proximity of other users, though whether one of them will come within Bluetooth range of your lost tracker is still down to chance. We’re told that it’s the 11th most popular city for Tiles, and the app showed that over 1,100 Tilers were ‘nearby’ when we checked at home in Zone 4. Nearby means within two- to three miles, but while that’s a large area, if you drop your wallet, bag or keys at a bus stop, train station or in a shop, there’s a fair chance it will be picked up by other user. Previously the Tile app had to be running for Community Find to work, but now it works in the background. A non-replaceable battery is certainly a negative, but the reason is to make it waterproof. If you lose your Tile (and whatever is attached) outdoors and it rains, the last thing you want is for water to render the tracker useless, so it’s a fair trade-off for most people. And now that you can get one (when buying in bulk) for a little over £10, it’s not such a big deal.

Verdict Bluetooth trackers are becoming more popular, and Tile now has quite a few rivals. However, it’s reliable and the updates in the second-generation version are genuinely valuable, so make sure you’re getting a Gen 2 when you buy. If you’re the sort of person who’s always losing their keys around the house, Tile is ideal. J Jim Martin


056_057 Tile/TrackR 250.indd 56

24/02/2016 14:09

Reviews

BLUETOOTH TRACKER

£24

inc VAT

Contact n

thetrackr.com

Specifications

CR1616 battery; 1 year battery life; Bluetooth 4.0; range up to 100ft; 85dB volume; 31x3.5mm

TrackR Bravo Bluetooth tracking gadgets can be a big timesaver. With the TrackR Bravo, you attach it to something valuable to you: your house or car keys, your bike or your wallet. When you can’t find the item, you check the app to see where it was last seen and when you’re in that location, you can activate a siren to make it easier to find.

Price You can buy a Bravo from Amazon for £24, although other sellers are discounting it by a few pounds to £19. There’s a choice of black, rose gold, blue or ‘steel’. A pack of four costs £50, which makes each one £12.50.

Setup and use


We review the latest Tile (opposite) which is very similar, but the Bravo is smaller and has one extra feature: separation alerts. Unlike the sealed Tile, the Bravo has a replaceable C1616 battery – said to last a year – but the trade-off is that it’s not waterproof. It’s a little over 30mm in diameter and a bit thicker than the average house key at 3.5mm. Certainly small enough to attach to your key ring, and there’s a doublesided adhesive sticker in the pack so you can attach it to a flat object. The setup process is similar to other Bluetooth gadgets: you turn on the Bravo for the first time using the button and wait until it appears in the list of Bluetooth devices on your phone, then tap and wait for it to pair. Using an iPhone 6s Plus, we had no problems at all and didn’t experience any dropped connections. Crucially, it works when you need it to: I have already used it twice to locate lost house keys. You simply tap the speaker icon in the app, assuming that the TrackR is nearby and connected to your phone via Bluetooth, and it will emit a highpitched alarm, which should help you track it down. It isn’t as loud as the Tile’s buzzer, but as long as it’s relatively quiet it’s audible. The pitch goes up and down, a bit like an ambulance or police siren, so even if your hearing won’t allow you to hear the highest pitch, it should go low enough to fall into your hearing

range. Still, we prefer the secondgeneration Tile’s louder alarm. The Bluetooth range may depend on which phone you have (there’s Android and iOS support only), but with the iPhone 6s Plus the app was only able to communicate with the Bravo up to around 50 feet with line of sight. However, brick walls and double-glazed doors seems to be a bigger obstacle for the Bravo than the Tile. The Tile’s stronger signal meant the app could ‘see’ it 70 feet away, and still 50 feet away when inside a house and we stood outside. With the Bravo, the connection was made only when we were inside the house. In theory this shouldn’t matter too much as the TrackR app lets you configure separation alerts. There are two options: your phone can ring when it moves away from the TrackR and/or the TrackR can beep when it is separated from the phone. In our tests, the phone rang reliably when the keys were left behind (it started beeping at about 70 feet) but the TrackR wouldn’t emit so much as a peep when taken the same distance from the phone. However, both the phone and tracker would randomly beep and ring even when they were together, either sitting in separate rooms of the house or being carried together while walking around. This proved too annoying, so we ended up turning it off. There is one saving grace: you can disable separation alerts for ‘safe’ networks. Add your home and work Wi-Fi networks, for example, and you won’t get alerts when your phone is connected to those. But it also means you won’t know if you accidentally leave your phone or tracker behind when leaving those ‘safe’ places. The alarm that rings on the phone is the same tune that plays (even if you’ve put it on silent

mode) when you press and hold the tiny recessed button on the TrackR. But if you prefer, you can set it to play a song from your Music library, and you can set the duration to just a few seconds. The final feature is crowdsourcing, which TrackR calls ‘Crowd GPS’. As with Tile, TrackR can use all the other people running the TrackR app to keep tabs (anonymously) on other TrackRs. So if you drop your keys and somehow miss the separation alerts, there’s a chance another TrackR user will come within range of your Bravo. If that happens, you’ll get an alert showing its rough location. UK coverage seems to be good, but whether there are other users near where you might lose things will depend on exactly where you live. There’s a far higher chance of finding something in a big city, and much lower if you live in the sticks. When it comes to finding a lost item, the app will let you know when the Bravo is in range. When it is, you’ll see ‘nearby’ or ‘far’ labels as you move around. These aren’t particularly useful as the update rate is too slow. You’re more likely to hear the 85dB siren than find the tracker because of the getting Far/ Near/Close By messages.

Verdict Choosing between the TrackR Bravo and a second-generation Tile is tricky. The Tile is a disposable gadget: you can’t replace the battery. But it has a better range than the Bravo and a louder, easier to hear alarm. It’s also waterproof. But the Bravo is a bit smaller, has (unreliable) separation alerts, which should help prevent losing items in the first place and you can replace the battery. The latter point makes Bravo better value, but the waterproof Tile might – just – be a better bet for finding your lost items. J Jim Martin May 2016 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews 57

056_057 Tile/TrackR 250.indd 57

24/02/2016 14:09

Reviews

BLUETOOTH SPEAKER

£190

inc VAT

IK Multimedia iLoud

Contact n

ikmultimedia.com

Specifications

40W total power (2x 16W low-frequency, 2x 4W high frequency); 50Hz to 20kHz frequency response, 4x Class-D amplifiers, bi-amped system; 2x 3in neodymium woofers; 2x 3/4in neodymium tweeters; Bass-reflex port 1/4in iRig input for connecting guitars and dynamic microphones to iOS devices; Bluetooth compatible with A2DP protocol; 1/8in stereo analogue line input; DSP controlled auto standby; integrated li-ion rechargeable battery; up to three hours with volume at maximum; up to 10 hours normal usage; 250x160x60mm; 1330g


With so many portable Bluetooth speakers on the market, it can be hard to know whether you are getting a bargain or not. Some people are more comfortable purchasing a familiar brand such as Bose, Sony or Beats, while others willing to go for something different, providing it achieves comparable or better quality. IK multimedia has produced a Bluetooth speaker with at least two fantastic features that make it stand out from the crowd.

Design The first of these is its power. Few portable speakers have a massive 40W on tap (2x 16W low-frequency, 2x 4W high frequency). It’s got a lot more volume compared to other portable speakers, and is easily loud enough to fill a small hall for parties, even without using full volume. We tested it against the similarly priced Bose SoundLink and it eclipsed the that speaker’s volume. The second feature is the iRig system. For those unfamiliar, it allows you to use your phone or tablet to process real-time effects for your guitar, bass, keyboard or dynamic mic. To set it up, you’ll need to connect your instrument to the 1/4in jack on the back of the speaker, then connect your phone using the TRRS audio cable provided (a TRRS audio cable looks similar to an

standard auxiliary minijack cable but has an extra ring for sound input). You then download the AmpliTube app (available for Android or iOS) and apply your desired effects. Make no mistake: this isn’t a replacement for your guitar amp, but it is fantastic for jamming along at home or travelling around when it’s not practical to lug around a heavy amp. Compared to other Bluetooth speakers we’ve reviewed, the iLoud is not the smallest or most portable. However, it will still fit easily into a backpack, gig bag or, of course, the optional travel bag. Even though the speaker is made from plastic, it feels solid and looks great. On the front is a classylooking red light around the volume knob, and on the back is a pull-out stand to give it more stability. Pairing the device over Bluetooth is as simple as pushing the dedicated Bluetooth button on the back and then tapping on iLoud in your phone or tablet’s Bluetooth devices menu. We walked around the room with our paired device and found it kept a good connection without experiencing dropouts. If your mobile device doesn’t support Bluetooth, or you are not ready to lose those leads, you can connect your phone to the AUX input on the back.

Also on the back is an LED, which glows orange and then green when it is charged. It turns red when it is time to charge the device again. IK Multimedia says the battery will last around 10 hours at normal volume. During testing, we found it kept its charge well, but would run out a lot faster when the volume is higher. To save energy, it automatically goes into standby mode if it isn’t used. When in standby the red ring around the volume control dims and gently pulses unless it is switched off at the back. If there’s one niggle, it’s that the volume control isn’t also an on/off switch. As it is, it’s fiddly to find the off switch at the back of the speaker. When it comes to sound quality, the 3/4in tweeters help deliver crisp highs, mid-range is present but not too overwhelming and the bass is just right: deep but not too boomy. It’s frequency range is great when put to the test and managed very well with the low frequencies.

Verdict If you are a musician looking for a high quality portable Bluetooth speaker, then the iLoud is a fantastic choice. If you don’t plan to use the iRig system it’s still a good speaker, but there are alternatives that will provide similar sound quality at a lower cost. J James Lumgair


058_059 IK Multimedia/McAfee 250.indd 58

25/02/2016 11:10

Reviews

INTERNET SECURITY SUITE

£80

inc VAT

Contact n

mcafee.com/uk

System requirements

Windows 7/8/8.1/10 all 32and 64-bit, 2GHz Core 2 Duo, 1.5GB memory, 2GB hard disk space


McAfee Total Protection 2016 Intel’s McAfee Total Protection 2016 is the latest incarnation of the company’s internet security suite, and is particularly flexible in protecting a wide range of your desktop and mobile devices. There are only so many ways you can present the information from an IS suite and Total Protection has the virtue of simplicity, though not much visual flair. The initial display shows the status of virus, spyware, email and web protection, and offers big buttons to add McAfee to other machines. It can offer this because Total Protection covers unlimited devices. This means that, for personal use, you can add to your McAfee account whatever mix of PC, Mac, iOS and Android devices you want, though the PC protection is the most comprehensive. Setting up protection on extra devices is made easier by the My Network function, which examines and reports on all available machines connected to your local network. From your McAfee account page online, you can obtain links for the Android and iOS versions of the software, which are broken down into a confusing number of apps. There are seven listed in Google Play and none have the name offered on the account page. McAfee Security and Power Booster is your best bet and offers a find device app, online backup and a battery optimiser, as well as a security scan, privacy and web security applications. Also new to this version of Total Protection is a QuickClean tool, which removes fragmented and temporary files, and a social media guard, which extends internet link checks to those you include in twitter, facebook and the like. McAfee claims that the parental controls are a new feature, though they were available in last year’s release. True Key is now available, though not currently integrated with Total Protection. It’s a separate download and is free for anybody, customer or not, though here you get five user accounts. It’s an online ‘identity manager’, that uses biometric measures such as fingerprint or facial recognition. It removes the need to remember

countless passwords and works across platforms, so can be used with Android and iOS devices, as well as PC and Mac. What Total Protection 2016 lacks, compared with McAfee’s top-of-the-range LiveSafe, is the personal 1GB Cloud Locker, which provides online storage shared between all your devices. Online storage and backup are certainly a useful supplement to internet security, and many rival products make it a core element of their packages, but it’s always possible to add it here through an upgrade.

Performance Our test scan of 50GB of assorted files completed in one hour 18 minutes and scanned 17,718 files, giving a poor scan rate of just 3.79 files/s. Repeating the scan took 10 minutes 36 seconds and, unusually, examined 18,030, slightly more than the first scan. There’s a noticeable hit on system performance too, with a 1GB file copy taking 40 seconds without a scan running in the background, and one minute nine seconds with one. That’s a 72 percent increase. Our results are at variance with the more extensive testing carried out by AV-Test (av-test.org), though. It scored the suite at 17.5/18 overall, a very good figure, with the software dropping only 0.5 over the two months of testing. Under the Performance heading, the McAfee engine scored 6/6 and registered no slowdown over the range of site visits, downloads,

installations and copies, against a group average of two seconds. This is without AV or vulnerability scans running though, which is part of the reason for the difference from our own results. The Usability section also scored a perfect 6/6, with no false detections or warnings at any stage – an excellent result. Finally, the Protection section dropped the 0.5. While McAfee provided 99.9 percent protection against a group average of 99.7 percent on established malware, it dropped from 98.8 percent to 96.7 percent month to month, against an average of 97.1 percent, when dealing with zero-day attacks. It’s still a very good result. If you want the highest level of protection, then Avira, Bitdefender and Kaspersky pip McAfee to the post on AV-Test results, giving a full 18/18. Products such as BullGuard include online storage and backup utilities in their main suites, without having to pay top dollar. All of those limit you to, usually, three devices though, and often to a single platform, too.

Verdict The key fact to take away about McAfee Total Protection is that you can protect as many personally owned PC, Mac, iOS and Android devices as you have, on the one subscription. The suite does this very well, though if you want to include backup and online storage in you security provision, you’ll need to look at the top-of-the-range LiveSafe offering, instead. J Simon Williams May 2016 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews 59

058_059 IK Multimedia/McAfee 250.indd 59

25/02/2016 11:10

GROUP TEST

6LAPTOPS OF THE BEST

Andrew Williams rounds up six of the best Windows laptops you can buy right now

I

f you’re looking for a laptop and don’t want an Apple MacBook at the top end or a Chromebook at the cheapest end of the price scale, you probably want a Windows machine. The good news is that Windows 10 is looking and feeling as good as it has since the days of Windows 7. Microsoft is back on form. However, let’s not kid ourselves: laptops aren’t as popular as they once were. People are increasingly keeping their old one and buying a tablet for web browsing, email, Facebook and plenty more besides. This means a few of the familiar laptop brands aren’t around anymore: Sony and Samsung have both stopped selling laptops in the UK, preferring to concentrate on other areas, such as TVs. However, there are still big-brand offerings from HP, Asus and Toshiba, as well as smaller brands such as Chillblast. We’ve selected six of the best mainstream laptops around for this test. They’re not huge desktop-replacements, nor gaming laptops with fan grilles that look like they belong on sports cars. They’re still powerful machines, though, and they won’t break the bank.

Cost Unless you are really serious about getting desktop PC-level power (including 3D graphics), you needn’t spend above £1,200. Right down at the other end of the spectrum, you can get perfectly serviceable basic machines for around £200- to £250. And if all you want is something to write emails and browse a bit with, you needn’t necessarily spend any more. At that sort of price, you can snag yourself a basic hybrid laptop-tablet hybrid or a Chromebook. Hybrids are a bit more trendy, of course,


060_075 Laptops GT 250.indd 60

and are usually a bit more fun to use. They have either hinges that let the screen flip around 360 degrees or displays that can be detached completely. You’d think you’d pay a bit more for these, but competitive pricing in this area has seem some real bargains emerge, such as the Asus Transformer T100HA. You can get expensive hybrids too, and from around £550 you can get something stylish that’s slim and light enough to take around with you everywhere. ‘Ultrabooks’, a term very popular a couple of years ago but less so now, are far less expensive than they used to be. Spending big is always an option, of course. Once you get close to the £1,000 mark, you’ll find laptops with exceptional build quality, better-quality displays and a larger amount of ‘fast’ storage. However, unless you want an ultra-premium feel you needn’t spend that much. You also need to look at the specifications of your prospective machines carefully: performance isn’t always proportional to price.

Screen size Perhaps the first thing to tackle, though, is how large a screen you need. Displays range from a dinky 10.6in to a giant 17.3in. A lot of people prefer something in the 13- to 14in range, as these offer portability without feeling too cramped to use all day. Watch out with smaller screens as you might find 11.6in laptops a little too small, even if they use full-size keys. We think both 15.6in and 17in laptops are a good choice if you’re out for a laptop for use at home rather than out and about. A larger display is naturally going to be a bonus if you want to watch films or play games.

There’s also the resolution of the display to consider. Unless you’re on a very tight budget, you can probably afford a 1080p Full HD screen these days, while the prices of even sharper displays aren’t too painful among HP’s devices in particular. If you want a screen that’s good to watch video or edit photos, try to get hold of one with an IPS LCD screen. These look good from any angle, while the older ‘twisted nematic’ type that was once used in virtually all laptops looks clouded and ugly when viewed from above or below. Those who need a screen that displays accurate colours for professional use will need to spend a bit extra, though. Great colour accuracy and the ability to render really deep reds, blues and greens is still the preserve of high-end laptops in general. As ever, we’ll explain in our reviews how a screen fares in our tests.

Storage Another good reason to spend extra is SSD storage. This is what most high-end laptops use instead of a regular hard drive, and when you realise how much quicker they are than an HDD, you’ll want one. A good hard drive might be able to read and write data at about 150MB per second (MB/s). That sounds quick until you experience a laptop fitted with an SSD that’s around five- to 10 times faster. For the amount of money that might get you a 1TB hard drive, you’ll only get a 120GB SSD, though. Large-capacity SSDs are available, but they’re very expensive. An SSD can have a big effect on day-today performance, a large part of what makes Windows (and therefore the whole laptop) feel zippy and responsive. There are hybrid

TEST CENTRE

24/02/2016 15:55

GROUP TEST

hard drives that tack a small amount of SSD data on to a regular hard drive, getting you a ‘best of both worlds’ compromise. If you can’t afford a laptop with an SSD, try to seek out one of these hybrids, often called an SSHD. Certain laptops pair a smallcapacity SSD with a big hard drive, but these tend to be larger, less portable models.

Processor Unless you’re planning to run very demanding software, you won’t need the latest and greatest processor. It is wise, however, to shop around and get good value. We recommend an Intel Core i5 as the best compromise between cost and performance. There’s a lot more to think about than simply whether it’s a Core i3, i5 or i7, though. U-series Intel chips have two cores, while more battery-sapping MQ and HQ ones have four cores to offer performance much closer to desktop-level power. You’ll see these letters at the end of Intel’s CPU model numbers. There are also different generations of Intel Core processors, the latest being

TEST CENTRE


sixth-generation (Skylake). You can easily spot which generation processor a laptop has by the first digit of the processor’s model number. For example, a Core i5-6500 is a sixth-generation CPU. AMD processors tend to be found on budget laptops and are fine as long as you’re not expecting earth-shattering speed. They also have better integrated gaming abilities than Intel’s lot. If you want to play 3D games, look for a laptop with a dedicated nVidia or AMD graphics card. You will have to pay extra, and don’t expect a budget laptop (anything under £500- to £600) to be able to run the latest 3D games at high resolutions and detail levels.

Warranty and other considerations We recommend every laptop in this roundup: there isn’t a duff one among them. It’s important to read through the full review before spending your hard-earned cash though, because no laptop is perfect in every respect. Whether any flaws are acceptable compromises or not will depend on your

priorities. Our reviews detail the quality of each laptop’s screen, keyboard and touchpad as well as listing the specifications. Don’t forget about battery life and warranty cover: they do vary from model to model and manufacturer to manufacturer. Some retailers provide extra warranty cover, so it might be worth shopping at, say, John Lewis, rather than saving a few quid buy choosing the cheapest price you can find online. After-sales service is something you should consider on not only laptops but almost everything you buy. Check whether the company has a UK-based support line, and forums (including our own) are an ideal place to get an idea of whether a manufacturer is generally good or bad at carrying out work under warranty. You may not have to deal with the manufacturer directly if you have a fault in the first six months as it’s the retailer’s responsibility to deal with issues. This is when it pays to have purchased your laptop from Amazon, John Lewis and others, who will often replace or refund without quibble.


24/02/2016 15:55

Group test: Six of the best laptops

ASUS ZENBOOK PRO UX501

£1,499 inc VAT • asus.com/uk There’s a lot of talk about laptops diminishing entirely at the moment, but those hanging on to the spotlight right now are small and very portable. There’s no staying in one place for too long today, it seems. The Asus ZenBook Pro UX501 seems to think there’s still an appeal to an older style of laptop. It has plenty of power, enough to act as a desktop-replacer for many, but has a fancy design and an edge of portability too. It’s a real all-rounder. However, not every aspect of it has been totally well-handled, lumbering it with a few issues that are not all that easy to accept at the price.

Design As you so often get with laptops at an ultra-premium price, the UX501’s outside is made almost entirely of aluminium. This is an expensive-looking computer, and it has the hard, cool metallic feel to match. The ‘Pro’ is much more a reference to something like the Apple MacBook Pro than the sorts of ‘professional’ Dell monsters you may have used as work PCs in the past. It’s a rather nice, if boxy, piece of hardware. Little design tweaks specific to Asus’ style include the circular brushed finish on the lid and the circular arrangement of dots on the UX501’s inside. Its flashy elements are subdued. This feels like a laptop that should be used 80 percent at home or at work, and 20 percent on the go. While it’s not a gigantic workstation, it does still have some weight to it, and is twice as heavy as the kind of laptops meant for real roving use. It weighs 2.27kg and is 21mm thick. The thickness isn’t an issue, but the weight might be, liable to become a bit of a shoulder-ache after a few hours unless you’re used to lugging around heavy stuff. Being a 15in laptop it’s also likely to fill a lot of shoulder bags. This is where the rival Dell XPS 15 has a real advantage. It has a more dynamic design that really tries to shave down the footprint of the 15in laptop, whereas the UX501 is of a conventional shape. Its hinge doesn’t bend back far either.

Connections The design has a ‘premium’ sensibility, but isn’t that dynamic. It comes across as a mite stiff. However, it does make changes to



Build Features Performance Value Overall the version of the UX501 we saw last year, by including a USB-C Thunderbolt socket. This is soon to be the staple connector of mobile devices, in effect replacing the Micro-USB sockets most of us have been using for years. Asus hasn’t made any such bold moves here, thankfully. The UX501 has three USB 3.0 ports, an SD card slot and an HDMI socket to let you hook up with a monitor or TV very easily. There’s no Ethernet port, which may put those of you with spotty home Wi-Fi off buying this as a full desktop-replacer.

Keyboard and touchpad The keyboard is up to the task, though. Not only does it use full-size keys for the main area, as you’d expect, it also has a full numerical pad. These keys are trimmed down a little, but this is an important part of making the UX501 ‘feel right’. A full-size numberpad can shift your position so that you’re no longer working at the centre of the laptop, but here the move is slight enough not to become an issue. Key action is typical of a slim laptop. It’s shallow, but well defined. Some of you may find it on the soft side, but it ultimately makes typing for long periods comfortable. It’s not as good as that of the Dell XPS 15 or MacBook Pro, though. The UX501’s trackpad is a similar middle-weight example. It’s perfectly fine without setting any new standards. Its surface is textured glass for a smooth feel and it uses a very pronounced click. The buttons are integrated into the pad, and we have not had any major issues with making unintended right-clicks, a classic symptom of a dodgy trackpad design. The one problem with

While it’s not gigantic, it does still have some weight to it, and is twice as heavy as the kind of laptops meant for real roving use TEST CENTRE

24/02/2016 15:55


the pad is that the click is pretty loud. In quiet rooms, you may annoy friends, family and colleagues.

Screen One of the hardware elements that goes some way to excuse the high price of the UX501 is its screen resolution. This is a ‘4K’ laptop, with screen resolution of 3840x2160 pixels. Unless you’re a serial laptop upgrader it’s going to be a lot sharper than any laptop you’ve owned in the past. Like almost all laptops of this specification, it uses an IPS LCD panel, which guarantees you good viewing angles. However, there’s something amiss with the screen, and it is down to how its touchscreen layer is implemented. While the touchscreen works just fine, even though it is at risk of seeming a bit superfluous to requirements in a 15in performance laptop, it leaves the display looking a little greyed out. This isn’t down to the backlight leaking through, but that the display is actually a little recessed. Other screen layers above it reflect a little bit of ambient light, greying out the surface slightly. Higher-end tablets use full screen lamination to avoid this, which is where the touch- and display layers are fused. As a result, the UX501 looks good in dim rooms, but loses much of its impact in bright ones. And with a reflective surface to boot, it’s not too good for outdoors use at all. This is not helped by the only just acceptable maximum brightness of 253cd/m2. The display is much less of winner in person than it sounds on paper. Using our colorimeter, which measures how accurate and deep a screen’s colours are, we found the UX501 capable of rendering 102 percent of the sRGB standard and 70.7 percent of the Adobe RGB one. That’s below Asus’s claims, but a good result. Calibration is less accurate than most we’ve tested recently at this sort of price, with an average Delta E score of 0.93. However, in use its colours look good, only really being let down by the whole contrast-sapping style of display.

Performance While the screen disappoints a bit, the UX501’s performance does not. This laptop has a very powerful processor – an Intel Core i7-6700HQ – that outclasses the thinner, lighter crowd. The part to really note here is that it’s not a dual-core ‘U’ series CPU, but a quad-core one offering performance somewhat comparable with desktop-class systems. It has eight threads, 6MB cache, and a standard clock speed of 2.6GHz, which can be turbo boosted up to 3.5GHz. This is a Skylake generation CPU, ensuring you’re up to date for, at the very least, most of 2016. Along with that you get 12GB RAM and a 512GB SSD. The SSD is intensely fast, able to write data at up to 1508MB/s thanks to its PCI-E x4 interface. The combination of powerful GPU, generous RAM and ultra-fast storage makes the UX501 a dream for any productivity tasks. And, of course, it runs like a dream day-to-day. In Geekbench 3, it scored 12431 points, and 2645 in PC Mark 8 Home. This sort of performance is to be expected of a laptop with this specification and price, and should give a lot of you confidence. It’s ready for some fun, too. While the UX501 isn’t a gaming laptop as such, it does have a dedicated GPU, the nVidia GeForce GTX960M. This is the same GPU as found in the latest-generation Dell XPS 15.

TEST CENTRE


This is a great GPU for those who like to game occasionally, but don’t want to trade away looks and an extra £300 or so for a laptop with the top-end GTX980M. A lot of recent games will run very well at 1080p at mid-high settings with this card. Only undemanding games will run at the UX501’s native resolution, but we’re yet to meet a mobile GPU that can really belt out top titles at 4K. Playing Thief, for example, it manages a playable 27fps at 1080p with maxed-out visuals. You’ll probably just want to chip a few elements down to nudge the average comfortably over 30fps. Alien Isolation is very playable maxed-out at 1080p, with an average of 51fps. Oddly enough, while its 1080p gaming performance matches the similarly-specified Dell XPS 15, reducing the resolution to 720p saw its FPS figures drop below the Dell’s. Could it be some strange software scaling optimisation sapping performance? Who knows, but as the nVidia GTX960M is strong enough to keep the resolution at 1080p for most titles, it’s not a deal-breaker. When gaming, the UX501 doesn’t get too noisy. However, the CPU fan used whenever the system is in use does have a strangely distracting tone. It almost doesn’t sound like a fan, but the whirring of the platters of a particularly loud hard drive, something the laptop doesn’t have. While very quiet, some of you may find it distracting when working in quiet rooms. We did, and would prefer the sound of a lightly noisier, but more conventional fan. It’s the inconsistency of the noise that gets on your nerves.

Battery life Whatever the tone, an always-on fan is something you have to learn to live with if you want a quad-core Intel Core-series laptop right now. Normally, so is mediocre battery life. However, the Asus ZenBook Pro UX501’s stamina is good for a system of this class. It has a large 96Wh lithium ion battery, which lasts for seven hours 20 minutes when playing back a 720p video file. This is with the brightness set to 120cd/m2, which is bright enough to watch comfortably indoors, although less than half of what the screen is actually capable of putting out. This is better than Asus’s own claims of six hours of video playback and a good result for a machine with a quad-core Intel CPU and a 4K-resolution screen. Much like the design, it gets you enough flexibility to be used as an occasional roving laptop without getting you a full day’s use required of a true portable-driven machine.

Verdict The Asus ZenBook Pro UX501 is a laptop that looks great on paper, if you’re not turned off by its price. It has plenty of power, high-quality build and an ultra-high resolution screen matched with a touchscreen. And it can even play games. It’s everything many people want in a laptop. However, a few little niggles in person stop it from being the MacBook Pro 15, Dell XPS 15 killer you might be hoping for. First, the screen’s dated architecture limits the impact of the high resolution in most environments. It’s incredibly reflective on two different levels. That the CPU fan is a little irritating and the touchpad very loud are very minor points, but combined with the screen issue make for a laptop not quite up there with the very best. You can afford to be picky when you have this much money to spend.


24/02/2016 15:55


CHILLBLAST AKIRA 3

£879 inc VAT • chillblast.com Fancy building your own PC? It’s easy enough to do with a desktop (see our feature on page 88), but you’d have to be pretty brave to try constructing your own laptop out of raw components. Chillblast is a company that lets you pick out exactly the specs you’re after and does the hard work for you, though. The Akira 3 is one of its latest ‘templates’, getting you a pretty portable 14in design and a GeForce GTX 950M to let you play games, as well as handling productivity tasks with ease. It’s not for those after a laptop that’s going to make a strong impression, though. While not cheap in price, several elements do feel a bit cheap.

Price You can pay almost as much or as little as you like when you spec out a Chillblast laptop. However, the Akira 3 we’re looking at is an upper-mid range design. Prices start at £799 for the base model, which includes a 500GB hard drive, quad-core Intel Core i5 Skylake CPU and a GTX950M. Our review model also has a 128GB SSD, for that bit of extra day-to-day pep. The upgrade bumps the system price up to £879. This makes it a little cheaper than a lot of ‘portable power’ systems from Dell, but comparable with entry-level gaming laptops from companies like MSI.

Design If you want a laptop that will impress people with its sheer presence, you don’t want a Akira 3. It’s very plain-looking, and the parts that stick out visually do so because they look a little clumsy. Things such as the gloss keyboard plate, the very conspicuous camera, the obvious rubber buffers on the display surround and the heavily-lined hinge area give the Akira an, at best, dated look. Almost all £800- to £900 laptops from the ‘big names’ will look a lot better. The single suggestion that this is a remotely higher-end laptop is the aluminium finish on its lid. The rest of the Akira 3 is plastic. You can also tell the casing is designed to be highly customisable. There’s a big blank bit of plastic on the right side where an optical drive might go, for example. Laptops may be a bit like puzzles, made up of a bunch of joinedtogether bits, but the Chillblast may make this all-too evident for



Build Features Performance Value Overall some of you. It isn’t a looker. Build quality is at best passable, too. There’s a lot of flexing to the keyboard plate, where at this price from the other brands we start to see more attention paid to such things.

Connections Chillblast doesn’t play the same game as the other laptop players. But in some respects this pays off. For example, you get a few connections you just wouldn’t see in a laptop like this from, say, HP. It has both a VGA connector and a full-size ethernet port, two things generally left out of smaller, lighter laptops these days. You also get two USB 3.0 ports, a USB 2.0 socket, HDMI and an SD slot. The one connector that’s missing is a USB-C port, rapidly becoming a standard addition in more expensive laptops. While of limited use right now, we’ll see it start being used in mobile devices in place of Micro-USB in 2016. Most other laptops at this price use USB 3.0 only these days, although given the USB 2.0 port is most likely to be used to attach a mouse, it’s hardly a killer issue.

Keyboard and touchpad Perhaps the most important elements of a laptop’s body are the keyboard and trackpad. Mess these up and a laptop can be a nightmare to use. The Akira 3’s are passable, but a little dated. We appreciate the very vanilla keyboard layout. There are no oddly-resized keys, letting you easily sink into using it without your first 100 emails being full of typos. The key action is also beefy, with a good deal of resistance against your finger, the polar opposite to the wafer-thin key style Apple uses in its latest 12in MacBook.

The Chillblast Akira 3 is very plain-looking, and the parts that stick out visually do so because they look a little clumsy TEST CENTRE

24/02/2016 15:55


However, significant keyboard flex in some areas adds a spongy note. As such, the Akira 3 doesn’t have a consistent feel. It’s rather unusual, and not in a good sense. We didn’t have any major problems using it, though: if you’re not too bothered about ‘premium feel’ you’ll get used to it quickly. And may well prefer it to the feel of some ultra-shallow alternatives. The trackpad shows a similarly lax approach. It’s a good deal smaller than a lot of today’s trendy 13- to 14in laptops, doesn’t use integrated buttons and has an unambitious textured plastic surface rather than the textured glass used in most high-end style laptops. While it feels a bit like stepping back to using a laptop of five years ago, the trackpad does work perfectly well. Its button bar is low-fi, with a seesaw action between the left and right buttons and a chunky dead zone in the middle. It’s wholly pedestrian, but does give you a satisfying, deep click at each end.

Screen A lot of the superficial hardware features make you think “I spent nearly £900 for this?” for a few minutes, but after using the laptop for a while we softened. It’s not flashy, but its parts do at least work. The screen is a lingering disappointment, though. It’s a 14in 1080p panel. That’s exactly the sort of thing we’re after at this price, since 4K laptops aren’t that cheap yet. It also has a neat hinge that lets you fold it back almost 180 degrees. While not in the same league as the Lenovo Yoga 900 in flexibility terms, it does let you show other people what’s on-screen more easily. This hinge actually helps to show off what’s bad about the display, though. Our review model uses a TN (twisted nematic) panel, which seems thoroughly out of place in a £800 laptop. The vast majority of laptops at this level have moved over to using IPS LCD screens. Sticking with the older style causes a few major image quality problems. The first is contrast shift. Tilt the display back and the colours start inverting, the whole image becoming a shadowy mess. Tilt it forward and everything get greyed-out. By TN standards the effects aren’t terrible, but eyes used to the far superior viewing angles of IPS LCD will be disappointed. Typical of this kind of display, colour performance is well below current standards. The Akira 3 only covers 54.5 percent of the sRGB colour spectrum and 37.5 percent of Adobe RGB. While mid-range IPS-screen laptops tend to fail to cover all of sRGB, they generally do much better than this (70- to 90 percent minimum). In Chillblast’s defence, the calibration of the display is decent, with an average Delta E colour difference of 0.21. So while the colour won’t dazzle, it’ll look roughly ‘right’, as long as you view the screen dead-on. At any sort of angle, it’s game over for image quality. The display has a matt finish, which is handy for use outdoors. You can see what’s on-screen even with a window reflection in view. However, it’s not the best for very bright days, with a maximum brightness of an average 225cd/m2. We’d take it over a brighter glossy display for pure practical points, though.

with a Core M CPU, or one with a dual-core CPU. It’s not dramatically faster than the latest dual-core Core i7 in some situations, though. As standard Chillblast ships the Akira 3 with a hybrid 500GB SSD/ HDD, but our review model also features a 128GB SSD, on to which the operating system is loaded. With this configuration at least, day-to-day performance is excellent. It has enough RAM and fast enough storage to provide great responsiveness. The Akira 3 also has a GeForce GTX950M, a mid-range graphics card that is good enough for light gaming. While significantly slower than the GTX960M used in the Dell XPS 15 and Asus Pro UX501, it will still handle modern games at 1080p resolution is you pare down the settings a bit. Running Thief, for example, it averages an incredibly smooth 78fps at 720p, low graphics settings. Maxed out at 1080p this slows down to an average of 23.8fps. But that shows if you’re happy with 30fps smoothness, you can definitely stick to 1080p and good visual settings. It seems that the Akira 3 has adept-enough cooling for its components, though. The laptop tends to get warm after prolonged use. Even just using the laptop to produce this review, the system became obviously warm. That was with CPU usage at 10 percent-ish or below. This doesn’t seem a particularly well-designed system. Most of the heat comes out of a grille on the left side, through which one of the main heat sinks is clearly visible. On the bright side, you can use it to keep one hand warm during the winter.

Battery life As an exercise in bringing decent components together at an attractive price, it’s no surprise the Chillblast Akira 3’s battery life is not great. When playing a 720p movie on loop at 120cd/m2 screen brightness, it lasts three hours 57 minutes. While its dimensions are somewhat portable-friendly, the battery isn’t. Using the system as just that, a portable work laptop, it dropped from 84 percent charge to 39 percent in one hour 35 minutes. This suggests general-use stamina of 3.5 hours. Even worse.

Verdict Aside from having an up-to-date CPU and a fast SSD, the Chillblast Akira 3 is a system that feels severely dated in several respects. Its aesthetics are poor, there are build quality concerns and the display uses a screen technology that feels out of place in a machine of this price class. It doesn’t seem well-designed enough to handle its significant power without strain either, getting warm without much provocation. Chillblast offers good specifications for your money and very reasonable upgrade prices, but you miss out on the smart designs and good looks of machines from more commonly known names.

Performance By now you’re getting the idea: there are some issues. However, the performance it packs into a modest frame is commendable. Our review model came with a Skylake-generation Intel Core i5-6300HQ. It’s a quad-core CPU, not the dual-core ‘U’ version used so often in slimmer laptops. This scores 8043 points in Geekbench 3, where a quad-core i7 will score well over 10,000, but is sufficient for most people. The PCMark 8 Home tests indicate this, with a 2749 points score being pretty close to what a more powerful laptop achieves. The capable-but-sensible mid-range CPU is paired with an equally sensible 8GB RAM. It’s DDR4 memory, with a 2133MHz clock speed. Good stuff, in other words. This is a ‘ready for anything’ machine that can take on demanding tasks much more readily than something

TEST CENTRE



24/02/2016 15:55

BES ANCE PERFORM

M

NT EFFICIE


DELL XPS 15 9550

£1,029 inc VAT • dell.co.uk The XPS range is where you’ll find Dell’s most desirable laptops. These aren’t all-practical workstations, or budget models. XPS is where the company’s fanciest designs team-up with higher-end components. This is the larger of the two XPS models, the 15. Much more than just a larger version of the XPS 13 this one trades away stamina in order to pack in a high-power CPU and a graphics chipset that’ll let you play recent games without making the visuals look like those of an original Xbox title.

Price These abilities don’t come cheap, though. We’re looking at the entrylevel XPS 15 model, which costs £1,029 and makes some significant sacrifices to even get down to that price. Namely, it has a 1080p display rather than a 4K one, and a hybrid drive rather than full SSD storage. If you’re drawn to the XPS 15 because you’ve heard about its flashy Infinity Edge 4K screen, you’ll need to pay at least £1,319 for that. To see the XPS 15 at the height of its powers you’ll want to buy the £1,489 model, which has a 512GB SSD rather than a hybrid drive.

Design No matter which specification you’re after, the XPS 15 gets you the same design and chassis. It looks and feels nice, but is not as flashy as some. There’s only about 5mm of plastic between the end of the display and the end of the laptop. This helps the Dell keep very petite for a 15.6in machine – it’s around the size of most 14in laptops While there are better options out there if you’re a road warrior, we had no problem carting in the XPS 15 around in a rucksack and using it in a coffee shop for a few hours. It’s 23mm thick, after all, and our review sample weighed slightly less than the stated 2kg at 1,945g. Dell says the SSD version is even lighter at 1.78kg. The XPS 15’s connectivity isn’t much better than you average, well-equipped 13in laptop, though. You get just two USB 3.0 ports, a Thunderbolt 3 USB-C socket, full-size SD card slot and a full-size HDMI. It’ll do the job for most, but if you want to use this as a main home PC you may need to get a USB hub involved to avoid having to swap over USB cables all the time. There’s no ethernet port, and no included USB adaptor – it’s optional.



Build Features Performance Value Overall It’s also worth noting there are no ‘special’ design moves here. This isn’t a hybrid, the screen hinge doesn’t flip around 360 degrees (just 120-ish), and unlike some previous XPS laptops, you don’t even get a touchscreen. Not in the version reviewed, anyway. The 4K models all have touchscreens. The aim here is to pack traditional laptop power into a much more friendly and convenient shell.

Performance Given that the XPS 15 is slim and light for a 15in laptop, it’s a little surprising that it uses an ‘HQ’ series processor rather than the ‘U’ kind we normally see on portable-friendly models. The base model has an Intel Core i5-6300HQ. While not the top-end option you’ll see in the more expensive XPS 15 models, it’s still designed to eat up more power and run hotter than U-series chipsets. These chipsets are designed to use just 15W, but this ones thermal load is 45W. Being happy to suck up more power lets these HQ chipsets push much harder, but it means they’re less power-efficient and need a more serious cooling system. As with pretty much any HQ-equipped laptop, the Dell 15’s CPU fan runs all the time. It’s a very light whirr, but if you dream of a totally silent laptop, this is not it. Using a hybrid hard drive rather than a pricier SSD, our particular review model also emits the light clicks when writing data, common to all hard drives. And it occasionally makes mysterious louder ones, too. There’s nothing magical going on in a hybrid hard drive, though. It gets you 1TB storage, but has an extra 32GB SSD attached, used as a cache to increase performance beyond that of a regular

Given that the Dell XPS 15 9550 is slim and light for a 15in laptop, it’s a little surprising that it uses an ‘HQ’ series processor TEST CENTRE

24/02/2016 15:55


mechanical hard drive. It works, but still doesn’t quite seem to get you the instant zippiness of a pure SSD system. Powering-up and coming back from standby is quick, but not near-instantaneous. The CrystalDiskMark benchmark results show that it’s no replacement for an SSD, too. While read speeds reach up to an SSD-alike 475MB/s, write speeds are around 70- to 80MB/s. That’s the performance of a bog-standard 5400rpm hard drive, not an SSD. This base specification isn’t really designed for the most demanding of buyers, though. While it uses an Intel HQ series CPU, it’s still a Core i5 rather than an i7, a quad-core i5-6300HQ 2.3GHz. Of course, when paired-up with 8GB RAM you still have enough power on tap to do virtually anything. Serious video editing, involved Photoshop work and audio sequencing are not beyond its abilities. The mid-grade spec leaves it with very solid middle-ranking benchmark results. For example, in Geekbench 3 it scores 9808 (3165 single core) points. The Intel Core i7 versions will, naturally, score much higher, but it’s still much better than what you get from the dual-core ‘U’ alternative. That CPU scores 5500- to 6000 in the XPS 13, a pretty dramatic difference. It is what’s common to all versions of the Dell XPS 15 we really need to take into account, though: the discrete nVidia GeForce GT 960M graphics card. This is a good card, and one that doesn’t demand the ultra-loud fans and heat vents that gamer-specific GeForce GT980M systems tend to have. This specification is good enough to play recent games, including top-tier games like The Witcher 3 and Fallout 4. However, to play at the native 1080p resolution you’ll need to watch settings carefully. For example, in The Witcher 3 we needed to drop down to ‘medium’ settings and switch off performance-sapping effects like nVidia Hairworks to reach a reasonable frame rate. Compared to ‘full-fat’ desktop CPUs, the GT 980M is closer to the nVidia GTX 750 than this card’s desktop namesake, the higherend GTX 960. As with the CPU, it’s all about the sort of hardware you can fit into a laptop shell without generating loads of heat. This is a laptop for people who want to play games, but not one for hardcore gamers. That said, we were impressed with how the performance scales away from the charger. The GT 960M GPU isn’t simply ‘switched off’ as soon as you unplug. You can happily game on the train with the XPS 15, and you can naturally fiddle with the performance settings to favour stamina or performance. It’s also very good at managing heat. While the fans run constantly, they don’t become annoyingly loud even when the system is working flat-out. We also experienced none of the odd fan revving we heard when reviewing the XPS 13.

On the battery life front, you’ll be glad of the lower-resolution screen. Due to the higher-power processor, the Dell XPS was never going to be a real battery stamina winner even with a 1080p screen. Still, it could be a lot worse. Using the laptop for an hour as a simple word processor in indoors lighting requiring about 30 percent screen brightness, an hour took 17 percent off the battery life. With light use you’ll get just under six hours between charges. While plenty of HQ-series-CPU laptops do worse, it’s pretty poor among XPS slim and light-ish laptops. If you need your system to last a full work day, look for one with a more efficient, lower-power CPU. When playing back a high-quality MP4 video at 120cd/m2 brightness, the Dell 15 lasts five hours 55 minutes. It’s pretty much the same result we saw when using the Dell XPS 15 for ‘normal’ work. When laptops of this power level often last for four hours, or even less, it’s not bad stamina as such. But some people will be much better-served by a longer-lasting laptop like a Toshiba Portégé Z20t or Lenovo ThinkPad X1.

Keyboard and trackpad

Verdict

The keyboard and trackpad are other pivotal parts of any laptop experience, and both are good here. The keyboard is crisp, with decent resistance against your fingers that provides well-defined feedback for each keypress. As you’d hope at the price, the keyboard is also backlit, using a set of white LEDs. You control the level using a one of the function keys, although it’s limited to high-low-off. You don’t get fine control. The trackpad is clearly indebted to that of the MacBook Pro. It’s a similar size, a similar shape and has a textured glass finish for that smooth, high-end feel. Among Windows PCs it’s a great pad, with an easy but thoroughly clicky button action. This is one area where no Windows laptop can really touch Apple’s designs, though, even those from the pre-Force Touch era (the pressure sensitivity now built into the latest MacBook trackpads). It’s not miles off, mind.

The Dell XPS 15 9550 is a great all-rounder. The laptop offers a powerful CPU, a competent discrete graphics card, a screen happy with the outdoors and a frame that’s light and slim given the rest of the specification.

There are some very important things to note here, though. First, there’s the thin-bezel design we mentioned earlier. Aside from the thick bit at the bottom, the top half of the XPS 15 appears almost all-screen. If you’re upgrading from laptop a few years old, the difference is quite alarming. This is also a matt display, pretty unusual among ‘premium’ laptops. This reflection-busting screen finish is great if you want to use the Dell XPS 15 outdoors, and is also a good surface for gaming. You might not notice reflections of a lounge lamp while you’re looking at a web page, but a dark Skyrim dungeon is much more likely to show it off. The downsides of matt screens include more muted colours ‘pop’ a bit less and tend to make a raised black level a bit more obvious. Colour and contrast are still very good though. The display appears well-saturated, and while blacks aren’t perfect, it is strong. The one slight disappointment is the obvious one: resolution. Having used many smaller, higher-resolution laptops over the past couple of years, the slight blockiness of 1080p stretched over 15 inches is obvious. Of course, the glossy 4K versions of the Dell XPS 15 look immaculate in this respect. You’ll just have to live with their highly reflective nature. Contrary to what you might assume, it’s not gaming or films that show up the limited resolution. The XPS 15 doesn’t have the power for 4K gaming anyway, and 1080p films look fantastic on this display. It’s text that makes you wish for a slightly higher ppi count. Characters just aren’t that smooth.

Battery life

Display There’s a good chance you don’t want to hear about the display of the Dell we’re reviewing. One of the series’ key appeals is its 3840x2160-pixel screen, but we’re looking at the 1920x1080 version.

TEST CENTRE



24/02/2016 15:55

BES ANCE PERFORM

M

NT EFFICIE


HP ENVY 13-D002NA

£649 inc VAT • hp.com/uk Laptops such as the 12in MacBook and Dell XPS 13 are pretty portable, but you’ll struggle to find a computer with a decent-sized screen that’s more portable than the HP Envy 13. It’s incredibly slim and light, and doesn’t cost the earth either. It’s like a MacBook Air, but with more up-to-date hardware. Surprisingly enough, it has power too, using the same dual-core Intel Core i7 CPU you’ll find in larger, pricier systems. Only battery life holds this otherwisedelightful laptop back. And even that isn’t too bad.

Price For an expensive-looking and feeling laptop, the entry price for the Envy 13 is not too intimidating. Prices start at £649 for the version with an Intel Core i5 CPU and 1080p screen. If you can take the very reasonable bump up to £729, you can get a 4K resolution screen and an Intel Core i7 CPU. Not bad for an extra £80, right? Our review unit sits between the two, with an Intel Core i7 CPU and a 1080p display. This specification gets you the performance hit without the battery drain tax of a 4K display. Make you sure you consider these when choosing a laptop.

Design The Envy 13 is a sensationally petite little laptop, particularly for the price. The superstars in this area are the Apple MacBook, which is very expensive and somewhat impractical, and the Asus UX305, which is a true portable star. HP has managed to put a bit more of a stamp of distinct visual personality on this laptop than the Asus, though. This ultra-light system offers a mix of officiousness and cuteness: an unusual combo. What tells you this is an HP machine is that ultra-big, ultra-rounded touchpad, a staple of the company’s most luxurious lifestyle laptops. It’s ultimately a very sensible, fluff-free machine, though. The hinge doesn’t limbo-lean back any further than normal (around 130 degrees), and it doesn’t have a touchscreen. The frame is full aluminium, getting you the sort of feel that a few years ago you’d have paid at least £1,000 for. There’s a little bit of flex to the shell, in particular the little strip beneath the touchpad, that tells you it’s not tremendously thick metal, though.



Build Features Performance Value Overall It probably wouldn’t have been able to slim down to 12.9mm thick and 1.23kg with thick stuff, and its pricing is keen too. We’ve been reviewing a lot of larger laptops recently, but switching to this was truly refreshing. Holding it is like grasping a slim pad of A4 paper. The only surface-level design issue is it’s a bit odd to use on the knees, as it is the back of the lid that rests on them, not the bottom of the laptop. At least it’s light enough not to cause much discomfort. The HP’s connections aren’t very forward-looking, though. You get a respectable three USB 3.0 ports, a full-size HDMI socket and an SD card slot, but no USB-C connector. We’re starting to see these on the majority of pricey laptops, and they’re soon to be very important as non-Apple phones are due to use them instead of Micro-USB. This is about as close to no-frills as an all-aluminium, goodlooking laptop is going to get these days. The only part many of you might want to think about is the frame flex. USB-C isn’t yet vital. And those who care about security will be happy to see a Kensington lock port and a finger scanner, which is usually reserved for boring-looking business laptops, but here is lets you use a bit of software called SimplePass to manage your passwords.

Screen and touchpad The Envy 13 has a classic Ultrabook keyboard. It’s shallow but crisp, and typists will appreciate just how little HP has messed with the key layout. The Shift and Backspace keys haven’t been shaved down to nubs, making the transition to this from a larger keyboard very easy. Only the top line of keys is slimmed-down, and they are F-key shortcuts that you’re not going to need to work into an essay or email. We’re glad to see HP has managed to incorporate a keyboard backlight at the price, too. The Asus UX305 doesn’t have one, and it makes typing/gaming in dark places way easier. It’s a blunt object backlight though, being rather bright and lacking the intensity gradations you get in laptops costing, say, a couple of hundred pounds more. You’ll want to turn it off when it’s not strictly needed.

TEST CENTRE

24/02/2016 15:55


The HP Envy 13’s trackpad is unusual, and something HP has really made its own. While it doesn’t have much vertical height to play with, thanks to the placement of the keyboard, it really makes use of the laptop’s width. This thing is wide, and it gives your fingers plenty of room to play with. Just as the keyboard backlight isn’t necessarily expected at this price, neither is the Envy 13’s high-end textured glass trackpad surface. It feels fantastic, getting you just the right friction and a non-tacky finish to glide across. The trackpad ranks among the best you can get in a 13in Windows laptop. Its click action is as well-handled as the pad’s surface, and we had no issues with juggling left/right button commands. That may sound silly, but trackpads can be a nightmare in Windows machines. This one integrates the buttons into the pad with just a tiny dead zone at the top, and you can right-click by either tapping with two fingers on the pad (like a MacBook) or tapping the far bottom-right of the surface (like a trad. Windows laptop). Looking closer into why this works so well, it seems to be down to about 85 percent of the pad being ‘left-click’ territory. And that it feels fantastic, of course.

Screen There is a 4K version of the HP Envy 13, but we’re taking a look at the 1080p model here. Given the upgrade is just £80 (and that includes a CPU bump), we don’t expect to see a radical improvement in the quality of the screen panel used. What you get here is perfectly good, though. As with the slightly flex-happy aluminium frame, it’s good, if a little off the quality you get from a £1,000-plus laptop. The HP has an IPS LCD screen that can hit 92 percent of the sRGB colour spectrum, which is enough to avoid appearing undersaturated but won’t please everyone who needs to, for example, edit photos or images at a professional level. HP has done its best to pull everything it can out of the hardware, though, with a very good Delta E of 0.17. That means that while the screen isn’t capable of delivering the deepest of shades, those it can handle will look very accurate. More anecdotally, it’s a very pleasant screen, particularly for use in environments where you don’t have control over the lighting. The HP Envy 13 has a matt screen finish, which diffuses reflections to make using it in a brighter locale practical.

Performance When looking at a laptop of this sort of price and design, the Asus ZenBook UX3051 has been an easy one to recommend. However, the HP Envy 13 offers a lot more power than that model. You get an Intel Core i7-6500U CPU (Core i5 spec also available), where the Asus rival uses a Cortex M CPU. This is a Skylake processor, a dual-core model designed for slim laptops like this, but still a bit of a surprise to see in something this thin and light. Day-to-day performance is excellent, but that comes down to the RAM and storage as much as the CPU. The Envy 13 has a 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM, enough to get you a similar zippy feel as any £1,500 Ultrabook. Its limits are much less restrictive than those of a Core M laptop, too. More demanding tasks such as photo- and video-editing are well within its remit. And it’s not going to start chugging as soon as you start opening up one too many Chrome tabs. The price/performance ratio is great. Bear in mind that the Envy 13 only offers integrated graphics, with an Intel HD chipset. Despite big annual upgrades in Intel’s integrated graphics chipsets, you’ll need to run most games of the past five years at ‘low’ settings to get frame rates that won’t make you want to quit. For example, Thief is only just playable at its lowest settings, at 720p resolution, clocking in at 23fps. Alien: Isolation is better, though, running at an average of 32fps at 720p, low settings. Dig further back into games from, for example, five years ago and you should be able to play plenty at 1080p, low settings. In one respect it does seem like the Intel i7-6500U has been crammed into this ultra-skinny shell, though. The fan runs all the

TEST CENTRE


time, and it’s definitely audible in a quiet room, even when just playing back a 720p video: hardly a demanding task. If there’s any significant ambient noise, you won’t notice it, though. Even office air conditioning should be able to drown it out. It does seem that HP uses careful CPU throttling despite the fan. In Geekbench 3, we achieved only a score of 4261, even though the CPU should be able to reach around the 6000-point mark. That the PCMark 8 scores isn’t similarly effective suggests the CPU can step up when needed, though.

Battery Life The cost of the ‘proper’ Intel Core CPU continues with battery life. While HP says the Envy 13 will last for “up to 10 hours”, we didn’t see anything close to this. Playing back a 720p movie on loop at 120cd/m2 brightness, the Envy 13 lasts for eight hours, five minutes. To get a real-world take on its stamina, we tried using the Envy 13 as our main work PC for a few days. The results really varied. You’d ideally want a slim ultraportable laptop like this to last through a day’s work, but the Envy 13 doesn’t manage that unless your demands are low. With Wi-Fi turned on, a phone plugged in to charge and brightness set to 20 percent (all that’s needed thanks to the matt screen), it lasts for just 4.5 hours. However, if you use Wi-Fi less and don‘t try charging any devices, you can get up to six hours off a charge. It can last a good amount of time, but at the mid-level usage most people are going to need, stamina is a bit disappointing when it’s a real strength of some laptops in this class. It’s a very important aspect of a laptop like this. Despite wearing the Bang and Olufsen audio brand logo like a badge of honour right on its keyboard surround, the speakers are disappointing. The big issue is there’s pretty obvious distortion at top volume, suggesting this is really little more than a branding exercise. Avoiding distortion would be a top concern of any audio company

Verdict The HP Envy 13 gets a lot of things right. The design, the trackpad, the performance and the screen are all very good. Using this laptop is a real delight in most respects, its physical portability is fantastic and it has clearly been designed with a sensible budget in mind. It’s a good buy. There are a few issues, though. Unless use is very light, battery life is disappointing and the build quality is slightly less impressive than it at first appears – there’s some flex to the body, making it a bit less luxurious than you might expect looking at images. Given the excellent combination of features, performance and value though, it’s only the battery life you need to really stop and think about before buying. The Asus UX305 lasts longer, and while it lacks a backlit keyboard and some of the HP’s raw power, that might be enough to justify switching teams.


24/02/2016 15:55


LENOVO YOGA 900-13ISK From £1,299 inc VAT • lenovo.com/uk The big news among laptops CPUs in 2015 was the Intel Core M, a brain so small and efficient that it allows machines such as the MacBook 12in to offer levels of performance similar to those of an Intel Core i5 system. The Lenovo Yoga 900 flips things around again. This is a slim, light laptop with a flippy screen and a long-lasting battery. But it also has a full Intel Core i7 processor. It’s like last year’s Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro with a six pack.

Price Make no mistake, though, the Lenovo Yoga 900 is no bargain laptop. It’s more expensive than the similar but less powerful Yoga 3 Pro, starting at £1,199 for the Core i5 version and moving swiftly up to £1,500 when you upgrade to a Core i7 CPU and increase storage.

Design When you see a Lenovo laptop bearing the ‘Yoga’ name, it tells you all you need to know about its key design feature. The Yoga 900 has a special hinge that lets the screen flip around 360 degrees, so that the display sits flat on the back of the keyboard. Before you use a laptop like this, it’s easy to dismiss the thing as a gimmick, and think you wouldn’t want to use a tablet weighing more than a kilogram. However, it’s the angles in between that matter most. As the Yoga 900 hinge can sit at just about any angle, it can turn the display into a shallow-footprint touchscreen PC, an impromptu TV or a tablet that stays at just the right angle as you laze on the sofa. This Lenovo uses the same style of ‘watch’ hinge that we saw in the Yoga 3 Pro. It’s made of 800-plus pieces and looks fantastic. As the Watch monicker suggests, it design is inspired by stainless steel watch straps. It is similar to the one used in the Microsoft Surface Book (page 16), spreading the tension across more than the usual two connection points you get with a bog-standard laptop hinge to make the mechanism steady, while keeping its motion easy and smooth. You could argue that Microsoft’s take on the idea is a bit more cohesive, though. In making the hinge a different colour from the rest of the laptop and deliberately exposing its workings, some might think that the Yoga 900 is a bit showy.



Build Features Performance Value Overall If you want to take the bold look of this Lenovo even further, you can get it with a bright orange lid/underside. Many like the company’s laptops for their steady, serious ThinkPad keyboards, but this is something altogether different. The Yoga 900 build is well built throughout, too. The lid and underside are made from a magnesium alloy, which looks a lot like aluminium and is very strong, but has a touch that some mistake for plastic. Still, the application here still feels pretty metallic, Continuing the trend of conspicuously not making Apple-like moves, the Yoga 900’s insides have a faux leather finish. It’s much nicer than that might sound, coming across like a lightly textured soft-touch finish rather than an old car dashboard. It feels very pleasant, and has a seriousness that offsets the bits you might call frivolous or flashy. Other than being able to flip its screen around, the key appeal of the Yoga 900 design is its portability. At 1.3kg and 15mm thick, it’s thin and light for a 13.3in machine with an Intel Core i7 CPU. That’s 300g lighter and 3mm thinner than the 13in MacBook Pro. It makes a fantastic work laptop to take on your travels: trust us, it’s what we’ve been using it for. The Yoga 3 Pro is even thinner and lighter, but that’s because it uses a lower-power CPU that can get by with passive (fan-less) cooling.

Connections The Yoga 900 only has to trade away one major connection to get to its size too, an HDMI port. There is USB-C, as well as two USB 3.0 sockets and an SD card reader.

Continuing the trend of conspicuously not making Apple-like moves, the Yoga 900’s insides have a faux leather finish TEST CENTRE

24/02/2016 15:56


To top these off, the power connector can double as a USB 2.0 port, which is just as good as a USB 3.0 if you’re going to plug a keyboard, mouse or slow external hard drive into it. But, yes, if you want to use the Yoga 900 as something to plug into a monitor or TV a lot of the time, the lack of a standard HDMI port is a shame.

Keyboard and touchpad The Lenovo has a lovely-looking keyboard and, like any laptop of this size, uses full-size keys to ensure you don’t feel cramped. Typing on this thing is just as comfortable and quick as any other Ultrabook. Don’t be fooled by the design, though. While it looks like the keyboard of a Lenovo ThinkPad, the key action/feel is definitely that of a thin and light laptop. There’s only a tiny bit of travel to the keys, so if you want that real deep, definitive feel, be sure to consider the ThinkPad X1 Carbon, too. Like most laptops at this price point, the Yoga 900 has a backlit keyboard. The trackpad is that of a stylish, slim laptop, too: it’s reasonably large, has a high quality textured glass finish and builds its buttons into the surface rather than dropping them below. It feels great, and there’s a nice click to the button action that doesn’t require too much pressure. However, as is so common with Windows laptop touchpads, there’s an issue. Our Yoga 900 has moments where the cursor doesn’t respond to touchpad movements. This certainly seems to be a driver issue, so hopefully it’ll be addressed before too long.

Screen Slick outer hardware will only get you so far. To justify a £1,500 price these days, a laptop needs a seriously impressive screen. It’s 13.3 inches across, uses an IPS LCD panel and offers a resolution of 3200x1800 pixels. For a bit more context, where Full HD gets you just over two million pixels, this one offers 5,760,000. Pixel density is an impressive 276ppi, which wouldn’t be too bad for a phone and is fantastic for a laptop. Get up close and you can see a tiny bit of fuzziness, which seems to be due to rows of pixels being slight offset from each other. But you do have to get up close to see it. One other that’s thing more likely to become an annoyance is how reflective the Yoga 900 is: very. If you like working in the outdoors, you’ll have to whack up the brightness. However, the only way to really mute this issue is to get a matt screen laptop, and that means sacrificing the touchscreen, too. It wouldn’t make sense in a flexible laptop like this. The touchscreen matters. Image quality is good, although in some respects not among the best-in-class. It hits just 92 percent of the sRGB colour gamut when you’d really expect full 100 percent coverage for the price, and at mid-level brightness settings it can look like the screen’s blacks are raised, that the luminescence of the backlight is quite obvious. However, compared to something like the Toshiba Radius 12, the screen architecture is slim, meaning there’s no major greyish tone to the screen surface itself. This crops up in touchscreen laptops where there are tiny air gaps between the touchscreen and display layers.

The specific version of the Yoga 900 we’re using is particularly high-end, worth around £1,500. It uses the Intel Core i7-6500U, a dual-core 2.5GHz chipset with a turbo boost up to 3.1GHz. Other important upgrades include the 512GB SSD and 16GB RAM. Entry-level models exist with smaller SSDs and 8GB RAM, but for most uses the single-app performance is going to be pretty similar. An extra 8GB RAM will give you greater scope to run more apps without the thing complaining, though. Being a dual-core laptop, it’s designed for light and nimble use rather than the sort of CPU-punishing number-crunching involved in, for example, video editing. However, unless your demands are great you probably won’t notice too much difference. It scores 2297 in PC Mark 8 Home and 6827 in Geekbench 3. The Yoga 900 has no dedicated gaming hardware though, so you’ll only be able to play less demanding games without seriously paring back the resolution and graphics settings. It fails to do justice to Thief, rendering at an average of 20 frames per second at 720p res, low settings. The slightly less demanding Alien: Isolation clips by at 27fps using similarly reduced settings. You can only really play fairly old games on the Yoga 900, and we got better results from the cheaper HP Envy 13.

Battery life Its stamina doesn’t disappoint, though. Left to play a 720p video on loop at 120cd/m2 screen brightness it lasts 11 hours 20 minutes. Using it more naturally as a regular laptop, to browse the web, send emails and do work, we found it should last 7.5- to eight hours, making it a satisfying all-day workhorse. That it manages this with an Intel Core i7 rather than the lower-powered Core M is a bonus. Finishing off with one of the Yoga 900’s less attention-grabbing features, we come to its speakers. Their performance shifts, depending on how the laptop sits. Sat which its backside down like a laptop the sound isn’t that great, as the drivers are essentially firing right into the surface. However, it really opens up when you sit it in its ‘tent’ position, giving the speakers more room to breathe.

Verdict The Lenovo Yoga 900 is a laptop that really asks you to believe in its design style. After all, it doesn’t come cheap and for the price you can get a laptop with much more power if you’re not out for something immensely portable. That’s where this laptop excels: portability. As well as being slim, light and all-round lovely, the smart hinge lets it sit where most other laptops just can’t. The battery should last through a full day’s work as well. The trackpad can feel fiddly and the display isn’t perfect, but if you’re feeling flush this is one of the top ultraportables around.

Performance The main difference between the Yoga 900 and its predecessor the Yoga 3 Pro is that instead of an Intel Core M processor it uses an Intel Core i7 (or i5) chip. The difference is that while the Core M series’ focus is on efficiency and small chipset size, the Intel Core i7 isn’t as willing to sacrifice power. As we’ll see later, thanks to improvements in the latest Intel Skylake CPU architecture, this doesn’t mean stamina needs to be rubbish either. In this generation of CPUs, Intel slimmed down the transistor size from 20- to 14nm, designed to improve efficiency.

TEST CENTRE



24/02/2016 15:56


TOSHIBA RADIUS 12 P20W-C-106

£999 inc VAT • toshiba.co.uk Laptops that are also tablets are commonplace now, but unlike the Surface Pro 4, this type has a keyboard, which folds behind the screen rather than detaching completely. It runs Windows 10 which, while not the greatest tablet operating system, still represents an improvement over Windows 8. You can buy the Radius 12 for £999. The high price reflects some of the select components used, namely a sixth-generation Intel Core i7 processor, 4K UHD touchscreen and 256GB SSD. These are packed in casework crafted from stamped aluminium, here given a bronzygold lustre and complementary brown plastic hinges.

Design With its 3840x2160 IPS panel squeezed into a 12.5in frame, it has an insanely high pixel density of 352ppi. Windows 10 is preset to 250 percent scaling to restore usability although we found this still rendered the interface rather small; 300 percent was more readable. The Radius name points to hinges that allow folding the display all the way back to create a 16mm slab that functions like a touchscreen tablet. At 1.3kg, it’s a lightweight laptop – or one overweight Windows tablet that quickly tires supporting arms. A useful selection of ports includes one USB 3.0 each side, plus HDMI and an additional USB 3.1 Type-C on the left. This promises Gen2 specifications, handy for future peripherals. The right side has the power switch, recessed and tricky to operate, along with similarly stubborn volume rocker and Windows Cortana buttons. Toshiba fits a miniature keyboard that we found too small for relaxed use with our large hands, yet wastes open space either side of the keyboard. The buttonless trackpad has a brushed finish to match the case and lacks decent control precision. The Radius stayed cool in use, although its multi-speed fan revs up and down as the laptop is put to work. Sponsored software includes Toshiba’s familiar partner WinZip, with 500MB of bloatware that removes easy access to Windows’ built-in unzipping tool.

Performance A 2.5GHz Core i7-6500U provides dual-core processing, incorporating Intel HD Graphics 520 for the UHD display. This is



Build Features Performance Value Overall joined by 8GB of fixed 1600MHz memory, while a Samsung PM871 M.2 SATA SSD gives fast storage. PCMark 8 Home appreciated the above collection, awarding 2330 and 2735 points respectively for conventional and GPUaccelerated workloads. Focusing on just CPU and memory, Geekbench scored one core with 3227 points, and two cores 6833 points – sterling results. Graphics were a mixed bag. Tomb Raider ran smoother than the Asus ZenBook UX303UA, opposite, using the same chip (47versus 38fps, 720p and Normal detail). Full-HD gameplay was just possible (34fps) albeit in Low detail. The Radius struggled to complete the Batman: Arkham Asylum though, pausing in the same place mid-game each run, returning a 38fps average at 720p and Medium detail, behind the ZenBook’s 45fps. Screen measurement echoed the subjective good impression, with 800:1 contrast ratio, if slightly reduced 90 percent sRGB colour coverage. Thankfully flicker-free, the display is glossy and too reflective for relaxed use in bright lighting. The 40Wh fixed battery let the Radius run for just five hours 21 minutes in the streaming video rundown, far short of the best.

Verdict Bagging a 4K UHD display may seem impressive but here it’s wasted. A small battery plus high-res touchscreen equals foreshortened runtime. The Toshiba Radius 12 P20W-C-106 is quick but annoying on too many levels. For a better overall experience, try the ZenBook UX303UA, which is £100 cheaper.

A useful selection of ports includes one USB 3.0 each side, plus HDMI and an additional USB 3.1 Type-C on the left TEST CENTRE

24/02/2016 15:56


Conclusion We started this test bemoaning the fact that Sony and Samsung no longer sell laptops in the UK. There is, however, still a wide choice and a range of prices. Our top picks in this group test are the Dell XPS 15 and HP Envy 13, two laptops that have the most obvious mainstream appeal. The Dell can do everything from emails to gaming while also having a very small frame for a 15in laptop. And the Envy 13 offers extreme portability and quite amazing value for money. Both of these also have great

keyboards and trackpads, often undervalued by laptop buyers. We only wish the battery lasted longer between charges. Those with deep pockets may also love the Lenovo Yoga 900. It’s not cheap, but its good battery life and flexible frame make it the obvious for pick for those on‑the‑go who need a laptop to last all day. Our other picks have a more niche appeal. The Asus ZenBook Pro UX501 is similar to the XPS 15, but with a less dynamic design and a few display problems

holding back what is otherwise a very accomplished laptop. The Toshiba Radius 12 P20W‑C‑106 is tiny and bold: you don’t see a 12in 4K laptop every day, but it doesn’t have the stamina to back‑up its design and you don’t really need 4K on a display this small. Chillblast’s laptops are good if you want fine control over the exact components going into your machine, but you need to bear in mind you’ll also trade away much of the design gloss and some of the build quality of a big‑name brand. J

Performance Thief: 720p

Thief: 1080p

Alien Isolation: 720p

Alien Isolation: 1080p

TEST CENTRE



24/02/2016 15:56


ASUS

£1,499 inc VAT (£1,249 ex VAT) Model Thief 720p (very low) ZenBook Pro UX501

CHILLBLAST £879 inc VAT (£732 ex VAT)

DELL

£1,029 inc VAT (£857 ex VAT)

Akira XPS 15 9550 Thief3 1080p (very high)

Display size

15.6in (3840x2160) IPS glossy touchscreen

14in (1920x1080) LCD matt anti-glare

15.6in (1920x1080) IPS 16:9 matt anti-glare

Processor

1.6GHz Intel Core i7-6700HQ (up to 3.5GHz) 4 cores, 4 threads

2.3GHz Intel Core i5-6300HQ (3.2GHz boost) 4 cores, 4 threads

2.3GHz Intel Core i5-6300HQ (3.2GHz boost) 4 cores, 4 threads

Graphics

nVidia GeForce GTX960M

AMD Radeon 5 integrated GPU

nVidia GeForce GTX 960M

Memory

12GB (2133MHz) DDR4 RAM


8GB (2133MHz) DDR4 RAM (4GB x2)

Storage

512GB SSD

500GB 5400rpm SATA HDD + 128GB M.2 SSD

1TB 5400rpm HDD + 32GB SSD (SATA)

Ethernet

N/A

Gigabit ethernet

N/A

Wi-Fi

802.11b/g/n/ac dual-band 2x2 MIMO


DW18303 3x3 802.11ac 2.4/5GHz

Bluetooth

Bluetooth 4.0

Bluetooth 4.0

Bluetooth 4.1

USB

3x USB 3.0, 1x USB-C

2x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0

2x USB 3.0, Thunderbolt 3 (also supports USB-C 3.1 Gen 2)

Video outputs

HDMI 1.4

HDMI 1.4, VGA

Mini-DisplayPort

Security

Kensington Security Slot

Kensington Security Slot

Noble lock slot

Card slot

SDXC card slot

SDXC card slot

SDXC card slot

Speakers

Stereo speakers

Stereo speakers

Stereo speakers

Webcam

HD webcam

HD webcam

720p webcam

Audio

Dual mic

Single mic

Dual mic

Outputs

3.5mm headset jack

3.5mm headset jack

3.5mm headset jack

Keyboard

UK tiled keyboard with numberpad

UK tiled keyboard

UK tiled keyboard

Trackpad

Two-button trackpad

Two-button trackpad

Two-button trackpad

Battery

96Wh lithium-ion battery, removable


56Wh lithium-polymer battery, nonremovable, 1-year warranty

Dimensions

383x255x21mm

339x239x29mm

357x235x11-17mm

Weight

2200g

1888g

2000g

Warranty

1-year collect-and-return



Geekbench 3 (multi-/single core)

12431/3277

8043/2609

9808/3165

PCMark 8 Home

2645

2749

2665

Battery life

Seven hours, eight minutes

Three hours, 51 minutes

Five hours, 17 minutes

PERFORMANCE

DISPLAY sRGB/Adobe RGB (percent)

103/71

54/38

91/64

Maximum brightness

253cd/m2

225cd/m2

399cd/m2

Delta E (average)

0.93

0.21

0.52



TEST CENTRE

24/02/2016 15:52


HP

LENOVO

TOSHIBA

Envy 13-d002na

Yoga 900-13ISK

Radius 12 P20W-C-106

13.3in (1920x1080) IPS matt anti-glare

13.3in (3200x1800) IPS gloss touchscreen

12.5in (3840x2160) IPS gloss touchscreen

Intel Core i7-6500U 2.5GHz (3.1GHz turbo) 4MB cache, 2 cores

2.5GHz Intel Core i7 i7-6500U (4.1GHz boost) 2 cores, 4 threads

2.5GHz Intel Core i7-6500U (3.1GHz Turbo) 2 cores, 4 threads

Intel HD 520 GPU

Intel HD 520 GPU

Intel HD Graphics 520



8GB (1600MHz) LPDDR3 RAM

256GB SSD

512GB SSD

256GB M.2 SATA SSD (Samsung PM871)

N/A

N/A

N/A



802.11ac dual-band 2x2 (Intel Wireless-AC 7265)

Bluetooth 4.0

Bluetooth 4.0

Bluetooth 4.0

3x USB 3.0

2x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0 (power socket)

1x USB 3.1 Type C Gen 2, 2x USB 3.0

HDMI 1.4

1x USB-C with video out

HDMI

HP SimplePass Fingerprint Reader, Kensington Security Slot

N/A

N/A

SDXC card slot

SDXC card slot

SDXC card slot

Stereo speakers

Stereo speakers

Stereo speakers

HD webcam

1Mp webcam

0.9Mp webcam

Single mic

Dual mic

Dual mic

3.5mm headset jack

3.5mm headset jack

3.5mm headset jack

UK tiled keyboard

UK tiled keyboard

UK miniature tiled keyboard with white backlight

None

Two-button trackpad

Buttonless trackpad, 105x59mm



40Wh lithium-ion battery, non-removable

326x226x13mm

324x225x15mm

299x209x16mm

1270g

1300g

1312g




4279/2126

6827/3216

6469/3039

2657

2297

2295

One hour, 24 minutes

One hour, 24 minutes

Five hours, 21 minutes

91/63

92/67

106/73

363cd/m2

340cd/m2

411cd/m2

0.17

0.12

0.16

£800 inc VAT (£666 ex VAT)

£1,499 inc VAT (£1,249 ex VAT)

TEST CENTRE


£999 inc VAT (£832 ex VAT)


24/02/2016 15:52

FEATURE

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

ABOUT WI-FI SECURITY

If you’re worried about your home Wi-Fi’s security, Christopher Minasians shows how to ensure it’s secure i-Fi security has evolved in recent years to the extent that most modern routers are set up by default to be secure. Gone are the days where hackers (or pretty much anyone) could connect to your home network without a password. Wi-Fi technology has adopted new methods of encryption, while routers now come with built-in firewalls and software to protect you from malicious attacks. There may, however, still be those who will want to hack your Wi-Fi, and in this article we reveal how to ensure you stay protected.

W

If you’ve looked online to find out how to hack a Wi-Fi network, you’ll have seen fraudulent sites that offer software that supposedly cracks any Wi-Fi code. This is often riddled with malware and contains cookies that monitor your installation and use of the program. We recommend you avoid these, plus it’s illegal to try and hack into someone’s home network.

Stay safe from hackers Just in case there’s a really dedicated hacker in your local area, there are

It’s worth noting that WPS is often enabled by default by router manufacturers, so it is good practice to disable it, especially if you never see yourself using it While you can hack a Wi-Fi network, you’ll need extreme patience and knowledge. Furthermore, even after hacking a router only a limited amount of information will be available, due to your computer’s own anti-virus software, firewall and encryption. In essence, the effort and knowledge needed to hack a Wi-Fi connection often doesn’t make it worthwhile for a hacker.

still a few obstacle you can put in their way. First, disable WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup). This was created to make Wi-Fi connections simpler and easier. This sounds great at first, until you realise that it creates an easier entry point for hackers. Because it uses an eight-digit PIN, it’s even easier to hack through brute-force techniques. To access your

network, a hacker need only use a program to constantly attempt at guessing your eight-digit PIN, until it gets the correct one; like deciphering a numerical padlock. The easiest way to know whether you’ve got WPS enabled is to look on your router or the box it came with, as it often has a distinct logo and a physical button located on your router. If you’re still unsure, go into your router settings, which is usually accessed by typing 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1 (or other, depending on your router’s manufacturer) in your URL address bar, and log into your router’s admin panel. It’s worth noting that WPS is often enabled by default by router manufacturers, so it is good practice to disable it, especially if you never see yourself using it.

Change the admin password As you’ve now logged into your router’s settings, you’ll be able to see an option to change the router’s admin login details. We recommend changing this, as it’s simple to do and protects you from anyone wanting to mess with your router’s settings. Many routers (though not usually those that are provided by your ISP) come with a generic username and password, typically ‘admin’ and ‘password’. Changing this will mean it

76 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/features May 2016

076_077 Wi-Fi Security.indd 76

22/02/2016 15:40

FEATURE will become a lot harder and near impossible to hack into your router’s admin panel.

Wi-Fi encryption As we’ve said, modern routers usually have Wi-Fi security (a password) enabled by default. However, a password isn’t simply a password. Wi-Fi can use different standards for encryption. As you’ll be able to see within your router’s Wi-Fi settings, there are various different letters and numbers that might look like gibberish to you, so we’ll explain how safe they are. First of all, are the overarching methods of encryption: WEP, TKIP and AES. WEP: Wired Equivalent Privacy was the norm back in 1997, when the original 802.11 Wi-Fi standard was introduced. This is now deemed insecure and was subsequently replaced in 2003 by WPA through the TKIP encryption method. Therefore, if your router has the option or has it selected by default, you should immediately change it to WPA (TKIP) or WPA2 (AES). TKIP: Temporal Key Integrity Protocol is also being phased out, but unlike WEP is still seen in most modern routers. AES: Advanced Encryption Standard was introduced shortly after TKIP, as the new and improved WPA2 standard, in 2004. This is the encryption you should be using with WPA2. These are the most common methods of encryption and alongside their security modes, are the ones found in most routers. There are other options and some routers may house enterprise-grade encryption, but

when it comes to the average router, these are the most common. Put simply: use WPA2 (AES) if you can. Bear in mind that your Wi-Fi devices will also need to support this in order to talk to your router. Most do, but some older kit might not.

Wi-Fi security standards WPA2 is the most secure and you should always aim for that. Thankfully these days router manufacturers choose WPA2 by default; this also includes ISP providers such as TalkTalk, BT, Sky and Virgin, who provide routers to customers. In fact, many use a combination of WPA2 and WPA simultaneously to ensure compatibility with the widest range of wireless kit. You’ll also quickly see an option (sometimes by default) that has ‘-PSK’. PSK or Pre Shared Key (also seen as Personal Shared Key), is the authentication that was developed for home users, where plainEnglish encryptions can be used. This is where enterprise-level authentication differs, where it uses a Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) to secure its connections. If you’re offered the choice – you may not be – then choose WPA2-PSK (AES) rather than WPA2-PSK (TKIP). If you find a device can no longer connect, this is where WPA2-PSK (TKIP/AES) comes in handy, as it uses the newer WPA2 encryption, while enabling older devices that

might be stuck with TKIP to connect to your router. You may find it listed as WPA2-PSK (mixed mode).

Slow internet This might seem odd to include in an article that talks about security, but WPA and TKIP support only 54Mb/s rather than the higher 802.11n rate of 300Mb/s (and higher with 802.11ac) when using WPA and AES. Imagine this as a motorway lane, where data has to go from London to Birmingham on the M40. Through WPA and TKIP there’s only one lane that transfers all your data, meaning a lot of traffic and a six-hour drive. With WPA and AES you’ve got a four-lane motorway and the journey time is only a three-hour drive. Therefore, if you’re experiencing slow Wi-Fi, your router security methods could be the reason why you can’t open a web page fast enough. This is yet another reason to stay away from WPA and TKIP. In the WPA2-PSK (mixed mode)/WPA2PSK (TKIP/AES) mode, your router will automatically detect which encryption to use. This depends upon which phone, tablet or other wireless device you have.

Hack your own router For some, there’s the option to customise your router even further, which requires you to change the firmware and void your router’s warranty. The reasoning behind this is to make your consumer-grade router into an enterprise-grade one. Manufacturers don’t present advanced options to consumers as they don’t want to confuse them. We’re not going to give you a tutorial in this article, but you’ll be able to find plenty of information about certain firmware versions you can flash, such as DD-WRT (tinyurl.com/y8Lqe37) and Tomato Firmware (tinyurl.com/28yb6c) on their websites. J

May 2016 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/features 77

076_077 Wi-Fi Security.indd 77

22/02/2016 15:40

FEATURE

BRIGHTEST IDEA EVER: AI LIGHT BULB The best place for Siri isn’t your iPhone. It’s the nearest lamp, writes Mike Elgan

T

he smartphone is arguably the most important invention of all time. It has enabled two billion people to gain instant access to artificial intelligence, as well as vast amounts of information. It has turned instant communication through voice, text, photos and video into an everyday banality.

What’s the next invention that will change the world? We believe it will be the AI light bulb.

Predicting the smartphone It should have been possible in 1994 to predict the smartphone. In 1994, the graphical web existed, there were personal

1994 saw the release of the IBM Simon, the first mobile phone to offer email, a word processor, an address book, a calculator, maps, stock prices and news

digital assistants, mobile phones and wireless data. We should have known that these would converge into the smartphone. That year saw the release of the IBM Simon (pictured right), the first mobile phone to offer email, a word processor, an address book, a calculator, maps, stock prices and news. Instead of a physical keyboard it had an on-screen keyboard, plus a stylus. You could even use it to send a fax. The Simon was purchased by a small number of early adopters and made little impact. But we should have realised that it was a first glimpse at a device category


078_080 Feature AI At Home.indd 78

19/02/2016 13:33

FEATURE that would completely change human culture. It was unimportant as a product, but massively important as an idea. For lack of a better term, Moore’s Law, or the inevitable improvement in computer‑related devices as a function of the cost, makes rare machines ubiquitous and expensive computers cheap. We knew that processing power, screen quality, memory chips and all the rest would become fast and cheap enough for mobile use. We should have known enough about human nature to realise that high‑quality smartphones would be extremely desirable, and that they’d become cheap enough for most people to own. In hindsight, it was a technology of perfect inevitability that we should have predicted. The AI connected light bulb is the next world‑changing device we should be predicting, if you think about it. So let’s think about it.

The technology already exists Sony recently launched a connected light bulb that contains everything needed for the ever‑present AI appliance of the future. The Multifunctional Light works like other smart lights. Brightness is automated or can be controlled with a smartphone, thanks to the LED lights, built‑in Wi‑Fi and a dedicated app. That’s all pretty standard for a smart bulb. But the Sony bulb also has a motion‑detector, a brightness meter, temperature and humidity sensors, an

Sony’s Multifunctional Light offers a glimpse of the future of AI appliances that live in light bulb sockets infrared sensor and a memory card slot. Plus, and it has a built‑in speaker and microphone. The sensors are designed for improved automation. You could, for example, set the light to turn on by itself, but only at night and when humans are present – the light sensor and motion detector would be able to tell.

delivered to two categories of receptacle: electrical outlets and light bulb sockets. Because light bulbs are located in places where they will best illuminate human activity, they tend to be easily accessible, in spots where people live their lives. While the electrical outlet might be behind the

For lack of a better term, Moore’s Law, or the improvement in computer‑related devices as a function of the cost, makes rare machines ubiquitous and expensive computers cheap Theoretically, however, the presence of speaker, microphone and Wi‑Fi connections means it’s already capable of serving as a way to communicate with the Amazon Echo’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, Google’s Google Now, Microsoft’s Cortana or any other virtual assistant. Indeed, enabling access to existing virtual assistants would require minor software and network changes. It seems that Sony intends the speaker and microphone to serve as a speakerphone for smartphones and as an intercom system for the whole house. No, the revolution hasn’t started yet. Sony’s Multifunctional Light ships later this year, though in Japan only. Even then, it probably won’t communicate with a virtual assistant right off the bat. But as with the trend lines, the smart light serves as a proof of concept that light bulbs can be fitted with speakers and microphones, and connect via the internet to remote servers, as the Amazon Echo does. We see Sony’s Multifunctional Light as the IBM Simon of the coming virtual assistant appliance revolution. It’s rudimentary and limited by comparison to what’s coming, and it probably won’t succeed commercially. What’s needed is for more such light bulbs to come on the market, and for these to openly support virtual assistants – and for Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft to support these products as extensions of their own virtual assistant products.

sofa, the lamp that’s plugged into the power socket sits right next to the bed, where you could easily talk to and through it. The same goes for other lamps, built‑in ceiling lights, garage lights, bathroom lights – they’re distributed in every room and within speaking and hearing distance. Smart bulbs, which will also have Wi‑Fi, need only speakers and microphones to make them extensions of our virtual assistants. By plugging these appliances into light sockets, rather than power sockets, they

Homes are already wired for it In the 1990s, we should have recognised that the IBM Simon represented the future of consumer tech

Smart devices need electricity and will continue to need it well into the foreseeable future. Homes are already wired for electricity, and this electrical power is

Amazon’s Echo virtual assistant



19/02/2016 13:33

Feature: Brightest idea ever

become invisible, ‘wireless’ and centrally and conveniently located.

Amazon’s Echo shows the power of the virtual assistant appliance In 1994, mobile phone owners couldn’t imagine life without one, while many thought it was a fad. In 2004, the few who owned smartphones couldn’t imagine living without one, while most people believed basic feature phones were perfectly acceptable. Today, of course, most people couldn’t imagine life without their smartphones. This pattern is repeated with the Amazon Echo, the only mainstream cloud-based virtual assistant appliance. Anyone with an Echo will tell you that it’s an indispensable gadget, while those who don’t own one argue its benefits have been exaggerated. Unfortunately, the Echo isn’t currently available in the UK, though we are hoping that this will change. Virtual assistant appliances are inevitable, and we’ll all want them in every room in the house, in the car and at work. This belief will grow to become the mainstream opinion.

How AI will spread to every human living space Another small step has been taken toward extending access to virtual assistants in the car. At CES, Ford announced that its

dashboard platform, Ford Sync Connect, will get Amazon Echo support in both directions. That means you’ll be able to start your car with a voice command from the kitchen, and also warm up the oven from the car. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Amazon is working on a smaller and cheaper version of the Echo. It’s reasonable to assume that a smaller size means a quieter speaker, which suggests that it’s designed to work at closer range – say, on a desk where you’re sitting. According to reports, it’s also

The ubiquitous presence of our favorite virtual assistants – combined with twoor three more years of evolutionary improvements in their abilities to converse with and understand us will transform how we use computers and the internet. Talking and listening will become the dominant interface, eclipsing even the smartphone. That’s the revolution. Just as the smartphone started as an adjunct to desktop computing, and grew to be the main way we use computers, so will the

As the capabilities of this AI grow, so too will our creativity and our ability to use it, and our instincts and knowledge about doing things with apps on a smartphone will atrophy been designed to run on batteries, which means it could be taken to meetings. Amazon is way ahead and pulling away from the competition on the ‘appliance’ model of virtual assistants, as opposed to the inferior Siri ‘app’ model. Apple, Google and the others will no doubt jump on this particular bandwagon or be left behind. Once these appliances cover our homes, cars and offices, we’ll interact with our virtual assistants via a smartwatch or smartphone only as a last resort while out and about.

virtual assistant appliance grow to take over from smartphones as the preferred method of communicating, getting information and doing things online. And as the capabilities of this AI grow, so too will our creativity and our ability to use it, and our instincts and knowledge about doing things with apps on a smartphone will atrophy. Turning light bulbs into Amazon Echo-like virtual assistant appliances is the brightest idea of the decade, and it’s going to change the way we do everything. J



19/02/2016 13:33

Don’t miss a single copy of PC Advisor by subscribing digitally Subscribe from as little as £1.99

031 Digital mag 241.indd 138

01/06/2015 16:08

FEATURE

THE PC GOES

ULTRA-PORTABLE Mini PC invasion. Brad Chacos reveals the radically tiny computers that fit in the palm of your hand

S

ome of today’s desktops can make even the sleekest of laptops seem downright bulky. Computers have been shrinking for years, and the revolution has only accelerated recently. As chipmakers focus on creating processors that sip power without sacrificing performance, thermal concerns have largely been alleviated in modern CPUs. Because of that, today’s pint-sized PCs offer enough performance to play HD video and satisfy those who need Microsoft Office, the opposite of the compromised experience of yesteryear’s microcomputers. From PCs-on-astick to discreet boxes no larger than a deck of cards, we look at the wide range of computers available that can fit in the palm of your hand.


082_086 Feature Mini PC.indd 82

19/02/2016 13:44

FEATURE Raspberry Pi The Raspberry Pi receives accolades for kicking off the maker revolution, but it also thrust the idea of tiny computers into the limelight. The Pi certainly doesn’t look like a traditional PC: it’s an open board powered by components usually found in smartphones, not computers, and it even draws power via a Micro-USB connection – just like mobile devices. Don’t let that fool you, though. The Raspberry Pi is a real computer with real (albeit lightweight) computing chops. It can run several varieties of Linux, and the Broadcom VideoCore IV GPU is powerful enough to output 1080p video without a hitch, making this £29 mini-PC a viable home theatre PC option. (Pro tip: Use OpenELEC.) Best of all, the Raspberry Pi 2 runs circles around the original while sticking to the same £29 price. The Raspberry Pi Foundation has also released an official touchscreen accessory for the Pi, which should help makers create all sorts of eye-opening projects. The BBC Micro:bit is following in the Raspberry Pi’s education-focused footsteps, with the BBC giving the programming board to Year Seven school children in the UK, though it can’t be used as a standalone computer. Price: £29 URL: raspberrypi.org

Chip Can’t spare £29 for a Raspberry Pi 2? Meet Chip, an even smaller, even more modest PC that costs a mere $9 (£6.30). It’s powered by an ARM-based processor from Allwinner, a low-cost producer of chips for smartphones and tablets, and a Raspbian-like Linux-based operating system preinstalled. Measuring just 2.3x1.5in, Chip comes with 1GHz Allwinner R8 Cortex A8 processor with Mali-400 graphics, 512MB RAM, 4GB storage, and built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Compared to the Raspberry Pi 2, Chip’s processor – which is similar to the Allwinner chip found in the £78 HP 7 G2 Android tablet – should be woefully slow, but its baked-in storage and wireless connectivity is something that Pi simply doesn’t match. Unfortunately, Chip isn’t publicly available yet. It easily met its crowdfunding target and started shipping to backers at the start of the year, but if you order one today it won’t arrive until June. Price: $9 (£6.30) URL: tinyurl.com/kanshln

Raspberry Pi zero But mini-PCs come even cheaper. In November, the Raspberry Pi Foundation revealed the Raspberry Pi Zero, a £4 version of the iconic computer that still runs 40 percent faster than the original despite its low, low price. The Raspberry Pi Zero has the same Broadcom BCM2835 application processor as the original Pi, with a 1GHz ARM11 core. It comes with 512MB of RAM and a microSD card slot for the operating system, while it connects to the outside world via mini-HDMI, Micro-USB ports, and 40 GPIO pins. Price: £4 URL: raspberrypi.org



19/02/2016 13:44

Feature: The PC goes ultra-portable

Intel Next Unit of Computing On the other side of the tiny PC coin is Intel’s Next Unit of Computing (NUC), a polished, premium product that delivers full-blown desktop performance, albeit for a price often 10 times higher than the Raspberry Pi’s cost. NUCs use full-blown Intel Core processors inside their seriously sleek cases, which gives them abundant bite when it comes to computing. Actual performance metrics vary, however, depending on how you outfit your rig. Intel’s NUCs – and its Gigabyte Brix cousins – are barebones PCs, meaning you’ll have to add your own storage, memory, and operating system. Price: £115 URL: intel.co.uk

Asus Chromebox What, pricey Windows machines aren’t your thing? Check out the Asus Chromebox, the desktop equivalent of a Chromebook. At 4.88x4.88x1.65in, it’s slightly larger than the NUCs and Brixes of the world, but still svelte enough to fit in your hand. Don’t scoff about Chrome OS, either. Google’s operating system is surprisingly potent despite lacking compatibility with Windows software – and at £185 for the base model, the price of the Asus Chromebox is certainly right. Price: £185 URL: asus.com/uk

HP Stream Mini PC If the Chromebox’s lack of software support trips you up, fear not: HP’s Stream Mini PC starts at just £249 and runs the full-blown version of Windows 10. This is a tempting little box at that price, but be aware: you still won’t be able to run ultra-demanding programs very well on the Stream Mini PC, because it only packs a modest Intel Celeron 3205U processor, 2GB of memory and a 32GB M.2 SSD. Plus, at 5.71x5.71x2.13in, it’s the largest tiny computer in this round up. It’d still work great for a basic productivity and web-browsing machine, though. Price: £249 URL: hp.com/uk

Intel Computer Stick You’d be hard-pressed to find a desktop PC much smaller than the Raspberry Pi or Zotac’s Zbox Pico. But forget traditional desktops. Advances in technology have shrunk computers so much that they’re now available in Chromecast-like stick form. Just plug it into your display’s HDMI port, connect to USB for power, and you’re ready to start, though you’ll obviously need a (preferably Bluetooth) keyboard and mouse as well. Intel’s Compute Stick is a PC-on-a-stick generating a ton of excitement, and it’s easy to see why with that form factor. Our original Compute Stick review found it neat, but niche. At CES 2016, Intel announced a new Compute Stick lineup powered by more potent Core M processors, but at less friendly prices – they start at $399. An affordable entry-level Compute Stick will stick around, though, packing an Atom x5-Z8300 CPU, 32GB of storage, 2GB of RAM, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, two USB ports, and Windows 10 for £100. Price: From £75 URL: intel.co.uk



19/02/2016 13:44


Zotac’s legion of little PCs Zotac’s been making mini-PCs since before mini-PCs were cool with the iconic Zbox bare-bone PC line-up, and it offers a staggering array of tiny computers for everything from basic word processing all the way up to gaming and 4K video playback. As part of the new announcements at the show, Zotac announced a new Intel ‘Cherry Trail’ Atom-based PC Stick that crams an entire computer on to a flash drive-esque stick that plugs into any TV or monitor. Price: From £120 URL: zotac.com

Attack of the Clones Intel’s Compute Stick kicked off a wave of clones, with most of sporting the same basic internal hardware configurations. The Archos PC Stick, for example, is the cheapest Windows-on-a-stick device we’ve seen yet, with an £80 asking price. Lenovo and BeeLink also offer branded Compute Stick pocket PCs of their own. The most notable Compute Stick-like device announced thus far, however, may be the Asus Vivo Stick (pictured). While many of the other available Windows stick PCs run on Intel’s older Bay Trail chips, the Vivo Stick packs Intel’s fresh Cherry Trail processor, as well as Windows 10 and an extra USB port for peripherals. Even better, it should cost less than £100.

Asus Chromebit Asus’ Chromebit is almost more exciting, largely mirroring the specification sheet of the Compute Stick legion (aside from a Rockchip processor) but featuring Google’s Chrome OS instead. There’s just one caveat: the Chromebit has a single Micro-USB port for a hardwired peripheral, so you won’t be able to plug both a keyboard and a mouse into it. But the pint-sized PC supports Bluetooth for wireless devices. Price: £89 URL: asus.com/uk

Android-on-a-stick Stick-based computing is nothing new in the world of Android, however. There are a slew of Android-PC-on-a-stick devices available today, sporting the same basic design principles as Intel’s Compute Stick and all costing far less. Given the HDMI-centric design of these devices and the Play Store’s vast entertainment app library, Android sticks can excel as basic home theatre PCs, adding streaming capabilities to televisions that lack Internet connectivity.



19/02/2016 13:44


Acer Revo Build Acer’s Revo Build modular PC can be as big or as little as you want it to be. The Revo Build’s ‘base’ is 4.9 inches square, packing either a Celeron or Pentium processor from Intel and up to 8GB of memory. If you need more computing capability, you add it by simply stacking optional modules atop the base, with magnetically aligned connectors making it easy. Hot-swappable 500GB/1TB hard drive modules will be available, while a wireless charging and an ‘audio block’ with integrated speakers and a mic will be gradually rolled out over time, all for prices unknown. Just be aware that modular PCs may not be as exciting as they seem once you start digging. Price: From £199 URL: acer.co.uk

Mintbox Mini The sleek Mintbox Mini squeaks in at just 0.95in tall and is a whopping five times smaller than the original Mintbox mini PC. This computer is distinctive not only for its tiny size, but also because it runs Linux Mint out of the box. With an AMD A4 6400T processor packing Radeon R3 graphics, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of solid state storage, the Mintbox Mini should be able to handle basic web browsing, video playback, and productivity suite tasks just fine. Even better? Between the SSD and the passive cooling for the processor, this pint-sized PC runs utterly silently. Price: £270 URL: fit-pc.com

Your phone Finally, today’s modern smartphones have more in common with an ultra-portable computer than the landlines of old. The mature app ecosystems of both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store are more than capable of handling your basic computing needs, from productivity to entertainment to web browsing. With a dock and some external peripherals, you can even turn your phone into a basic desktop PC, though it can take some time to get accustomed to navigating a touchcentric interface with a keyboard and mouse. Microsoft has designed the new Lumia 950 to work just like a PC with the optional Display Dock since it runs Windows 10. J



19/02/2016 13:45

iPad & iPhone User magazine is the essential guide for all things iOS-related DOWNLOAD THE LATEST ISSUE TODAY

DIGITAL EDITION ON ANDROID & iOS

tinyurl.com/kg776m8

Every issue is full of the latest app reviews, gaming, tutorials, buying advice & more 087 IPU105 AD.indd 87

18/02/2016 17:47

FEATURE

BUILD A GAMING PC FOR UNDER £500

Chris Minasians reveals which components you’ll need and how to put them together to build a new PC

E

ver wanted to build a computer yourself, but never known how to get started? Or do you simply want to build your own custom PC for bragging rights? Well this guide is for you. Over the following pages, we’ll reveal how to put together a sub-£500 gaming PC. Even if you decide to spend more and upgrade some of the components we’ve chosen, this guide will show you how to put it all together, configure it and install Windows.

let you play games at full HD (1920x1080). There are cheaper parts out there, which we could have chosen, but we didn’t want to settle with 720p resolutions. If your budget is tighter, then consider choosing a GeForce GT 610 graphics card. Similarly if your pockets are deeper, you could opt for a slightly better graphics card or extras such as a sound card. If you won’t be installing many games, feel free to swap out the 500GB hard drive with a

128GB solid state drive (SSD). An SSD is a fantastic choice as it will drastically speed up your computer and provide you with a better overall experience. If you want a larger SSD, you can always install Windows on an SSD later and use your hard drive as a storage device for files. Please note that we are assuming you have a copy of Windows, a monitor, and a mouse and keyboard, which you can salvage from an old PC. You may even be able to

Build a gaming PC for under £500 Using the components listed in our table (opposite) will set you back £482.83. This was correct at the time of writing, but bear in mind that prices fluctuate depending on exchange rates. Our gaming PC machine will

This machine will let you play games at full HD (1920x1080). There are cheaper parts out there, which we could have chosen, but we didn’t want to settle for 720p resolutions


088_094 Build A PC 250.indd 88

24/02/2016 12:38

FEATURE

use some DDR3 RAM, your old hard drive, computer case, power supply unit or CPU cooler to bring the price down.

Getting started Before you start, you should make sure that you’ve got all the correct components and that you’ve got enough distractionfree time to start building it. Depending on the complexity of the PC you are putting together, it can take anything from 45 minutes for a simple system to a whole

To quickly test your parts, remove the motherboard from its box and place it on a non-static surface, such as the foam it came with in its anti-static bag or a wooden table. Do not put it on top of the anti-static bag as only the inside is anti-static. Then pop in your processor with its stock heatsink (or CPU cooler if there’s no stock heatsink supplied). Insert one stick of RAM (the slot closest to the processor is often the best one to choose) and then connect up the makeshift PC to the PSU. Make sure the PSU

To quickly test your parts, remove the motherboard from its box and place it on a non-static surface, such as the foam it came with in its anti-static bag or a wooden table day for a computer with custom watercooling loops. The last thing you want is to be midway through building your PC when you have to go to bed, as its past one in the morning and you need to be up at six. Finally, we advise you build on a non-static surface. In other words, not on carpet where static energy can build up and potentially damage your brand new PC parts. For those who don’t like taking any risks, we recommend buying an anti-static wristband (they cost only a few pounds) and prior to touching any computer part (especially the processor) ground yourself. This simply involves you touching a metal object in the house that’s grounded, for example, a radiator or a water pipe.

Preliminary testing After you’ve got all the parts you need, you’ll need to perform a quick preliminary test to see if all the parts are alive. It’s unlikely, but some components might not work and if you don’t check for this, you can end up having to take apart the PC to locate the problem. The biggest culprit is often the RAM.

is connected and switched on (they’re often have an on/off switch). You’ll also need to ensure your power supply is connected to the motherboard through the eight-pin EPS CPU and 20+4-Pin ATX connections. The trickiest part comes by turning on the motherboard without an on/off switch. In order to switch the computer on, you’ll

need to temporarily short the ‘+PWR-’ pins with a screwdriver (or any sort of metal), which will create an electrical circuit for your motherboard, so that you can switch it on. Here you’ll be able to see whether the motherboard switches on with the parts you’ve installed and be able to see if the PC can POST (Power-On Self-Test). The POST screen is the white on black writing you see before the usual Windows logo. If there are no red LED flashing lights on the motherboard, nor any beeping sounds you’re good to go. Note, the motherboard often has a cycle of red LED lights when it’s powered on; this is its method of testing the parts. If there’s a problem at this stage, you can either brave putting the whole PC into the case to see whether you did something wrong or you can contact the reseller and ask them for a replacement unit(s). Before you start installing the various components within the case, make sure the rig is powered off and fully disconnected. You can turn off the PC by flicking the switch of your wall socket.

Prepare the case First, open the case by removing both side panels and ensure it’s empty, as there are often screws and extra parts dangling around inside. You’ll now need to work out how the air flows within your case. This might seem trivial, but air flow can drastically change the temperature inside a case and therefore affect your PC’s CPU and GPU. A general rule of thumb is to have air coming in from the front and then exit at the top or back of your computer’s case. This is because hot air rises, so by orientating your system’s fans in the correct way you will be helping the air move, rather than trying to force it in an unnatural direction. In order to get the fans working in the correct direction, check their sides to

COMPONENT

MAKE AND MODEL

PRICE

Processor

AMD Piledriver FX-8 8350 Black Edition

£149.99

Motherboard

AsRock 970 Extreme3 R2.0

£63.95

Graphics card

MSI Radeon R7 370 Gaming

£113.99

RAM

Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB 1600MHz

£39.95

Power supply

XFX TS 430W

£30.99

Storage

Seagate Barracuda 500GB

£36.99

Case

BitFenix Nova Midi Tower

£23.99

CPU cooler

Raijintek Themis Black

£19.99

Cables

Kolink Premium

£2.99

Total

£482.83

The components for this feature were kindly supplied by Overclockers.co.uk



24/02/2016 12:38

Feature: Build a gaming PC for under £500

board’s manual, which describes and locates every port. Finally, connect the PC’s fans to your motherboard by attaching their two-, three- or four-pin connectors to your board’s Chassis Fan Headers.

Install a Power Supply Unit (PSU) There are different types of PSUs; some are modular, where you can cherry-pick which wires you want, while others have all the wires you’ll need. It’s best not to connect it to the mains just yet, as it’s safer to work on a computer without having to worry about an electrical current running through your parts. In terms of the amount of power you’ll need, there’s a lot of misunderstanding on how much power you need for a PC. We chose a 430 Watt PSU as that’s more than

Install the fans see where the arrows are pointing; these indicate the direction of the air. Once you’ve done so, screw in the fans. Here we will be putting two 120mm case fans at the front to draw in air and have the stock BitFenix case fan used as an exhaust outtake fan, located at the rear.

Install a motherboard and I/O panel The next component you need to install is the I/O panel. To do so, determine its orientation and then insert it at the back of your PC case. It sometimes requires a little force to click into place, so don’t be afraid to give it a healthy nudge in. After you’ve inserted this, it’s time to put in your motherboard. Depending on your case and board, you might need to attach standoffs, which are used to give the motherboard a little bit of clearance from the case’s metal frame. Some cases come with these already attached, while others require you screw them in. Next, evenly screw in the motherboard to stop it moving around. If you want to install a custom CPU cooler, you’ll need to check if your motherboard comes with a CPU cooler mount. Make sure you can either remove

it after you’ve installed the motherboard (via the hole found on the bac plate of the case) or before it is screwed in. We found that some AMD boards come with the mount preinstalled to make it easier for those wanting to install the AMD cooler that comes with the processor. Inserting a motherboard is extremely simple; just make sure that when you’re placing into the case that you insert the I/O part first, as it makes it easier to fit. Once the board has been attached, you can now screw it into place to the standoffs. The hardest part of any motherboard installation is its connections to the case. Every computer case comes with a few cables, which are used for the power button, HDD LED and USB ports. You will therefore need to connect your case’s cables to your motherboard. In order to know which cable corresponds with a motherboard’s port, you’ll need to look in your

Connect the case wires enough for the whole system, including a single GPU configuration. In order to give you an idea, an SLI nVidia GPU configuration (that’s two nVidia cards), running an intensive game or a benchmark draws around 500W, while an AMD Crossfire GPU configuration (that’s two AMD cards), draws around 700W. Of course you need to factor in some headroom, but there’s no need to buy a 600- to 800W PSU for a single gaming-GPU setup. Inserting the power supply can sometimes be tricky, due to all the different wires, but once you’ve organised them it becomes easier to manage. Insert the PSU into the computer’s case and screw it in from the back. Once it’s attached, you’ll need to connect up the essentials to your motherboard. This includes the eight-pin EPS CPU connection located near the processor socket, and the 20+4-Pin ATX motherboard connection found on the righthand side of most motherboards. Finally, attach components such as the graphics card.

Place a processor (CPU)

Install the motherboard backplate

The processor is a very small chip, and it’s surprising how much data it handles. First, open the motherboard’s CPU latch to reveal the connections underneath, where the processor will be placed. Make sure you don’t touch or bend any of these motherboard



24/02/2016 12:38


Install the PSU pins. If they’re tampered with, you’ll have problems running your computer. Before grabbing the CPU, look at its shape and way the motherboard’s chipset is positioned, as this will help you insert the processor without having to fiddle with it. As you pick up the CPU, ensure you handle it with care by picking it up and inserting it by the sides (not the bottom) of the PCB (the green part of the processor), as this limits the risks of shorting the CPU. Carefully place it into the motherboard’s slot by laying it on the board’s CPU pins. Avoid dropping it or inserting it at an angle, as you might damage the pins by doing so. Once the processor is placed within the motherboard, close the latch and fasten it into place.

Mount a CPU cooler Every processor needs a cooler, be it from a stock cooler to a full-blown water-cooling setup. To keep our PC under £500, we’ve chosen an air cooler, but the principle of attaching a liquid- or water cooler is similar when it comes to the CPU socket. First, you’ll need to check if your CPU cooler comes with pre-applied thermal paste. If it does, you’ll be able to mount it directly on to your processor. If it doesn’t, then you’ll have to apply some thermal paste to your processor – you will only need a very thin layer. It’s widely debated in internet forums which is the best way to apply the Insert the CPU thermal paste. In

our experience, we found the line and pea-dot methods achieve the coolest temperatures. The thermal compound and application is very important for CPU temperatures. If it’s not done properly, you could see a difference of up to 10ºC, which could affect the performance of your PC. Our CPU cooler

mounting mechanism, you can then place it on your processor. Just before doing so, try to look at the way the cooler works, and more specifically which direction the included fan will be blowing. Most CPU coolers have a fan on their heatsink, will blow air through the heatsink’s fins to cool the CPU. In our case Apply thermal paste we have a single fan, and remembering our case flow is going from front to back, we placed the fan to blow air in the same direction, through the front to the rear of the heatsink. Try to place the cooler directly on the processor, rather than at an angle, as the thermal paste needs to be even. Apply some pressure when placing the CPU cooler on the processor and tightly fasten it to the mounting brackets. In order to achieve the best results, tighten each corner evenly,

As you pick up the CPU, ensure you handle it with care by picking it up and inserting it by the sides (not the bottom) of the PCB, as this limits the risks of shorting the CPU came with thermal paste within the box. As we’re using an AMD build for our sub-£500 gaming PC, the pea-dot method is the best approach. If you’re using an Intel Core CPU, then the vertical-line method will often achieve better results. Be sure not to spread it, just leave the paste on your processor and the CPU cooler. Pressing these together will spread the paste. In order to insert the CPU cooler, you’ll need to mount it on your motherboard. To do so, insert its larger screws or mounting kit on your motherboard’s CPU socket holes. These four holes are found on each of the corners of your motherboard’s processor socket. Make sure you carefully insert the screws and make sure you don’t damage the CPU holes, as some manufacturers treat slightly damaged CPU socket holes as ‘Customer Induced Damage’ (CID), where this might void your warranty. Once you’ve inserted the screws and added the CPU cooler’s

rather than tightly. Once you’ve got all the screws in, tightly fasten each of them so that the CPU cooler is firmly attached to the processor. An uneven, CPU cooler will not cool your processor properly and you risk burning the CPU. Next, you’ll need to connect the CPU cooler’s fan(s) to your motherboard. Most boards will have the CPU Header Fan located at the top of the CPU socket itself, so it should be easy to locate. Again, if you’re unsure, look in your motherboard’s manual to locate it. Connect the three- or four-pin

Fit the CPU cooler



24/02/2016 12:38


header to your motherboard’s socket and you’ll then have a fully installed CPU cooler.

Insert RAM Most motherboards have four slots, but the number ranges from one to eight. The board we are using has four, which run in dual-channel mode. In order to know which order you should place your RAM consult your motherboard’s instruction manual. In our case, we have two 4GB RAM modules. Our ASRock manual instructed us to: “Install the memory module into the slots DDR3_A2 and DDR3_B2 for the first priority.” This means the second closest from the processor and the furthest away are the best slots for our setup. Next, check the motherboard’s RAM latches are open by pressing on the small plastic latches located on the side of the RAM slots. You’ll also want to inspect the orientation of your RAM to ensure you correctly insert it into your motherboard.

Install a graphics card (GPU) A graphics card is one of the easiest components to add – remove all the packaging and plastic clips around the graphics card and locate a PCI-E slot for it to fit in. You’ll often find your PC’s case has small metal strips located at the back of the computer, to make it look tidier and not attract as much dust. In this instance, you’ll need to remove the panels. Once they have been taken away, place the graphics card on the top PCI-E slot (closest to the CPU), as you’ll often get the best PCI-E speeds on the top slots, so the GPU’s performance won’t be affected by the motherboard. After it’s inserted, you’ll need to attach the power to the graphics card, which is

Attach power to the graphics card where that 6+2-Pin-PCIe PSU cable comes in handy. Most graphics cards take a six- or eight-pin connection. Simply locate this cable and plug it in.

Hard disk drive (HDD) For our sub-£500 system, we chose a hard disk drive (HDD) over a solid-state drive (SSD), as we felt a 500GB capacity was better suited for gamers than a budget 128GB SSD, which would soon fill up. Windows, for example, uses around 10to 15GB, while a game such as Battlefield 4 takes up to 65GB with all its DLCs installed. So, 128GB doesn’t go as far as you might think. Also remember that this storage won’t provide you with as much space as you

might think; in other words our 500GB HDD actually comes with 465GB of usable space, not the full 500GB, while the 128GB SSD has only 110GB available. This would leave you with just 30GB of free space after installing Windows and a game such as Battlefield 4. To insert your HDD, locate the space where it should fit within your case and screw it in. Some HDDs and cases come with HDD/ SSD trays, and some offer noise dampeners which reduce the vibrations of your HDD that can be heard through your case. Once you’ve screwed in the HDD, grab the SATA power connector from your PSU and connect it to your HDD. You’ll also need a SATA III cable to connect the HDD to the motherboard. The SATA III cable connects to your motherboard, where you’ll find the SATA III slots near the bottom of your motherboard. They’re often numbered, where it’s always best to place your primary drive in the SATA III (1) port.

Cable management

Install the RAM

While putting together your PC always keep in mind that you may wish to upgrade or add components in the future. Therefore keeping the inside of the case tidy is important. It’s also worth noting that messy cables can block the flow of air within your case, which can have a detrimental affect on the performance of your computer. Cable management is simple; just tidy up your PC up by hiding cables around the back panel of the computer’s case, or by neatly tucking them in a small compartment within your PC case by using zip ties. This might involve unplugging some of the components you’ve just inserted or rejigging their position, such as the location of the HDD. Once you’re done, your future self will thank you for keeping your PC neat and tidy.



24/02/2016 12:38


Slot in the hard drive You can now refit the side panels to the case, connect all the cables, and flick the power supply switch to the on position. As a bare minimum connect:

right after you turn on the computer until system goes into BIOS setup. If you want to enter into boot menu, please press F11.” These are the two keys we will be mentioning in this section of our guide.

launch you into your BIOS, where you’ll be able to check the status of your parts, most importantly the CPU temperatures. Bear in mind that red LED lights should normally flash only once, while the PC is booting up. When you enter the various different BIOS screens, you’ll be presented with various options, where you will be able to cycle through them and find the CPU temperatures being monitored. If the temperature is less than 40ºC, you’re good to go; normally you’ll find it at around 25- to 35ºC. Note that this will change depending on your processor (some run naturally hotter than others) and your ambient room temperature. As long as you’re not hitting 40- to 50ºC (no matter which processor you have), you’ll know that your CPU is being properly cooled. If it isn’t, immediately turn off the PC by flicking the PSU on/off switch and open the case to find the problem (often a badly placed CPU cooler) or a non-functional CPU fan. Again, if your ambient temperature is 35ºC, you’ll need to be cooling it adequately. Here in the UK, we don’t see that naturally happening, but it’s still worth noting down. This step might seem trivial, but can often extend your processor’s life. Without

• Keyboard to a USB 2 port (or PS/2 if older) • HDMI cable between the monitor and graphics card

• Mouse to a USB 2 port (or PS/2 if older) • Power cables to both the PC’s power supply and monitor power input

Create a bootable Windows 10 USB flash drive You’ve now got everything ready for your first boot, but you’ll need a Windows 10 USB flash drive. For this step you’ll need to use Microsoft’s media creation tool, which can be downloaded from tinyurl.com/q8oqvug. Once you’ve created your bootable flash drive, slot it into one of the USB ports found at the back of your PC.

While putting together your PC always keep in mind that you may wish to upgrade or add components in the future. Therefore keeping the inside of the case tidy is important As you switch on the PC keep a look out for any blinking or solid red LED lights on your motherboard and on your monitor, which will display the POST screen. If there’s no error and you don’t hear any repeating beep sounds from your motherboard and case, you should directly enter the BIOS by hitting the F2 key on your keyboard. This will

this step, you might launch into a Windows 10 installation, where the CPU will be working a lot harder, and therefore get hotter. If it exceeds a certain temperature (each processor has a different TJ MAX/ MAX TEMP), your PC will automatically switch off or go into a Blue Screen, as your motherboard will notice your processor is

Check the BIOS and install Windows 10 Before you launch into a Windows installation, you’ll need to ensure that your PC is in good health and is fully operational. This especially applies to your application of the CPU cooler, which if not done properly won’t cool your processor and this can have disastrous consequences for your CPU. In order to check this, you’ll need to go into the Basic Input/ Output System, better known as the BIOS and ‘Setup’ menu on your POST screen. Before going into the BIOS, you’re going to need to know your BIOS key, among other POST screen buttons. To find this either consult your motherboard’s manual or look online for your board’s default boot menu button. In our case ASRock specifies: “To enter BIOS setup, please press ‘F2’ repeatedly



24/02/2016 12:38


not being cooled properly. If you ignore this problem, over time your CPU will simply cease to work, as it will burn itself out. Once you’ve made sure everything is healthy and the PC seems to be working fine, you should now directly boot to your Windows 10 USB stick. This can often be achieved directly through the BIOS, if not, go to Save Changes and Exit and hit F11, the boot-menu key on your keyboard. You’ll now be presented with a boot menu, where you should see your HDD and your USB. You’ll want to select your USB, in order for you to launch into Windows setup. Finally, follow the on-screen options and finish off your installation.

Install drivers You’ve now installed Windows 10 and everything seems to be working. Your next job involves installing all the drivers you need. Naturally if you’re connected to the internet, Windows will automatically install

the relevant files, but to make sure all the drivers are correctly installed, go to each of the manufacturer’s websites and install all the required files, such as your graphics card’s, processor’s and chipset’s drivers. Once you’ve installed and restarted your

system and software are picking up can be vital, as you’ll be able to troubleshoot problems before they occur. For example, if a RAM slot wasn’t inserted correctly in our 2x 4GB installation, we would see only one RAM module on CPU-Z. Something we

If you’re connected to the internet, Windows will automatically install the relevant files, but to make sure all the drivers are correctly installed, go to each of the manufacturer’s websites PC several times, due to some software needing a restart, you should have a fully operational computer. The only thing left to do is to install a few monitoring programs, such as CPU-Z, GPU-Z, Core Temp, Hardware Monitor and even benchmarking programs such as Prime95 to test out your hardware. Monitoring and examining what your PC’s operating

might be oblivious about when gaming. If you wish to run a few benchmarks too, such as Prime95 and Unigine Heaven Benchmark 4.0, it will help you check the case temperatures and ultimately how well or badly the CPU and GPU are being cooled. That’s it, you’ve fully tested your PC, it’s running as it should and you can now enjoy playing your favourite games. J



24/02/2016 12:39

Don’t miss a single copy of Macworld by subscribing digitally Subscribe from as little as £1.99

MW Digital filler.indd 75

01/06/2015 15:47

HOW TO

Stop the Windows 10 upgrade notifications If you don’t want to move to Windows 10, Chris Minasians shows how to stop the upgrade notifications On 1 June 2015, Microsoft announced it would be offering Windows 10 as a free download for users of Windows 7 and 8. To let its existing user base know, it slipped in an advertising program

(GWX.exe) for Windows 10 within its usual roll-out of security patches for Windows 7 and 8 installations. If you’ve decided you don’t want upgrade your OS, here’s how to block the notifications.

What is GWX.exe & the KB3035583 update?

If you allow Microsoft to install updates automatically through Windows Update, or even if you check and install manually, this surreptitious marketing tool will now reside in the Windows taskbar: an icon based on the white four-quarter logo for the new Windows 10 operating system. Click on it and a program called GWX.exe launches a window with more information to entice you to download the new operating system.

The update mentioned at the beginning goes by the anonymous name of KB3035583 and, like a sleeper agent waiting to be activated, appeared on some Windows PCs, laptops and tablets as a clickable item in the Windows taskbar. Interestingly enough, Microsoft doesn’t specify what the update is, or what it is supposed to do. At PC Advisor, we’ve seen the update named as: ‘Update for Windows 7 (or 8) for x64 (or x86)-based Systems (KB3035583)’. This update is very easy to miss, especially as it appears either in the ‘Recommended/Important’ updates or the ‘Optional’ updates. It’s disappointing to see Microsoft forcing this update to users who might now know what KB3035583 is.

We’re not suggesting you shouldn’t upgrade, but if you prefer not to have your privacy being invaded or simply don’t want to upgrade as there is a very slight chance of losing data during the upgrade, we’ll guide you on how to remove GWX.exe.

96 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to May 2016

096_097 HT Stay on Windows 7 and 8 250.indd 96

18/02/2016 11:02

HOW TO Stop the Windows 10 upgrade notifications If you’ve already installed all the optional and recommended updates, you might not have realised that KB3035583 had slipped through the net and installed on your PC. In order to remove it, go to your Windows Updates by searching for it in the search bar within your Start Menu, then click on ‘View Update History’. From here you’ll see a new window pop-up and you’ll be able to see a link to ‘Installed Updates’. Click on this hyperlink and it will open another tab with all your previously installed updates. Give the window a few minutes to load, and at the top righthand corner search for KB3035583. Right-click on the update and select ‘Uninstall’ and follow the on-screen prompts until you are asked to ‘Restart Now’ (see righthand screenshot). Upon restarting your PC, go back into Windows Update and ‘Check for updates’. You should now be able to see KB3035583 as an optional or recommended/ important update. Right-click on the update and ‘Hide update’. Sometimes you might see ‘Upgrade to Windows 10, version 1511, 10586’ (this was the latest build in February 2016). Alternatively, it might just appear as ‘Upgrade to Windows 10’, if you see these updates too, right click on them too and hide them.

Finally, restart the PC once more and GWX should hopefully have vanished. You should no longer get any notifications to upgrade nor have any pesky logo in your taskbar telling you that your copy of Windows 10 is ready.

Using GWX Control Panel During our desire to disable Windows 10’s notifications from appearing, we noticed that on a few machines the notification would still appear, even after following the steps above. Fortunately, blogger ‘Ultimate Outsider’ has written a standalone program (so it doesn’t require installation) and an installer that helps you manage the GWX program and in many cases, can completely stop Windows 10 being downloaded and installed. It’s called GWX Control Panel, and once running will let you close or disable the upgrade notification icon. (You can download it from tinyurl.com/hph67cy.) It can’t help if you’re already at the point where the Windows 10 upgrade has started, but as we said, you should be able to downgrade by following our step-by-step guide after Windows 10 is installed (see page 98).

End of mainstream- and extended support Having disabled all Windows 10 notifications and updates, you might be wondering whether Windows 7 and 8 ever become like Windows XP, and be vulnerable to attacks and security loopholes. Recently there’s been a lot of confusion around Windows 7 coming to the end of its life. These reports and worries aren’t justified. Microsoft publishes and updates its ‘Windows lifecycle fact sheet’ (tinyurl.com/pmsxpa6) whenever there’s a new operating system. The most important columns for the purposes of this tutorial are called ‘End of mainstream support’ and ‘End of extended support’. Mainstream support means that the operating system in question will stop receiving new features, services and product tweaks. This doesn’t mean you will stop receiving security updates, which is the most important part of the Windows Updates. However, the extended support does mean the operating system will stop receiving security updates from Microsoft. As shown in the table, support for Vista will end on 11 April 2017, Windows 7 on 14 January 2020 and Windows 8 on 10 January 2023. Realistically, if you haven’t updated Windows 7 to a newer operating system by 2020 we’ll be very surprised. We recommend updating to Windows 10, as with some of its information-harvesting features disabled, it’s one of the best, if not the best, operating system that Microsoft has produced. Blending Windows 8’s interface and the power-user functionality of Windows 7, it also comes with DirectX 12, which provides PC gamers with a healthy boost in performance.

Either way, we don’t think that Microsoft’s attempts to force users to upgrade are fully justified. They should be free to choose if they want to upgrade or not, and not be ‘tricked’ into installing Windows 10. J

May 2016 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to 97

096_097 HT Stay on Windows 7 and 8 250.indd 97

18/02/2016 11:02

How to: Downgrade from Windows 10 to an older OS

Downgrade from Windows 10 to an older OS If you’ve decided that Windows 10 isn’t for you, Martyn Casserly reveals how to return to an older OS If you’ve upgraded to Windows 10, you have a month to decide whether you like it. If not, Microsoft has made it easy to fall back to Windows 7 or 8. The first step is, of course, to back up any information you currently have on your PC that you want to keep. Changing an operating system is a big thing, and data can often be lost along the way. You can use external hard drives, thumb drives, or some of the various online cloud storage such as OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, or Tresorit, that offer lots of space for free. When you’ve

safely copied any documents, video, photos, or other important data you need, you’re ready to begin. If you’ve added any user accounts since upgrading, you’ll have to sign out of them and then remove them from the main account before you can downgrade. Naturally, you can only downgrade if you upgraded from Windows 7 or 8.1. If you then did a clean install of Windows 10 you won’t see the option to go back. You’ll have to use a recovery disc, or reinstall Windows 7 or 8.1 from scratch.

When you upgraded to Windows 10 on a PC that already has Windows, the old version is stored in a folder called Windows.old. While this takes up space (up to around 30GB), it also means that you can restore the version via Windows 10 itself. To do this, first open the Windows Start menu by clicking on the icon in the bottom left of the screen. Select Settings from the menu. (Also see How to delete Windows.old on page 100)


098_099 HT Downgrade Windows 250.indd 98

18/02/2016 14:56

How to: Downgrade from Windows 10 to an older OS

Now you’ll see on option for Update & Security. Click it. On the next page you’ll find a list of options on the left, one of which is Recovery. Click this and the main pane will display a variety of choices. The one you want is ‘Go back to Windows x’ where x will be 7 or 8.1 depending on what your computer was running. Click ‘Get started’ to begin. If you’re using a laptop you’ll also need to connect it to a power source or the option won’t work.

2

You’ll now be presented with a screen asking you why you’re downgrading. In essence, it’s a tool so Microsoft can gauge the user experience with Windows 10. Click Next when you’re done. Before Windows starts the process it gives a couple more opportunities to cancel, along with a notice that you’ll have to reinstall some apps and programs. It also reminds you that if you had a password on your previous version of Windows, then you’ll require it once the process is finished. If you’re happy to proceed then just click Next, and put the kettle on. Windows will now roll back your system to how it was before Windows 10 was installed. Some people are finding that even if their Windows.old folder is intact, Windows 10 will still throw up an error saying that files needed have been removed. We’ve asked Microsoft to explain why this happens, and for a fix. If you deleted Windows.old yourself, you’re out of luck.

3

On our Windows 7 test machine, which had very little installed on it, the process took 10 minutes. The only thing we needed to change was the shortcut to Windows Explorer in the taskbar, which had stopped working. To fix this we right-clicked on the icon, unpinned it from the taskbar, then searched for Windows Explorer in the Start menu, dragged it to the taskbar, and everything was working again. All our data was intact and in the right place, and the only other reboot needed was for Windows to install a few updates. We then performed a second test on a different laptop running Windows 8.1 and found that the icons for Microsoft apps on the Start screen had disappeared, being replaced by text. We haven’t yet found a fix for this. As a final check, launch all the programs you use on a regular basis to make sure they work (or reinstall them if they don’t) and make sure your documents and other files are present and correct. If not, copy them back off your external drive where you made a backup at the start. You did make a backup, right? J

4


098_099 HT Downgrade Windows 250.indd 99

18/02/2016 11:07

How to: Delete the Windows.old folder from your PC

Delete the Windows.old folder from your PC Jim Martin reveals how removing the Windows.old from a PC can free up disk space Whether you’ve recently upgraded to Windows 10, or updated from Windows 8 to 8.1, you may be running low on disk space. That’s because Windows installs a completely new version and keeps the old one around just in case you want to go back (downgrade) to the previous version. Here we explain how to delete the Windows.old folder, and get back a huge chunk of hard drive space. You should see Windows.old in File Explorer because it’s not a hidden folder. Open File Explorer by pressing Windows+E and go to ‘This PC’ and then click on OS C: (it’s usually C but may be another letter). After the ‘Windows’ folder should be Windows.old.

It contains files from your previous installation of Windows, which were either not required or can’t be used with the new version. You don’t need to keep these unless something has gone wrong with the upgrade and you need to roll back to your previous version. To see how much space this folder is occupying, right-click on it and choose Properties. In our

case, it was using up almost 25GB – a significant amount if you have only a 120GB SSD. But unless your low disk space situation is causing problems, we suggest leaving the Windows. old folder where it is until you’ve made sure you’re happy with your upgrade, and all your files and settings are in place. Don’t delete the folder in File Explorer, though.

How to delete Windows.old Windows 8.1 and 10 will remove these files automatically after around a month, but you can get rid of them by running Disk Clean-up. To do so, go to the Start menu (or screen in Windows 8) and type Disk Clean-up. Run it and select your system drive (if you have more than one) as the drive you want to clean up. It will appear with a small Windows logo as part of the icon. Click the button marked Clean up system files (it may ask you to select your system drive again – select the letter for the drive where Windows is installed) and the utility will then give you a list of items you can clean up. Tick the box next to Previous Windows installation(s) to make sure the Windows.old folder is completely removed. You may find other files in here you wish to delete to help with your disk space problem, so you can select those, too. Now click on OK and select Delete files. Your disk space issue should be resolved. J


100 HT Delete Windows.OLD 250.indd 100

18/02/2016 11:08

How to: Get Microsoft Office for free in Windows 10

Get Microsoft Office for free in Windows 10 Chris Martin reveals how to use Word and Excel on a Windows 10 system for nothing So you’ve got a new Windows 10 PC, laptop or tablet and want to use Microsoft Office but can’t afford to buy it. Well luckily, there are ways of getting the suite for free (restrictions apply). Microsoft’s strategy for Office means you can download its mobile apps for Word, Excel and PowerPoint for free on a wide range of devices. You can download them using the links below: Word Mobile: tinyurl.com/gtcbksy Excel Mobile: tinyurl.com/h7w6pp5 PowerPoint Mobile: tinyurl.com/hok24b7

What you can and can’t do While these are free for any Windows 10 device, they don’t give you full functionality. If you’re using a desktop PC or laptop you’ll only be able to read documents and will need an Office 365 subscription to create and edit. However, if you are running Windows 10 on a device with a 10.1in screen or smaller, you can use the apps fully. Being able to view documents is pretty basic, so for anyone on a PC, laptop or tablet with a screen bigger than 10.1in then you’ll want to use an alternative to Microsoft Office if you don’t want to pay. An Office 365 Subscription will cost you from £5.99 per month.

Best free Microsoft Office alternatives There are various alternatives to Microsoft Office out there that are completely free. Our recommendation is LibreOffice, which is a full suite of software and allows you to open and save documents in Microsoft formats. Download it from tinyurl.com/hgpz5co. Should you happen to dislike LibreOffice, check out free alternatives such as WPS Office (wps.com), Free Office (freeoffice.com/en) and Google Docs, which is now part of Google Drive. J


101 HT Office For Free 250.indd 101

18/02/2016 11:10

How to: Prepare drivers before installing Windows

Prepare drivers before installing Windows Jim Martin explains why you should back up your drivers before upgrading to Windows 10


102_103 HT Back Up Windows 250.indd 102

18/02/2016 11:18

How to: Prepare drivers before installing Windows

As any long-time Windows user will know, the operating system gets progressively more sluggish over time. It isn’t always Microsoft’s fault, of course. Your hard drive may fill up, or you may choose to install lots of programs and apps which start with Windows and run – unnecessarily – in the background consuming precious memory and CPU time. We’ve previously looked at how to speed up a slow computer (tinyurl.com/pbbspL5), and also how to use the great Refresh feature in Windows 8 (tinyurl.com/gr2dggr), but if you’re not happy with the results are going to do a clean install, you may be wondering how to collect together all the drivers so you can quickly install them when a new copy of Windows is installed. In that case, if you haven’t managed to back up any drivers or utilities that are specific to your PC or laptop, head to the manufacturer’s website and look for the latest versions. In general, you don’t need a Windows 10 driver for Windows 10: drivers for Windows 7 and 8 often work fine. Just make sure you download the correct 32- or 64-bit version according to the version of Windows you’ve installed (64-bit in the vast majority of cases these days).

Back up drivers in Windows

The short answer is that it’s not easy or guaranteed. There are many utilities – mostly free – which claim to be able to do this, but when you come to use that backup you may well find that it doesn’t work. The utility might not have backed up all the necessary files, and we’ve heard several reports of Windows throwing up errors such as “this driver is not digitally signed”. The best plan is to go to your PC or laptop manufacturer’s website and download all the drivers (which will be the latest versions) for your specific model before you start the installation. This way, you won’t be left without networking drivers, and therefore no way to get online and download some. However, you shouldn’t need too many drivers if you’re installing Windows 8 or 10.

If you’re upgrading Windows In-place upgrades of Windows keep your files, programs and settings. This also includes drivers, so generally there’s no need to have a copy for installing them afterwards. Occasionally a driver won’t work with the newer version of Windows, but in that case you’d have to download a new one from the manufacturer’s website anyway. With Windows 10, it’s typically your printer that won’t work, but in our experience, the driver is still there: you merely need to delete the printer in the Control Panel and add it again.

As we’ve said, there are many utilities which claim to back up every driver, so you can take your pick of the free ones, including DriverBackup. There are no guarantees, and we certainly don’t recommend relying on these to do a perfect job. Instead, download the latest network, audio, graphics, chipset and other drivers from your hardware manufacturer’s website. Note that you will generally have to go to a laptop maker’s website for graphics drivers, as those you can get from nVidia or AMD won’t necessarily work. For a PC, go to nVidia or AMD. You can also check your Downloads folder for recent drivers. These will typically be for peripherals and accessories. Copy these – and the drivers you’ve downloaded from the manufacturer – to an external or portable drive so you know where they are and won’t get deleted when you reinstall Windows.

Check if any drivers are missing in Windows In Device Manager (which you’ll find in the Control Panel), you will see if any hardware isn’t working by a yellow triangle with and exclamation mark next to it. Usually, this appears because the driver is missing. In the example below, it’s hard to work out exactly which device isn’t working, but for USB devices just check everything that you plug into your computer as it could be a USB hub or some other USB accessory which doesn’t have the proper drivers installed. You can right-click on an item in Device Manager to try to get Windows to automatically find a driver, or install one manually. J

Clean install Obviously drivers (and files, programs and settings) won’t be migrated when you’re installing Windows on a new hard drive or one you’ve formatted. However, if you’re installing Windows 8 or 10, chances are that it will find and install the vast majority of drivers automatically. As long as your hardware isn’t a decade old or really obscure, you shouldn’t have any issues. The only driver you’ll want to install yourself is likely to be for your graphics card, as it’s inadvisable to run Microsoft’s generic version, or an old AMD or nVidia version. System drivers, such as the motherboard chipset and all of its features: networking, sound, USB ports and so on, should work as expected. With laptops, you should find that the touchpad and touchscreen (if fitted) work, but manufacturer-specific shortcut keys may not.


102_103 HT Back Up Windows 250.indd 103

18/02/2016 11:17

How to: Watch your favourite DVDs in Windows 10

Watch your favourite DVDs in Windows 10 Get your physical discs working again with the free VLC Player. Martyn Casserly shows how Windows 10 has some nifty new features when compared to its predecessors: Cortana, Edge browser, and Universal apps being prime examples. But as Microsoft giveth, so it taketh away. Unless you were lucky enough to upgrade from a higher tiered edition of Windows 7 or 8.1, which replaced Windows Media Centre with Windows DVD Player, your new version of Windows 10 doesn’t have ability to play physical media. While more and more PCs ship without DVD drives, there are still plenty of people who want to watch their discs without the need to rip the content into digital formats. Thankfully this is easy to fix with some excellent free software, and in this feature we’ll show you how to play DVDs in Windows 10.

Avoid Windows DVD Player When Microsoft decided to remove Windows Media Centre from its new version of the operating system, those on Pro, Ultimate or any previous edition that included WMC may have noticed that it was replaced with Windows DVD Player. For everyone else this is a paid upgrade that currently costs £11.59 on the Windows Store.

This seems like a stupid decision to us, especially in light of the fact that Windows 10 itself is a free upgrade. Judging by the considerable amount of one star reviews on the app’s Store page, we think it’s safe to say that the Windows DVD Player is something best left well alone. It might be the official app, but it definitely doesn’t seem to be a good one, and better alternatives are available which won’t cost you a penny.

VLC Player Regular readers will know that VLC Player has been, and most certainly remains, a firm favourite around these parts. It plays almost any type of media without fuss (CDs, DVDs, digital formats, streaming), runs on all major platforms, and is completely free. There are currently two versions of the app available; one on the Windows Store that uses the Windows 10 Modern UI, and another available directly from the creators VideoLAN which is for the classic desktop environment. While the Modern UI release seems fine, we’ve found that the desktop version feels more stable and easier to use. You can of course try both, as they’re free.


104_105 HT Play DVD 250.indd 104

18/02/2016 10:56

How to: Watch your favourite DVDs in Windows 10

Assuming you opt for the desktop version, the first thing you need to do is get a copy of the program. Download VLC directly from tinyurl.com/hLakumt. Once the download is completed double click on the file, agree to let it make changes on your system, select your language, then follow the installation wizard ensuring that you choose the recommended settings

When the installation is complete insert a DVD into your drive, then open VLC, select Media > Open Disc from the menu bar at the top.

2

Select your DVD drive from the Disc Device drop-down list (usually D:), and click Play. Now you should have access to your DVD library once more, and it’s all smiles again. J

3


104_105 HT Play DVD 250.indd 105

18/02/2016 10:56

How to: Connect a 4K display to your computer

Connect a 4K display to your computer Jim Martin reveals the hardware and connections you’ll need to connect your PC to a 4K monitor 3D may have fallen flat on its face (again), but there’s a new incentive for PC owners to buy a new display: 4K. With four times the resolution of your average 1920x1080 display, 4K or UHD screens are significantly better for viewing and editing photos, playing games and watching and editing video. Here’s how to hook up a 4K screen to a PC.

Requirements These days most PCs will be able to drive a 4K monitor without any issues. If you’re editing photos, browsing the web or simply using the extra real estate to have multiple windows open at once, even integrated graphics chips should handle the extra pixels. The same does not apply to gaming. Driving four times the number of pixels in games is a big ask, so you’ll need a powerful graphics card to do it, especially if you want the maximum quality at the same time.

DisplayPort The main hardware requirement is that your PC – or laptop – has a suitable output that will be able to run a 4K monitor. Typically this will be a DisplayPort (or mini DisplayPort) output. Don’t worry too

much about the version, as DisplayPort was designed with high resolution in mind from the start. Worry mainly about the actual cable you use. Ideally, buy a certified DisplayPort cable, which is essentially a guarantee that you won’t have problems. You can risk a cheap uncertified cable, but if you do experience seemingly random problems such as the monitor being out of sync with the graphics card, or even your PC crashing, then first swap it for a certified DP cable.

HDMI HDMI can be used to drive a 4K display, but many HDMI outputs are only version 1.4 (or earlier). This supports 4K at 30Hz only, which will result in a jerky, not-very-pleasant experience. It can also lead to other issues: we’ve experienced fuzzy text which is more usual with analogue connections. HDMI 2.0 supports 4K at 60Hz, which is the minimum refresh rate you want. NVidia’s 900-series of graphics cards support HDMI 2.0, but for most people it will be easier to use your graphics card’s DisplayPort output, even if it means buying a cable. Note that if you do happen to have an HDMI 2.0 output, any HDMI cable should work: you do not need an expensive HDMI 2.0 cable.


106_107 HT Connect A 4K Display 250.indd 106

18/02/2016 11:55

How to: Connect a 4K display to your computer

DISPLAYPORT CONNECTOR

DVI DVI is almost as confusing as HDMI. A dual-link DVI connection (as opposed to single-link) can handle 2560x1440 at 60Hz, but not 3840x2160 (which is the typical; 4K resolution). This means that unless you have two dual-link DVI outputs and your monitor can accept two inputs (few can), you cannot drive a 4K screen at 60Hz using DVI. If you’re curious, you can run 3840x2400 at 17Hz using DVI, or 33Hz if you have a dual-cable setup.

Windows The version of Windows your computer is running makes a difference too. Windows 7 does support 4K displays, but is not as good at handling scaling (especially if you have multiple monitors) as Windows 8.1 and 10. Even then, you are bound to have issues when various programs you use don’t bother to use the scaling setting you use for Windows itself. The smaller your 4K screen, the higher scaling you will likely want to use. Windows is now fairly good at increasing the size of fonts and graphics so they don’t appear too small, and you can easily adjust the scaling value to get the size which is comfortable for you to use. Unfortunately, there are still applications that are not 4K-aware, so there will inevitably be some

which appear too small. You may have to temporarily lower your screen’s resolution through Windows to make them usable.

Buying advice The first generation of 4K monitors have come and gone, which means now is a great time to buy one. Prices are now lower, and most have support for at least 60Hz. Our best advice is to avoid older monitors – or any monitor – that’s limited to 30Hz, and make sure it’s not a 4K screen that gets its high resolution by using two physical 1080p panels within one monitor. These were the first UHD screens for PCs, and brought with them a ton of issues and annoyances. Stick to modern displays from the past 12 months or so and you should be fine, but always make sure you’re getting a screen that has a specification of at least 60Hz refresh rate, and has a DisplayPort and/or HDMI 2.0 input. Also read reviews to find out what the image quality is like instead of trying to guess from the specifications. (See our best 4K displays chart on page 141.) If you’re intending to use the screen for playing games, then check reviews for input lag as well as refresh rate and response time. And make sure your graphics card is up to the job. J


106_107 HT Connect A 4K Display 250.indd 107

18/02/2016 11:55

How to: Record phone calls on a smartphone

Record phone calls on a smartphone Recording a call on a smartphone can be tricky. Martyn Casserly walks you through the process You might think recording calls on your smartphone would be a relatively easy task. After all, most new models arrive with some sort of voice recording app already installed, and it shouldn’t prove much of a technological challenge to the likes of an iPhone 6s or Samsung Galaxy S6. Well, that isn’t the case, and in truth it can be a bit of a pain. There are many reasons why you might want to record a call, but doing so can be tricky. Here’s how to record phone calls on a smartphone, and some legal issues to be aware of first.

The law One of the reasons you can’t record calls straight out of the box might be the potential legal ramifications that manufacturers would consider problematic. The law currently has a few conditions attached to the recording of calls, and these differ across countries and regions. In the US there are federal laws that say it’s okay to record, but then there are state laws that say you can’t, or at least demand that both parties know that the recording is happening. As PC Advisor doesn’t moonlight as Law Advisor, we’d recommend you research the specific legislature in your area and ensure you adhere fully to its stipulations.

The UK has a uniform law, but even within this there are conditions dependant on why you’re creating the recording. The general rule is that you can record someone without their knowledge, but only if you intend to use the recording for personal use. Once you play the file to a third party, be it a friend, family, or whatever, then you are in breach of the law and could find yourself in trouble. If you’re conducting an interview, as journalists often do, you need to ask for permission to record, otherwise you can’t use anything said on the call. There are a few special exceptions, including if you think a crime is being committed, but again these should be researched before you embark on any sting operations. Businesses can record conversation without informing you, but only for specific commerce related reasons, such as ensuring quality of service. There are a few other circumstances, all of which are outlined on Ofcom’s website (tinyurl.com/9en95). One other form of recording that is permitted is that used by the security, intelligence and police services, as outlined in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA). As this covers national security, the prevention of serious crime, and the protection of the UK’s economic well-being, it’s not really applicable in most cases to you.


108_109 HT Record A Phone Call 250.indd 108

18/02/2016 10:53

How to: Record phone calls on a smartphone

Record phone calls on an Android phone To capture conversations, you’ll need to download a call recorder app from the Google Play store. There are quite a few to choose from, with the likes of Another Call Recorder, Automatic Call Recorder, and similarly-titled offerings all garnering solid reviews. Many are free, but there are often Premium editions that open up more features, such as cloud syncing. For the purposes of this tutorial we’ll use Total Recall, mainly because we’re big Schwarzenegger fans. 1. Go to the Google Play Store and search for Total Recall 2. Install and launch the app 3. Open up your dialler or contacts app and start a call 4. Total Recall automatically records the conversation and stops when you hang up 5. Go back to the app, select the conversation, and listen back That’s it. One thing to bear in mind is that having more than one call recorder installed at any one time can cause performance issues. So, if you want to experiment with different apps just remember to delete any others before you begin.

Record phone calls on an iPhone Voice memos on an iPhone might seem the best place to start, but alas if you try to press record and call your friend, all that will happen is that the recording stops as soon as they answer. Instead, you’ll have to head to the App Store and pick up a third-party offering. Like their Android counterparts, the apps available for iPhone are varied, but most involve some kind of cost to unlock premium features. We’ll use TapeACall Lite for this tutorial, as it lets users try out the service for free, although you’ll only be able to listen to the first 60 seconds of a call unless you pay £6.99 for the full version. 1. Go to the App store on your iPhone and search for TapeACall 2. Install and launch the app 3. Activate the app by entering your phone number and then entering the code number that is texted to you 4. Go through the various settings requests and watch the tutorial 5. Open the app and press the record button 6. Tap ‘Add Call’ and enter the phone number you wish to ring, or select one from your Contacts 7. When the person answers, press ‘Merge Calls’ and the recording will begin 8. After the call is completed go back to the app, press the Play icon under the Record button, and all of your conversations will be there J


108_109 HT Record A Phone Call 250.indd 109

18/02/2016 10:53

How to: Stop spam reaching your Android device

Stop spam reaching your Android device Marie Brewis shows how to prevent unwanted mail reaching your Android phone or tablet It was reported toward the end of last year that Google would update its Gmail for Android app and introduce ‘Block’ and ‘Unsubscribe’ options to the Settings menu for individual emails. This should make it much easier to block an email or unsubscribe from an email in a couple of taps, but we’ve yet to see the update filter through to the app. In the meantime, we’ll show you how to block or unsubscribe from email on an Android phone or tablet. If you’re looking for a way to block spam messages from Gmail for Android, it’s important to first differentiate between spam messages and those emails from companies you have perhaps unwittingly authorised to send you marketing information at some point in the past.

When you mark an email as spam it stops that message being a problem for you, but it can cause problems for others down the line. Marking an email as spam flags it up to Google, which will investigate if it gets multiple complaints about the same domain. If Google decides to act on it that address could become blacklisted, which clearly affects more people beyond you. If you’ve ever bought any goods or services online, then you will know exactly what we mean by email that is annoying but not spam. You more than likely neglected to remove a tick box at checkout, thereby authorising them to send you marketing information by email. It’s irritating and you want it to stop, but marking this email as spam is not the answer.

Unsubscribe from spam email If an email is sent from a legitimate company, there should be an unsubscribe link somewhere within it. This might be right at the bottom of the email, and it might be in tiny print, but we bet you it’s there. Unsubscribing from these emails is a much better solution than marking them as spam because it stops them being sent to you in the first place, rather than blocking them once they have been sent.


110_111 HT Block Android Spam 250.indd 110

18/02/2016 10:39

How to: Stop spam reaching your Android device

To unsubscribe usually all you need to do is click the Unsubscribe link. This will open the browser on your Android phone or tablet, which should confirm that you are now unsubscribed from that newsletter. Some sites may require you to log into your account to adjust your account preferences. If you continue to receive messages from the company having unsubscribed from their newsletters, feel free to go ahead and mark those messages as spam. We’ll explain how to do so below.

Block spam email If you’re frequently getting messages from a company you know you’ve never dealt with or given permission to email you, these are more than likely spam. Reporting it as such within Gmail for Android is easy. To report a Gmail message as spam either open it or tap and hold it in the conversation list pane to select it, then tap the three vertical dots icon at the top of Gmail and choose ‘Report as spam’. It’s that easy. (For the record we are not saying that Lakeland is sending us spam messages, we are merely it as an example.) From now on messages from that sender will still be delivered to your phone or tablet, but they will land in your spam folder and you won’t receive a notification. After 30 days they will automatically be deleted. It will be up to Google to investigate messages marked as spam and to take appropriate action.

Block Gmail messages from specific senders If you have access to a desktop browser in which you can view your Gmail messages (on a PC, laptop or tablet), there is also an option to block messages from a specific sender. Open the email in the desktop version of Gmail and click the downward arrow icon to the top right of the Gmail message. Here you’ll find an option to Block ‘X’, where X is the sender of the email. Tap this to stop them sending you spam messages in the future. J


110_111 HT Block Android Spam 250.indd 111

18/02/2016 10:39

How to: Open ICS or VCS files in Google Calendar

Open ICS or VCS files in Google Calendar Martyn Casserly reveals how to import appointments and schedules into Google Calendar Google Calendar is an excellent way to keep all of your appointments up to date and synced across virtually all your devices. Like many similar services, it allows you to have multiple Calendars at the same time, so if you want to move from your

existing service to Google all you have to do is save your current Calendar as a VCS or ICS file and go through a few short steps. The same is true if you receive an invitation to an event and you want to add it to your schedule.

Adding a Calendar or appointment into your Google Calendar is an easy process. First, launch the app or go to the website, and also make sure you have your VCS/ ICS file to hand. In the lefthand column that has the Create button at the top you’ll see various sections. These include the dates of the current month, My Calendars and Other Calendars. Scroll down to the latter and click on the down arrow to the right of the heading.


112_113 HT Open ICS Files 250.indd 112

18/02/2016 10:41

How to: Open ICS or VCS files in Google Calendar

Now a menu will appear and about halfway down is the option to Import Calendar. Select this.

2

In the pop‑up window that appears, you’ll see that there is the option to Choose file and next to it the message No file chosen. Click Choose file and then navigate to your saved ICS/VCS file, highlight it and click Open.

3

You’ll now be taken back to the pop‑up menu, but with your ICS/VCS file now listed. To finish the process click on Import at the bottom of the screen. That’s it. Google Calendar will now let you know how many events have been imported into your schedule and you’ll be able to access them all from within the app itself. J

4


112_113 HT Open ICS Files 250.indd 113

18/02/2016 10:41

How to: Add multiple accounts to Instagram

Add multiple accounts to Instagram Instagram is rolling out the ability to have multiple logins. Lewis Painter shows how to get started Instagram is a hugely popular social network where people can edit and then share photos and videos with friends. Until recently, people had to create alternative Instagram accounts to promote their websites and businesses, which with no easy way to switch between accounts within the app was a tough job. Thankfully this is no longer the case, as Instagram is rolling out multiple-login support for its iOS and Android apps. It’s available for

users running Instagram 7.15 or later. Once you’ve downloaded the latest version of Instagram, head to the app’s settings menu, scroll to the bottom and tap the Add Account button. If it isn’t there, the functionality isn’t yet available to you, although force quitting and reopening the app granted us access, so it may work for you, too. If you are able to add a new account, follow our walkthrough below to set up multiple logins on Instagram and learn how to use it.

First, open the Instagram app. The functionality is only available on Instagram 7.15 and later, so check you’ve updated the app before continuing.


114_115 HT Add Instagram Accounts 250.indd 114

18/02/2016 10:43

How to: Add multiple accounts to Instagram

In the Instagram app, go to your profile page and tap on the Settings icon in the top righthand corner. If the functionality has been activated on your account, scroll down to the bottom and tap the Add Account button.

2

You’ll be taken to the Instagram login page. Don’t be fooled into thinking you’ve been logged out, as this is where you input the login details of your second account.

3

You’ll then be taken to your second account’s profile page. You can then browse your feed, and like and comment on posts as that user. You’ll notice that the profile icon will have been replaced by the icon of the account you’re currently logged into. This is to help you avoid making mistakes such as posting personal photos on a business account. To switch accounts, simply head to your profile page, tap the account name at the top of the app and select the account you’d like to switch to. It’s also worth noting that you’ll receive notifications from all logged in users, with Instagram displaying the username of the account in brackets at the front of each notification for extra clarity. J

4


114_115 HT Add Instagram Accounts 250.indd 115

18/02/2016 10:43

How to: Check whether an app or file contains a virus

Check whether an app or file contains a virus Jim Martin explains how to quickly check if a file is safe to open or install on your computer Like us, you probably download apps and files from the internet, relying on your PC’s antivirus software and email provider to block any malware, and also to warn you if you’re about to install an email

attachment that’s infected. Antivirus software and email scanners aren’t perfect though, so here’s a way to check for sure whether a particular file contains a virus or is safe to use.

How to check if a file contains a virus

How to check if a website is safe to visit

First, go to Virustotal (virustotal.com), a website that allows you to upload files up to 128MB in size. It will then use over 50 scanners to check whether it contains any malware. When you’ve scanned a file, you’ll see how many of the engines detected a problem, a ‘safe-o-meter’ gauges if a file is safe. As well as program installers and firmware files, you can scan Word documents, PDFs, videos and images. For common files, such as executables, you’ll see a pop-up that tells you the file has been recently analysed. You can either click on the ‘View last analysis button’ or click ‘Reanalyse’ to check it again.

You can also use Virustotal to scan URLs. Click the URL link to change from the default file scanner and paste in the web address you want to check. If typing it in, be sure to include the http:// prefix. Using a similar – but larger – set of scanning tools, Virustotal will quickly show you whether a site is clean or not. If you see a solitary ‘Malware site’ response when every other scanning engine reports the site as clean, it’s likely to be a false positive: you can be pretty certain that the website is safe to use. J


116 HT Virus 250.indd 116

18/02/2016 10:45

Reader software downloads zone

DOWNLOADS ZONE Welcome to the PC Advisor Software Downloads Zone PC Advisor no longer comes with a software cover disc. We have instead created an online software download zone. Most software developers distribute their programs online rather than on CDs or DVDs. And more often than not in the past, developers required PC Advisor readers to use online registration, and increasingly demanded that software be downloaded rather than allowing them to be included on the cover disc. So despite there being a disc taped to the cover, there would often be little more than a link to download the software. For these reasons, we’ve created a new Downloads Zone on our website. And to make things as easy as possible, we have removed the need for individual codes to download or register each program. The only code you’ll need is DOWNLOAD1215, which you can enter at the following page:

pcadvisor.co.uk/magazine/download Once logged in, you’ll be able to browse the software on offer or search for something specific using the search box, or click the Downloads link at the top of each page and browse by category. The Downloads Zone has hundreds of great programs and apps that are just a click or two away.

May 2016 pcadvisor.co.uk/magazine/download 117

117 Software Download 250.indd 117

18/02/2016 14:38

Subscribe to PC Advisor

R O S I V D A C P O T E B I SUBSCR

CALL NOW 0844 844 0232 & quote P250

118_119 Subs Spread 250.indd 118

18/02/2016 14:40

Subscribe to PC Advisor

Pay just £2.99 an issue.

Get a 6-month subscription to PC Advisor for £19.99 or pick up 12 issues for just £35.88, saving 50% on the cover price

Enjoy these benefits from the next issue: ONLY £2.99 an issue (normal price £5.99) Save over 50% on the shop price Software download zone for subscribers PRIORITY delivery direct to your door each month

Every issue of PC Advisor is packed with the latest news, reviews and features, plus comprehensive, impartial buying advice and easy-to-understand tutorials to help you to get the most from your laptop, PC and tech gadgets. Every subscriber will also have access to the Subscriber Download Zone. Here you will find programs in a wide variety of software categories and on platforms such as Windows, Linux, Mac OS X and mobile.

T&C’s: The above offer is a Direct Debit offer only. If you would prefer to pay by cheque or credit card it will cost £24.99 for a six-month subscription and £37.99 for 12 months. Your subscription will start with the next available issue. Offer expires 12 April 2016. For overseas rates please call +44 1795 414 609 and quote reference P250. To subscribe online visit tinyurl.com/subscribepca. For email enquiries write to: [email protected].

118_119 Subs Spread 250.indd 119

18/02/2016 14:40

TOP5CHARTS TEST CENTRE PC Advisor’s charts rank and rate the best products every month. If you’re looking to buy the latest and greatest kit, look no further than our 100-plus reviews

121

122

123

124

125

126

128

129

130

131

132

133

134

135

136

137

138

139

140

141

142

143

145

145


120_145 New Top 5 Charts 250.indd 120

144

Prices listed are those quoted by the distributor or manufacturer and include VAT. They are intended only as a guide. If you’re interested in purchasing one of the products reviewed here then please contact the manufacturer or supplier directly, mentioning both PC Advisor and the issue in which you saw the product. If it won’t supply the product as reviewed, contact us at [email protected]. Manufacturers are under no obligation to feature reviewed products on their websites. Our recommendations are for guidance only. Star ratings are awarded at the time of the original review and given in relation to the market competition at that time.

TEST CENTRE

18/02/2016 11:33

Top 5 charts

Best laptops

1

2

3

4

5

Dell XPS 13 9350

Asus ZenBook UX303U

Alienware 13

Apple MacBook Pro Retina 15in

Dell Inspiron 15 7559

Price

£1,720 inc VAT

£899 inc VAT

£1,100 inc VAT

£1,599 inc VAT

£999 inc VAT

Website

Dell.co.uk

Asus.com/uk

Alienware.co.uk

Apple.com/uk

Dell.co.uk

Processor

2.2GHz Intel Core i5-5200U



2.2GHz Intel Core i7

2.6GHz Intel Core i7-6700HQ

RAM

8GB DDR3

12GB DDR3

8GB (2x 4GB) DDR3

16GB DDR3L

16GB DDR3L RAM

Storage

128GB SSD

256GB SSD

256GB SSD

256GB SSD

128GB SSD, 1TB HDD

Screen size

13.3in matt IPS

13.3in matt

13.3in matt

15.4in matt

13.6in IPS

Screen resolution

1920x1080

1920x1080

1920x1080

2880x1800

3840x2160

Graphics




Intel Iris Pro Graphics


Video memory

N/A

N/A

2GB

N/A

N/A

Wireless

802.11ac

802.11ac

802.11ac

802.11a/b/g/n/ac

802.11ac 1x1 MIMO

Ethernet

Gigabit

Gigabit

Gigabit

Gigabit

Gigabit

Bluetooth











USB

2x USB 3.0

3x USB 3.0

3x USB 3.0

2x USB 3.0

3x USB 3.0

FireWire











Thunderbolt











DisplayPort











HDMI











DVI











VGA











eSATA











Media card slot











Audio

Headphone jack, mic

Headphone jack, mic

Headphone jack, mic

Headphone jack, mic

Headphone jack, mic

Optical drive

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Extras

720p webcam

0.9Mp webcam

2Mp webcam

720p FaceTime

0.9Mp webcam

Operating system

Windows 10 Home

Windows 10 Home

Windows 8.1

OS X Yosemite

Windows 10 Home

Bundled software

None

None

None

None

None

Gaming scores

24.5/17.9fps in Tomb Raider

38/30fps in Tomb Raider


Not tested


Battery

Not stated

50Wh lithium-polymer


74.9Wh lithium-ion

74Wh lithium-ion

Battery life

Not tested

7 hrs 48 mins

10 hrs 20 mins

8 hrs 58 mins

5 hrs 27 mins

PCMark7 score

Not tested

Not tested

5429

Not tested

Not tested

Dimensions

304x200x15mm

322x222x19.4mm

328x235x26.7mm

358.9x247.1x18mm

383x265x26.1mm

Weight

1.3kg

1.4kg

2kg

2kg

2.8kg

Warranty

2-year return-to-base

1 year



1 year

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/ZZF4ZQ2

TINYURL.COM/ZLHLJDO

TINYURL.COM/O8VXAGL

TINYURL.COM/O6U4NCR

TINYURL.COM/ZZV3JQZ

Build rating Features rating Performance rating Value rating Overall rating

HEAD TO TINYURL.COM/P82TEPF FOR OUR BUYING ADVICE TEST CENTRE



18/02/2016 10:26

Top 5 charts

Best budget laptops

1

2

3

4

5

HP 255 G4

Asus X555LA-XX290H

Toshiba Chromebook 2

Dell Vostro 15

Toshiba Satellite CL10-B-100

Price

£269 inc VAT

£300 inc VAT

£269 inc VAT

£442 inc VAT

£200 inc VAT

Website

Hp.com/uk

Asus.com/uk

Toshiba.co.uk

Dell.co.uk

Toshiba.co.uk

Processor

2.2GHz AMD A8-7410


Intel Celeron


100

RAM

4GB DDR3

4GB DDR3

4GB DDR3

4GB DDR3

2GB DDR3

Storage

1TB HDD

1TB HDD

16GB SSD

500GB SSD

32GB eMMC

Screen size

15.6in matt

15.6in glossy

13.3in IPS

15.3in matt

11.6in glossy

Screen resolution

1366x768

1366x768

1920x1080

1366x768

1366x768

Graphics

AMD Radeon 5


Intel HD Graphics


Intel HD Graphics

Video memory

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Wireless

802.11b/g/n

802.11b/g/n

802.11a/b/g/n/ac

802.11b/g/n/ac

802.11b/g/n

Ethernet

Gigabit

Gigabit

Gigabit

Gigabit

Gigabit

Bluetooth











USB

1x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0

1x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0

1x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0

1x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0

1x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0

FireWire











Thunderbolt











DisplayPort











HDMI











DVI











VGA











eSATA











Media card slot











Audio

Headphone minijack

Headphone minijack

Headphone minijack

Headphone minijack

Headphone minijack

Optical drive

DVDRW

DVDRW

None

None

None

Extras

Kensington lock slot, webcam


Webcam



Operating system

Windows 8.1 Pro

Windows 8.1

Google Chrome OS

Windows 8.1

Windows 8.1 with Bing

Bundled software

None

None

None

None

None

Battery

31Wh Lithium-ion

37Wh Lithium-ion

Not specified

40Wh Lithium-polymer

26Wh Lithium-ion

Battery life

4 hrs 6 mins

5 hrs 17 mins

9 hrs

5 hrs 17 mins

6 hrs

PCMark 8 Home score

1863

1985

Not tested

2296

Not tested

Batman (Low/High)

28fps/Not tested

30fps/Not tested

Not tested

29fps/Not tested

Not tested

Dimensions

385x255x24.6mm

381x257x26.3mm

320x214x19.3mm

1378x259x24.5mm

315x216x20.3mm

Weight

2.1kg

2.1kg

1.4kg

2.4kg

1.1kg

Warranty

1 year


1 year

1 year

1 year

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/GWWV8TH

TINYURL.COM/OMYZQJ3

TINYURL.COM/OP9NQAY

TINYURL.COM/NDAX6WT

TINYURL.COM/OQC4PUO


HEAD TO TINYURL.COM/PVGMVTS FOR OUR BUYING ADVICE 122 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews May 2016


TEST CENTRE

18/02/2016 10:26

Top 5 charts

Best ultraportable laptops

1

3

4

5

Apple MacBook Pro Retina 13in HP EliteBook Folio 1040 G1

2

Apple MacBook Air 13in

Dell XPS 13 9350

Microsoft Surface Pro 4

Price

£999 inc VAT

£2,116 inc VAT

£849 inc VAT

£1,720 inc VAT

£749 inc VAT

Website

Apple.com/uk

Hp.com/uk

Apple.com/uk

Dell.co.uk

Microsoft.com/en-gb

Processor

2.7GHz Intel Core i5

2.1GHz Intel Core i5-4600U 1.6GHz Intel Core i5


Intel Core m3

RAM

8GB LPDDR3

8GB DDR3L

4GB LPDDR3

8GB DDR3

4GB

Storage

128GB SSD

256GB SSD

128GB SSD

128GB SSD

128GB SSD

Screen size

13.3in matt

14in matt

13.3in glossy

13.3in matt IPS

12.3in PixelSense

Screen resolution

2560x1600

1920x1080

1440x900

1920x1080

2736x1824

Graphics

Intel Iris Graphics 6100





Video memory

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Wireless

802.11a/b/g/n/ac

802.11a/b/g/ac

802.11a/b/g/n/ac

802.11ac

802.11a/b/g/n

Ethernet

Gigabit

Gigabit

None

Gigabit

None

Bluetooth











USB

2x USB 3.0

2x USB 3.0

2x USB 3.0

2x USB 3.0

1x USB 3.0

FireWire











Thunderbolt











DisplayPort











HDMI











DVI











VGA











eSATA











Media card slot











Audio

Headphone jack, mic

Headphone jack, mic

Headphone jack, mic

Headphone jack, mic

Headphone jack, mic

Optical drive

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Extras

720p FaceTime

0.9Mp webcam

720p FaceTime

720p webcam

5Mp front/8Mp rear camera

Operating system

OS X Yosemite

Windows 7 Professional

OS X Yosemite

Windows 10 Home

Windows 10 Pro

Bundled software

None

None

None

None

None

Gaming scores

Not tested


Not tested

24.5/17.9fps in Tomb Raider

Not tested

Battery

74.9Wh lithium-ion


38Wh lithium-ion

Not stated

Not stated

Battery life

17 hrs 5 mins

5 hrs 41 mins

12 hrs 49 mins

Not tested

11 hrs 2 mins

PCMark 7 score

Not tested

4783

Not tested

Not tested

Not tested

Dimensions

314x219x18mm

338x232x17.3mm

300x192x17mm

304x200x15mm

292x201x8.45mm

Weight

1.6kg

1.6kg

1.4kg

1.3kg

766g

Warranty






FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/NG98LD4

TINYURL.COM/OWV2FRR

TINYURL.COM/PH3YN5K

TINYURL.COM/ZZF4ZQ2

TINYURL.COM/HE9UYXU


HEAD TO TINYURL.COM/PKNC5CL FOR OUR BUYING ADVICE TEST CENTRE



18/02/2016 10:26

Top 5 charts

Best Chromebooks

1

2

3

4

5

Toshiba Chromebook 2

Acer Chromebook 13

Dell Chromebook 11

HP Chromebook 14

Acer C720p Chromebook

Price

£269 inc VAT

£219 inc VAT

£239 inc VAT

£259 inc VAT

£249 inc VAT

Website

Toshiba.co.uk

Acer.co.uk

Dell.co.uk

Hp.com/uk

Uk.asus.com

Processor

Intel Celeron

2.1GHz nVidia Tegra K1

1.4GHz Intel Celeron 2955U



RAM

4GB DDR3

4GB DDR3

4GB DDR3

4GB DDR3

2GB DDR3

Storage

16GB SSD

32GB SSD

16GB SSD

16GB SSD

16GB SSD

Screen size

13.3in IPS

13.3in

11.6in glossy

14in glossy

11.6in glossy

Screen resolution

1920x1080

1920x1080

1366x768

1366x768

1366x768

Graphics

Intel HD graphics

nVidia Kepler

Intel HD Graphics

Intel HD graphics

Intel HD graphics

Video memory

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Wireless

802.11a/b/g/n/ac

802.11a/b/g/n/ac

802.11a/b/g/n

802.11a/b/g/n

802.11a/b/g/n

Ethernet

Gigabit

Gigabit

Gigabit

Gigabit

Gigabit

Bluetooth











USB

1x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0

2x USB 3.0

2x USB 3.0

2x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0

1x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0

FireWire











Thunderbolt











DisplayPort











HDMI











DVI











VGA











eSATA











Media card slot











Audio

Headphone minijack

Headphone minijack

Headphone minijack

Headphone minijack

Headphone minijack

Optical drive

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Webcam

Webcam

Webcam

Webcam

Webcam

Operating system

Google Chrome OS

Google Chrome OS

Google Chrome OS

Google Chrome OS

Google Chrome OS

Bundled software

None

None

None

None

None

Battery life

9 hrs

9 hrs 20 mins

7 hrs 17 mins

7 hrs 50 mins

6 hrs 7 mins

SunSpider score

Not tested

660ms

465ms

470ms

502ms

Peacekeeper score

Not tested

Not tested

2468

2478

2453

Browsermark score

Not tested

Not tested

3732

3643

3698

Dimensions

320x214x19.3mm

18x327x227.5mm

295x201x24mm

20.5x345x239mm

19.1x288x204mm

Weight

1.4kg

1.5kg

1.3kg

1.7kg

1.4kg

Warranty

1 year

1 year

1 year

1 year

1 year

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/OP9NQAY

TINYURL.COM/Q2YT5AD

TINYURL.COM/M3D3QJ4

TINYURL.COM/OCU7FTY

TINYURL.COM/O9KFZMA


Extras

HEAD TO TINYURL.COM/NPO9J8A FOR OUR BUYING ADVICE 124 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews May 2016


TEST CENTRE

18/02/2016 10:27

Top 5 charts

Best gaming laptops

1

2

3

4

5

Asus RoG G752

Alienware 17

Asus G501JW

Schenker XMG U506

Alienware 13

Price

£2,129 inc VAT

£1,650 inc VAT

£1,299 inc VAT

£1,585 inc VAT

£1,100 inc VAT

Website

Asus.com/uk

Alienware.co.uk

Asus.com/uk

Mysn.co.uk

Alienware.co.uk

Processor

2.7GHz Intel Core i7-6820HK

4.1GHz Intel Core i7-6820

2.6GHz Intel Core i7-4720HQ

3.5GHz Intel Core i5-6600K 2.4GHz Intel Core i7-5500U

RAM

32GB DDR4

8GB DDR5, 16GB DDR4

8GB DDR3

8GB (2x 4GB) DDR3

8GB (2x 4GB) DDR3

Storage

1TB HDD

512GB SSD, 1TB HDD

512GB x4 SATA SSD

256GB SSD, 1TB HDD

256GB SSD

Screen size

17.3in IPS

17.3in IPS

15.6in matt

15.6in matt

13.3in matt

Screen resolution

1920x1080

1920x1080

3840x2160

1920x1080

1920x1080

Graphics






Video memory

Not specified

Not specified

Not specified

Not specified

2GB

Wireless

802.11ac

802.11ac

802.11ac

802.11ac

802.11ac

Ethernet

Gigabit

Gigabit

Gigabit

Gigabit

Gigabit

Bluetooth











USB

3x USB 3.0

3x USB 3.0, 1x USB-C

3x USB 3.0

3x USB 3.0, 1x eSATA/USB 3.0

3x USB 3.0

FireWire











Thunderbolt











DisplayPort











HDMI











DVI











VGA











eSATA











Media card slot











Audio

Headphone jack, mic

Headphone jack, mic

Headphone jack, mic

Headphone jack, mic

Headphone jack, mic

Optical drive



None

None

None

None

Extras

1.2Mp webcam

2Mp webcam

0.9Mp webcam

2Mp webcam

2Mp webcam

Operating system

Windows 10

Windows 10 Home

Windows 8.1

Windows 8.1 Pro

Windows 8.1

Bundled software

None

None

None

None

None

Gaming scores

Not tested

Not tested




Battery

66Wh lithium-ion


96Wh lithium-ion



Battery life

4 hrs 37 mins

3 hrs 59 mins

4 hrs 30 mins

2 hrs 23 mins

10 hrs 20 mins

PCMark 7 score

4184 (PCMark 8)

3400 (PCMark 8)

3018 (PCMark 8)

4000 (PCMark 8)

5429

Dimensions

428x334x43mm

430x292x34.4mm

381x255x20.6mm

387x266x37.5mm

328x235x26.7mm

Weight

4.4kg

3.8kg

2kg

3.4kg

2kg

Warranty

1 year

1 year

1 year

1 year


FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/J8AFNHP

TINYURL.COM/JYK953S

TINYURL.COM/GR8KVAL

TINYURL.COM/NT6UUKF

TINYURL.COM/O8VXAGL


HEAD TO TINYURL.COM/QCDUCZ7 FOR OUR BUYING ADVICE TEST CENTRE



18/02/2016 10:27

Top 5 charts

Best gaming PCs

1

2

3

4

5

Wired2Fire Diablo Skylake

Chillblast Fusion Krypton

Vibox Spawn X

Chillblast Nano Fury

Mesh Elite Skylake PCA

Price

£899 inc VAT

£869 inc VAT

£979 inc VAT

£1,379 inc VAT

£999 inc VAT

Website

Wired2fire.co.uk

Chillblast.com

Vibox.co.uk

Chillblast.com

Meshcomputers.co.uk

Processor

3.5GHz Intel Core i5-6600K (OC 4.4GHz)

3.5GHz Intel i5-6600K (OC 4.2GHz)


3.5GHz Intel Core-i5 6600K (OC 4.4GHz)


CPU cooler

Prolimatech Basic 68

Akasa Nero

Coolermaster Seidon 120v

Corsair Hydro H75

Raijintek Triton 240mm AIO Water Cooling Solution

Memory

16GB DDR4

16GB DDR4

8GB Patriot Viper Xtreme

16GB DDR4

16GB DDR4

Storage

1TB HDD, 250GB SSD

2TB HDD, 128GB SSD

2TB HDD, 240GB SSD

1TB SSHD, 250GB SSD

1TB SSHD, 250GB SSD

Power supply

500W FSP

600W Aerocool Integrator

650W Superflower HX65

Corsair CS 650W 80 PLUS

750W FSP Quiet Power Supply

Motherboard

Asus Z170-P

Asus Z170M-Plus

MSI Z170A Gaming Pro

Asus Z170I PRO

Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 3

Operating system

Windows 10 Home

Windows 10 Home

Windows 10 Home

Windows 10

Windows 10 Home

Screen

Asus VS247HR

28in AOC U2868Pqu

None supplied

None supplied

None supplied

Graphics

MSI nVidia GeForce GTX 970



AMD Radeon Fury Nano 4GB

Palit nVidia GeForce GTX 970

Sound

Onboard

Onboard

Onboard

Onboard

Onboard

Connectivity

Gigabit ethernet

Gigabit ethernet

Gigabit ethernet

Gigabit ethernet

Gigabit ethernet

Ports

1x USB 3.1 Type-C, 4x USB 3.0, 4x USB 2.0

1x USB 3.1 Type-C, 3x USB 3.0, 4x USB 2.0, 2x DVI, HDMI, 2x DP

2x USB 3.1 Gen2, 6x USB 3.1 Gen1, 6x USB 2.0

6x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0, 2x USB 3.1, HDMI 1.4, 3x DP, PS2, Optical SPDIF

3x USB 3.0 ,2x USB 2.0, USB 3.1 Type-A, USB 3.1 Type-C, HDMI, DVI-D, D-Sub

Optical drive

DVDRW

None

DVDRW

DVDRW

DVDRW

Case

Zalman Z11 Neo

Chillblast Kube

Phanteks Enthoo Pro Mid

Raijintek Metis

Aero Cool DS 200

Keyboard & mouse

Cooler Master Devastator Keyboard and Mouse

Thermaltake E-Sports Commander Gaming Set

Cooler Master Devastator Keyboard and Mouse

None supplied

Roccat Isku Keyboard, Roccat Lua Mouse

Other

None

None

None

None

None

PCMark 8 2.0 Home score

5434

5332

5327

5369

5316

Alien vs Predator score (720p/1080p)

172.6/90.1fps

173.4/90.7fps

169.7/89.8fps

167/91fps

169.6/89.6fps

Final Fantasy XIV (Maximum)

133.2fps

134.6fps

132.8fps

Not tested

130.4fps

Sniper Elite V2 (Low/Medium/Ultra)

461.4/208.5/49fps

459.6/201.8/49.2fps

447.3/205.9/49fps

Not tested

444.7/203.2/47.6fps

Power Consumption

5/295W

55/303W

Not tested

Not tested

63/251W

Warranty

2 years parts, 3 years labour

5 years: first 2 years C&R + labour, remaining 3 labour

Vibox Evolution Lifetime Warranty

5 years labour, 2 years parts labour, C&R

Lifetime labour, 2 years parts, 1-year C&R

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/NBC7YNC

TINYURL.COM/OK4Z5QO

TINYURL.COM/KKKRXAD

TINYURL.COM/GOJQA8E

TINYURL.COM/PULQUJ2


HEAD TO TINYURL.COM/OW68EKE FOR OUR BUYING ADVICE 126 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews May 2016


TEST CENTRE

18/02/2016 10:27

FOR EVERYTHING

ANDROID

DIGITAL EDITION ON ANDROID & iOS

tinyurl.com/nk4osoh

Every issue is packed with the latest reviews, features, tutorials & more.

Top 5 charts

1

2

3

4

5

Apple iMac with 5K display

Acer Aspire AZ3-615

Chillblast Volante AIO

Asus Eee Top

HP Envy Beats 23-n001na

Price

£1,999 inc VAT

£799 inc VAT

£1,299 inc VAT

£799 inc VAT

£900 inc VAT

Website

Apple.com/uk

Acer.co.uk

Chillblast.com

Asus.com/uk

Hp.com/uk

Processor

3.9GHz Intel Core i5-4690

2.7GHz Intel Core i5-4460T

4GHz Intel Core i7-4790S


3.2GHz Intel Core i7-4785T

RAM

8GB DDR3

8GB DDR3

16GB DDR3

6GB DDR3

8GB DDR3

Storage

1TB Fusion Drive

1TB HDD

1TB SSD

1TB HDD

1TB HDD

Screen

27in

23in touchscreen

24in

23in touchscreen

23in touchscreen

Screen resolution

5120x2880

1920x1080

1920x1080

1920x1080

1920x1080

Graphics card

AMD Radeon M9 M290X

nVidia GeForce GT 840M

nVidia GeForce GT 750M



Video memory

2GB

2GB

2GB

N/A

N/A

Wireless

802.11b/g/n

802.11b/g/n

802.11b/g/n

802.11b/g/n

802.11b/g/n

Ethernet

Gigabit

Gigabit

Gigabit

Gigabit

Gigabit

Bluetooth











USB

4x USB 3.0

2x USB 3.0, 3x USB 2.0

4x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0

3x USB 3.0, 3x USB 2.0

2x USB 3.0, 4x USB 2.0

FireWire











Thunderbolt











HDMI











Media card slot











Optical drive

None

DVD Writer

Blu-Ray Combo

DVD Writer

DVD Writer Wireless keyboard and mouse, Beats Audio stereo speaker system (8x 12W)

All-in-one PCs


Other

Final Cut Pro X, Logic Pro X, Aperture

1Mp webcam, wireless keyboard and mouse

Logitech MK520 wireless keyboard and mouse

2Mp webcam, Freeview TV, wireless keyboard and mouse

Operating system

OS X Yosemite

Windows 8.1 64-bit

Windows 8.1 64-bit

Windows 8.1 64-bit

Windows 8.1 64-bit

Power consumption (idle/max)

46/215W

46/91W

35/177W

33/69W

43/81W

Sniper V2 Elite (Low/High/Ultra)

Not tested

47.7/18.7/5.1fps

91.5/41.2/10.5fps

31.4/7.8/5fps

27.7/7.4/5fps

PCMark 8 Home score

Not tested

2906

3776

2828

2702

Dimensions

650x203x516mm

540x489x579mm

585x200x450mm

571x359x50-214mm

563x143x413mm

Weight

9.54kg

8.8kg

14.6kg

9kg

8.4kg

Warranty


Not specified

5-year labour (2-year collect-and-return)


1-year limited parts, labour, and pickup-and-return service

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/NWJUJSF

TINYURL.COM/QEY8FOE

TINYURL.COM/LO8A5MC

TINYURL.COM/PRPHC7L

TINYURL.COM/O6M4BCN

HEAD TO TINYURL.COM/PGXGFWE FOR OUR BUYING ADVICE 128 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews May 2016


TEST CENTRE

18/02/2016 10:28

Top 5 charts

Best smartphones

1

2

3

4

5

Samsung Galaxy S6

Google Nexus 6P

Apple iPhone 6s Plus

Samsung Galaxy Note5

Apple iPhone 6s

Price

£349 inc VAT

£449 inc VAT

£619 inc VAT

£600 inc VAT

£539 inc VAT

Website

Samsung.com/uk

Google.co.uk

Apple.com/uk

Samsung.com/uk

Apple.com/uk

OS (out of box)

Android 5.0 Lollipop

Android 6.0 Marshmallow

iOS 9

Android 5.1.1 Lollipop

iOS 9

Processor

2.1GHz Exynos 7420

Qualcomm Snapdragon 810

A9

2.1GHz Exynos 7420

A9

RAM

3GB

3GB

2GB

4GB

2GB

Storage

32/64GB

32/64/128GB

16/64/128GB

32/64GB

16/64/128GB

MicroSD support











Graphics

Mali-T760 GPU

Adreno 430

M9

Mali-T760MP8

M9

Screen size

5.1in

5.7in

5.5in

5.7in

4.7in

Screen resolution

1440x2560

2560x1440

1920x1080

720x1280

1334x750

Pixel density

577ppi

518ppi

401ppi

518ppi

326ppi

Screen technology

Super AMOLED

Quad HD capacitive

IPS

Super AMOLED

IPS

Front camera

5Mp

8Mp

5Mp

5Mp

5Mp

Rear camera

16Mp, LED flash

12.3Mp, LED flash

12Mp, LED flash

16Mp, LED flash

12Mp, LED flash

Video recording

4K

4K

4K

4K

4K

Cellular connectivity

4G

4G

4G

4G

4G

SIM type

Nano-SIM

Nano-SIM

Nano-SIM

Nano-SIM

Nano-SIM

Dual-SIM as standard











Wi-Fi

802.11a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band





Bluetooth

Bluetooth 4.1

Bluetooth 4.2

Bluetooth 4.2

Bluetooth 4.2

Bluetooth 4.2

GPS

GPS, Glonass

A-GPS, Glonass

A-GPS, Glonass

A-GPS, Glonass

A-GPS, Glonass

NFC











USB OTG











Extra features

Heart-rate sensor, fingerprint scanner

Fingerprint scanner

Fingerprint scanner


Fingerprint scanner

Geekbench 3.0 (single)

1347

Not tested

2527

1497

2511

Geekbench 3.0 (multi)

4438

3939

4407

Not tested

4404

SunSpider

1048ms

636ms

210ms

718ms

224.4ms

GFXBench: T-Rex

30fps

34fps

59fps

37fps

60fps

GFXBench: Manhattan

14fps

14fps

38fps

15fps

52fps

Battery

2550mAh, non-removable


Lithium-ion


Lithium-ion

Dimensions

143.4x70.5x6.8mm

159.3x77.8x7.3mm

158.2x77.9x7.3mm

153.2x76.1x7.6mm

138.3x67.1x7.1mm

Weight

138g

178g

192g

171g

143g

Warranty

1 year

1 year

1 year

1 year

1 year

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/PC2KOYQ

TINYURL.COM/NABSV4E

TINYURL.COM/OYRA5MX

TINYURL.COM/OCQAJPL

TINYURL.COM/ZU5TPCE


HEAD TO TINYURL.COM/PNWWW6X FOR OUR BUYING ADVICE TEST CENTRE



18/02/2016 10:28

Top 5 charts

Best budget smartphones

1

2

3

4

5

Vodafone Smart Ultra 6

Motorola Moto E 4G 2015

Vodafone Smart Prime 6

Cubot P12

Wileyfox Swift

Price

£125 inc VAT

£109 inc VAT

£79 inc VAT

£74 inc VAT

£129 inc VAT

Website

Vodafone.co.uk

Motorola.co.uk

Vodafone.co.uk

Cubot.net

Wileyfox.com

OS (out of box)





Cyanogen OS

Processor

2.5GHz Snapdragon 615



1.3GHz MediaTek MT6580


RAM

2GB

1GB

1GB

1GB

2GB

Storage

16GB

8GB

8GB

16GB

16GB

MicroSD support

Up to 128GB

Up to 32GB

Up to 64GB

Up to 32GB

Up to 32GB

Graphics

Adreno 405

Adreno 306

Adreno 306

Mali 400mp

Adreno 306

Screen size

5.5in

4.5in

5in

5in

5in

Screen resolution

1920x1080

540x960

720x1280

1280x720

1280x720

Pixel density

401ppi

245ppi

294ppi

294ppi

294ppi

Screen technology

IPS

IPS

IPS

IPS

IPS

Front camera

5Mp

0.3Mp

2Mp

5Mp

5Mp

Rear camera

13Mp

5Mp

8Mp

8Mp, LED flash

13Mp, LED flash

Video recording

1080p

720p

1080p

1080p

1080p


4G*

4G

4G*

3G

4G

SIM type

Nano-SIM

Micro-SIM

Micro-SIM

Micro-SIM

Micro-SIM












Wi-Fi

802.11b/g/n

802.11b/g/n

802.11b/g/n

802.11b/g/n

802.11b/g/n

Bluetooth

Bluetooth 4.0

Bluetooth 4.0

Bluetooth 4.0



Bluetooth 4.0

GPS

GPS, A-GPS

GPS, A-GPS, Glonass

A-GPS

GPS, A-GPS

A-GPS

NFC











USB OTG











Extra features

FM radio

Double-twist launches camera, lockscreen alerts

FM radio

Gesture controls

3D G-Sensor


649

464

464

Not tested

Not tested


2469

1463

1401

1401

1456

SunSpider

1545ms

1301ms

1301ms

1726ms

1760ms

GFXBench: T-Rex

14fps

13fps

9.4fps

13fps

10fps

GFXBench: Manhattan

5.7fps

6fps

3.8fps

6fps

4fps

Battery



Not specified

2200mmAh, removable

2500mAh, removable

Dimensions

154x77x9mm

66.8x5.2-12.3x129.9mm

141.65x71.89x9mm

141x71x9.4mm

141x71x9.4mm

Weight

159g

145g

155g

71.5x8.1x143.9mm

135g

Warranty

1 year

1 year

1 year

1 year

1 year

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/Q7Q9NXR

TINYURL.COM/Q7Q9NXR

TINYURL.COM/Q5DSNHE

TINYURL.COM/JVEOZSF

TINYURL.COM/PO9KG38


* Locked to Vodafone. All other models here are unlocked

HEAD TO TINYURL.COM/PAUHFUN FOR OUR BUYING ADVICE 130 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews May 2016


TEST CENTRE

18/02/2016 10:28

Top 5 charts

Best phablets

1

2

3

4

5

Google Nexus 6P

Samsung Galaxy Note5

Apple iPhone 6s Plus

Samsung Galaxy Note 4

LG G4

Price

£449 inc VAT

£499 inc VAT

£619 inc VAT

£599 inc VAT

£500 inc VAT

Website

Google.co.uk

Samsung.com/uk

Apple.com/uk

Samsung.com/uk

Lg.com/uk

OS (out of box)

Android 6.0 Marshmallow


iOS 9

Android 4.4 KitKat


Processor

Qualcomm Snapdragon 810

2.1GHz Exynos 7420

A9



RAM

3GB

4GB

2GB

3GB

3GB

Storage

32/64/128GB

32/64GB

16/64/128GB

32GB

32GB

MicroSD support







Up to 128GB

Up to 128GB

Graphics

Adreno 430

Mali-T760MP8

M9

Adreno 420

Adreno 418

Screen size

5.7in

5.7in

5.5in

5.7in

5.5in

Screen resolution

2560x1440

720x1280

1920x1080

1440x2560

1440x2560

Pixel density

518ppi

518ppi

401ppi

515ppi

538ppi

Screen technology

Quad HD capacitive

Super AMOLED

IPS

Super AMOLED

IPS

Front camera

8Mp

5Mp

5Mp

3.7Mp

8Mp

Rear camera

12.3Mp, LED flash

16Mp, LED flash

12Mp, LED flash

16Mp, LED flash

16Mp, LED flash

Video recording

4K

4K

4K

4K

4K


4G

4G

4G

4G

4G

SIM type

Nano-SIM

Nano-SIM

Nano-SIM

Micro-SIM

Micro-SIM












Wi-Fi






Bluetooth

Bluetooth 4.2

Bluetooth 4.2

Bluetooth 4.2

Bluetooth 4.1

Bluetooth 4.0

GPS

A-GPS, Glonass

A-GPS, Glonass

A-GPS, Glonass

GPS, Glonass

A-GPS, Glonass

NFC











USB OTG











Extra features

Fingerprint scanner


Fingerprint scanner

Fingerprint, UV, heart-rate sensors, S Pen stylus

24bit/192kHz audio, rear key, IR blaster


Not tested

1497

2527

Not tested

Not tested


3939

Not tested

4407

3272

3513

SunSpider

636ms

718ms

210ms

1367ms

715ms

GFXBench: T-Rex

34fps

37fps

59fps

27fps

25fps

GFXBench: Manhattan

14fps

15fps

38fps

11fps

9fps

Battery



Lithium-ion

3220mAh, removable

3000mAh, removable, Qi

Dimensions

159.3x77.8x7.3mm

153.2x76.1x7.6mm

158.2x77.9x7.3mm

78.6x153.5x8.5mm

76x149x6.3-9.8mm

Weight

178g

171g

192g

176g

155g

Warranty

1 year

1 year

1 year

2 years

1 year

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/NABSV4E

TINYURL.COM/OCQAJPL

TINYURL.COM/OYRA5MX

TINYURL.COM/PNHJCZ4

TINYURL.COM/QDGU48T


HEAD TO TINYURL.COM/OE56HJY FOR OUR BUYING ADVICE TEST CENTRE



18/02/2016 10:28

Top 5 charts

Best 7- & 8in tablets

1

2

3

4

Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8

Apple iPad mini 4

Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4

Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact Apple iPad mini 2

5

Price

£319 inc VAT

£319 inc VAT

£319 inc VAT

£299 inc VAT

£219 inc VAT

Website

Samsung.com/uk

Apple.com/uk

Samsung.com/uk

Sony.co.uk

Apple.com/uk

OS (out of box)


iOS 9

Android 4.4 KitKat

Android 4.4 KitKat

iOS 9

Processor

1.9GHz Exynos 5433

Apple A8, Apple M8

Exynos 5420, octa-core


Apple A7, Apple M7

RAM

3GB

2GB

3GB

3GB

1GB

Storage

32GB/64GB

16GB/64/128GB

16GB/32GB

16GB/32GB

16GB/32GB

MicroSD support

Up to 128GB



Up to 128GB

Up to 128GB



Graphics

Not specified

Apple A8

ARM Mali-T628 MP6

Adreno 330

Apple A7

Screen size

8in

7.9in

8.4in

8in

7.9in

Screen resolution

2048x1536

2048x1536

2560x1440

1920x1200

2048x1536

Pixel density

320ppi

326ppi

359ppi

283ppi

326ppi

Screen technology

Super AMOLED

IPS

Super AMOLED

IPS

IPS

Front camera

2.1Mp

1.2Mp

2.1Mp

2.2Mp

1.2Mp

Rear camera

8Mp

8Mp

8Mp, LED flash

8.1Mp

5Mp

Video recording

QHD

1080p

1080p

1080p

7200p


4G version available





Wi-Fi

802.11a/b/g/n/ac




802.11a/b/g/n, dual-band

Bluetooth

Bluetooth 4.1

Bluetooth 4.2

Bluetooth 4.0

Bluetooth 4.0

Bluetooth 4.0

GPS

A-GPS, Glonass

A-GPS, Glonass

GPS, Glonass

A-GPS, Glonass

A-GPS, Glonass

NFC











USB OTG











Fingerprint scanner











Waterproof











Extra features

None

None

Stereo speakers

PS4 Remote Play, stereo speakers

None


Not tested

1719

Not tested

Not tested

Not tested


4305

3101

2765

2708

Not tested

SunSpider

Not tested

Not tested

1089ms

1017ms

397ms

GFXBench: T-Rex

26fps

52fps

14fps

28fps

Not tested

GFXBench: Manhattan

11fps

25fps

3fps

11fps

Not tested

Battery

4000mAh, non-removable, Qi 5124mAh, non-removable




Dimensions

198.6x134.8x5.6mm

203.2x134.8x6.1mm

126x213x6.6mm

213x124x6.4mm

200x134.7x7.5mm

Weight

265g

304g

294g

270g

331g

Warranty

1 year

1 year

1 year

1 year

1 year

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/P37QFDW

TINYURL.COM/PBMONMA

TINYURL.COM/OUEM64Z

TINYURL.COM/NJ6VHEO

TINYURL.COM/PCJPB5L


HEAD TO TINYURL.COM/QXC8GDB FOR OUR BUYING ADVICE 132 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews May 2016


TEST CENTRE

18/02/2016 10:28

Top 5 charts

Best 9- & 10in tablets

1

2

3

4

5

Apple iPad Air 2

Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet

Microsoft Surface Pro 4

Apple iPad Pro

Apple iPad Air

Price

£399 inc VAT

£499 inc VAT

£749 inc VAT

£679 inc VAT

£319 inc VAT

Website

Apple.com/uk

Sony.co.uk

Microsoft.com/en-gb

Apple.com/uk

Apple.com/uk

OS (out of box)

iOS 9


Windows 10 Pro

iOS 9

iOS 9

Processor

Apple A8X, Apple M8

Snapdragon 810

Intel Core m3

Apple A9X, Apple M9

Apple A7, Apple M7

RAM

2GB

3GB

4GB

4GB

1GB

Storage

16/64/128GB

32GB

128GB SSD

16GB/32GB

16GB/32GB

MicroSD support



Up to 128GB







Graphics

Apple A8X

Adreno 430


Apple M9

Apple A7

Screen size

9.7in

10.1in

12.3in

12.9in

9.7in

Screen resolution

2048x1536

2560x1600

2736x1824

2048x2732

2048x1536

Pixel density

264ppi

299ppi

None

264ppi

264ppi

Screen technology

IPS

IPS

PixelSense

IPS

IPS

Front camera

1.2Mp

5.1Mp

5Mp

1.2Mp

1.2Mp

Rear camera

8Mp

8.1Mp

8Mp

8Mp

5Mp

Video recording

1080p

1080p

Not specified

1080p

1080p








Wi-Fi



802.11a/b/g/n


802.11a/b/g/n, dual-band

Bluetooth

Bluetooth 4.0

Bluetooth 4.1

Bluetooth 4.1

Bluetooth 4.0

Bluetooth 4.0

GPS

A-GPS, Glonass

A-GPS, Glonass



A-GPS, Glonass

A-GPS, Glonass

NFC

 (for Apple Pay)





 (for Apple Pay)



USB OTG











Fingerprint scanner











Waterproof











Extra features

None

None

None

None

None


1816

Not tested

Not tested

Not tested

1487


4523

4573

6721

5498

2703

SunSpider

Not tested

580ms

Not tested

Not tested

400ms

GFXBench: T-Rex

48fps

37fps

47fps

59fps

23fps

GFXBench: Manhattan

Not tested

16fps

22fps

34fps

Not tested

Battery



Not specified

10,307mAh, non-removable


Dimensions

240x169.5x6.1mm

254x167x6.1mm

292x201x8.45mm

305.7x220.6x6.9mm

240x169x7.5mm

Weight

437g

393g

766g

713g

469g

Warranty

1 year

1 year


1 year

1 year

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/PLQXWSZ

TINYURL.COM/JG34GZP

TINYURL.COM/HE9UYXU

TINYURL.COM/HFFVJR9

TINYURL.COM/NVOOF6H


HEAD TO TINYURL.COM/PC9D92G FOR OUR BUYING ADVICE TEST CENTRE



18/02/2016 10:28

Top 5 charts

Best smartwatches

1

2

3

4

5

LG G Watch R

Huawei Watch

Motorola Moto 360 2

Samsung Gear S2

Motorola Moto 360

Price

£195 inc VAT

£289 inc VAT

£229 inc VAT

£199 inc VAT

£199 inc VAT

Website

Lg.com/uk

Consumer.huawei.com/en

Motorola.co.uk

Samsung.com/uk

Motorola.co.uk

Operating system

Android Wear

Android Wear

Android Wear

Tizen-based OS

Android Wear

Compatibility

Android

Android

Android, iOS

Android, iOS

Android

Display

1.3in 320x320 P-OLED

1.4in 400x400 AMOLED

1.37in 360x325 LCD


1.56in 290x320 LCD

Processor

1.2GHz Snapdrgon 400

Snapdragon 400

Snapdragon 400

1GHz Exynos 3250

TI OMAP 3

RAM

512MB

512MB

512MB

512MB

512MB

Storage

4GB

4GB

4GB

4GB

4GB

Waterproof

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Battery

410mAh

300mAh

300mAh

250mAh

320mAh

Dimensions

46.4x53.6x9.7mm

42x11.3mm

42x11.4mm

42.3x49.8x11.4mm

46x11.5mm

Weight

62g

40g

53.6g

47g

49g (leather band model)

Warranty

1 year

1 year

1 year

1 year

1 year

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/QATY8FT

TINYURL.COM/PXV9PVX

TINYURL.COM/GUJR9XX

TINYURL.COM/P4UKB74

TINYURL.COM/O9C69K6

Overall rating

Best smartwatches

6

7

8

9

10

Sony Smartwatch 3

LG Watch Urbane

Microsoft Band 2

Asus ZenWatch

Apple Watch

Price

£189 inc VAT

£259 inc VAT

£199 inc VAT

£199 inc VAT

£299 inc VAT

Website

Sony.co.uk

Lg.com/uk

Microsoft.com/en-gb

Uk.asus.com

Apple.com/uk

Operating system

Android Wear

Android Wear

Windows 10 based

Android Wear

watchOS

Compatibility

Android

Android

iOS, Android, Windows

Android

iOS

Display

1.6in 320x320 LCD

1.3in 320x320 P-OLED

32x12.8mm 320x128 AMOLED


1.32in 340x312 Ion-X Glass

Processor

1.2GHz ARM V7


Not specified


Apple S1

RAM

512MB

512MB

Not specified

512MB

512MB

Storage

4GB

4GB

Not specified

4GB

8GB

Waterproof

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Battery

420mAh

410mAh

Not specified

1.4Wh

Not specified

Dimensions

36x51x10mm

46x52x10.9mm

Small, medium, large sizes

51x39.9x7.9-9.4mm

38.6x33.3x10.5mm

Weight

45g

67g

59g (medium)

75g

72g

Warranty

1 year

1 year

1 year

1 year

1 year

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/OQVZ3PN

TINYURL.COM/Q3VK7ES

TINYURL.COM/HHP4LMR

TINYURL.COM/NN7GA7W

TINYURL.COM/OUTH9XK

Overall rating

HEAD TO TINYURL.COM/QCXEDLX FOR OUR BUYING ADVICE 134 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews May 2016


TEST CENTRE

18/02/2016 10:28

Top 5 charts

Best activity trackers

1

2

3

4

5

Fitbit Charge HR

Fitbit Surge

Fitbit One

MyZone MZ-3

Microsoft Band 2

Price

£119 inc VAT

£199 inc VAT

£79 inc VAT

£129 inc VAT

£199 inc VAT

Website

Fitbit.com/uk

Fitbit.com/uk

Fitbit.com/uk

Myzone.org

Microsoft.com/en-gb

Compatibility



iOS, Android



Display

OLED

Touchscreen

OLED

No

AMOLED

Pedometer

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Heart-rate monitor

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Sleep tracking

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Alarm

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Third-party app synching Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Call notifications

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

Waterproof

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Battery life

5+ days

5 days

10-14 days

7 months

2 days

Dimensions, weight

21.1mm, 26g

34mm, 51g

35.5x28x9.65mm, 8g

Not stated

Small, medium (59g), large

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/PCKV4SU

TINYURL.COM/O83DR47

TINYURL.COM/PT2TC6F

TINYURL.COM/HK5JOXX

TINYURL.COM/HHP4LMR

Overall rating

Best activity trackers

6

7

8

9

10

Fitbit Charge

Moov Now

Basis Peak

Xiaomi Mi Band 1S Pulse

Xiaomi Mi Band

Price

£99 inc VAT

£59 inc VAT

£169 inc VAT

£22 inc VAT

£29 inc VAT

Website

Fitbit.com/uk

Welcome.moov.cc

En-gb.mybasis.com

Mi.com/en

Mi.com/en

Compatibility


iOS, Android

iOS, Android

iOS, Android

iOS, Android

Display

OLED

No

E-Ink

No

No

Pedometer

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Heart-rate monitor

No

No

Yes

Yes

No

Sleep tracking

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Alarm

Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes

Third-party app synching Yes

No

No

No

No

Call notifications

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Waterproof

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Battery life

7-10 days

6 months

4 days

30 days

30 days

Dimensions, weight

21.1mm, 24g

28mm diameter, 6g

33x43x10mm, 51g

37x13.6x9.9mm, 14.5g

157-205mm, 13g

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/PFMQ9KH

TINYURL.COM/GSYKBCT

TINYURL.COM/LHMQ2AC

TINYURL.COM/QZ3YVCR

TINYURL.COM/QZ3YVCR

Overall rating

HEAD TO TINYURL.COM/PGMS2PW FOR OUR BUYING ADVICE TEST CENTRE



18/02/2016 10:29

Top 5 charts

Best budget printers

1

2

3

4

5

HP OfficeJet 3830

Samsung Xpress M2022W

Brother HL-1110

Canon Pixma MX535

Canon i-Sensys LBP6230dw

Price

£60 inc VAT

£79 inc VAT

£59 inc VAT

£70 inc VAT

£91 inc VAT

Website

Hp.com/uk

Samsung.com/uk

Brother.co.uk

Canon.co.uk

Canon.co.uk

Technology

Colour inkjet

Mono laser

Mono laser

Colour inkjet

Mono laser

Max print resolution

1200x1200dpi

1200x1200dpi

600x600dpi

4800x1200dpi

1200x1200dpi

Actual print speed

B=11ppm C=4ppm

B=20ppm

B=16.4ppm

B=9.7ppm C=3.8ppm

B=22.2ppm

Scan/fax facilities

None

1200x1200 scans

None

1200x2400 scans/fax

None

Supported interfaces

USB 2.0, 802.11b/g/n, AirPrint

USB 2.0, 802.11b/g/n

USB 2.0

USB 2.0, 802.11b/g/n, AirPrint

USB 2.0, 802.11b/g/n

Cost per page

B=6p C=7p

B=2p

B=2.7p

B=2.7p C=4.8p

B=2p

Media card/auto duplex











Input capacity

60 sheets

150 sheets

150 sheets

100 sheets + 30-sheet ADF

250 sheets

Dimensions

222x454x362mm

332x215x178mm

340x238x189mm

458x385x200mm

379x293x243mm

Weight

5.8kg

4kg

4.5kg

8.5kg

7kg

Warranty

1 year

1 year

1 year

1 year

1 year

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/PJ4K9D7

TINYURL.COM/PQ9JUDN

TINYURL.COM/OQE9LGJ

TINYURL.COM/N9LXVN7

TINYURL.COM/KZW8VU3

Overall rating

1

2

3

4

5

Canon Pixma MG7550

Samsung Xpress M2835DW

Canon i-Sensys MF6180dw

Epson WorkForce Pro

Brother HL-L9200CDWT

Price

£130 inc VAT

£143 inc VAT

£320 inc VAT

£200 inc VAT

£548 inc VAT

Website

Canon.co.uk

Samsung.com/uk

Canon.co.uk

Epson.co.uk

Brother.co.uk

Technology

Colour inkjet

Mono laser

Mono laser

Colour inkjet

Colour laser

Max print resolution

9600x2400dpi

4800x600dpi

1200x600dpi

4800x1200dpi

2400x600dpi

Actual print speed

B=14.3ppm

B=22.7ppm

B=24ppm

B=18.9ppm

B=30ppm C=30ppm

Scan/fax facilities

2400x4800dpi scanner

None

600dpi scanner, 33.6Kb/s fax

None

None

Supported interfaces

USB 2.0, ethernet, 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0, ethernet, 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0, ethernet, 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0, ethernet, 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0, ethernet, 802.11b/g/n

Cost per page

B=2.4p C=8.1p

B=1.5p

B=1.5p

B=1.1p

B=1p C=5.9p

Media card/auto duplex











Input capacity

125 sheets

250 sheets

250 + 50 sheet + 50 ADF

250 + 80 sheet

750 sheets + 50 sheet

Dimensions

435x370x148mm

368x335x202mm

390x473x431mm

3461x442x284mm

410x495x445mm

Weight

7.9kg

7.4kg

19.1kg

11.4kg

28.3kg

Warranty

1 year

1 year

1 year

1 year

1 year

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/PZ3SVH7

TINYURL.COM/QECOF7V

TINYURL.COM/LE9WA5N

TINYURL.COM/OC7FUJ3

TINYURL.COM/PT52MH6

Best printers

Overall rating

HEAD TO TINYURL.COM/NMMP4ER FOR OUR PRINTERS BUYING ADVICE 136 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews May 2016


TEST CENTRE

18/02/2016 10:29

Top 5 charts

Best wireless routers

1

2

3

4

5

Apple AirPort Extreme

Netgear Nighthawk R7000

TP-Link Archer VR900

AVM Fritz!Box 3490

Asus DSL-AC68U

Price

£169 inc VAT

£150 inc VAT

£139 inc VAT

£135 inc VAT

£129 inc VAT

Website

Apple.com/uk

Netgear.co.uk

Tp-link.com

En.avm.de

UK.asus.com

Standards supported

802.11a/b/g/n/ac

802.11a/b/g/n/ac

802.11a/b/g/n/ac

802.11a/b/g/n/ac

802.11a/b/g/n/ac

Frequency modes

2.4GHz/5GHz (concurrent)





Antennas

6x internal

3x external

3x external

Internal

3x external

Built-in modem











Manufacturer’s rating

1300/450Mb/s

1300/600Mb/s

1300/600Mb/s

1300/450Mb/s

1300/600Mb/s

WPS











Ports

Gigabit WAN, 3x gigabit LAN, USB

Gigabit WAN, 1x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0

Gigabit WAN, 1x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0

ADSL, 4x gigabit LAN, 2x USB 3.0

1x USB 3.0, 4 x RJ45, 1x RJ11

Average power use

8W

9W

N/S

8W

N/S

Max speed (11n/11ac)

171/572Mb/s

171/592Mb/s

146/622Mb/s

114/563Mb/s

114/565.3Mb/s

Dimensions, weight

98x168x98mm, 945g

285x186x45mm, 750g

245x181x90mm, 720g

190x120x60mm/Not specified 220x160x83.3mm, 640g

Warranty

1 year

Not specified

Not specified

Not specified

Not specified

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/MFDLLSC

TINYURL.COM/Q2NRQ8Q

TINYURL.COM/OF8KYPC

TINYURL.COM/OF8KYPC

TINYURL.COM/PGHOUFQ

Overall rating

Best powerline adaptors

1

2

3

4

5

Solwise SmartLink 1200AV2

TrendNet Powerline 500 AV2

TP-Link AV1200

Devolo dLan 1200+

Devolo dLAN 500AV

Price

£43 inc VAT

£41 inc VAT

£88 inc VAT

£119 inc VAT

£129 inc VAT

Website

Solwise.com

Trendnet.com

Uk.tp-link.com

Devolo.com/uk

Devolo.com/uk

No of adaptors in kit

1 (2 required)

2

2

2

2

Max throughput

1200Mb/s

600Mb/s

1200Mb/s

1200Mb/s

500Mb/s

Near test result

410Mb/s

146Mb/s

500Mb/s

357Mb/s

96Mb/s

Far test result

107Mb/s

71Mb/s

200Mb/s

126Mb/s

47Mb/s

Ethernet ports

2x gigabit

1x gigabit

1x gigabit

1x gigabit

3x gigabit

Passthrough socket

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Wireless hotspot

No

No

No

No

Yes

Encryption

128-bit

128-bit

128-bit

128-bit

128-bit

Dimensions

62x122x41mm

55x87x58mm

230x190x100mm

130x66x42mm

152x76x40mm

Weight

Not specified

90g

898g

Not specified

Not specified

Warranty

2 years

3 years

1 year

3 years

3 years

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/NZ4EJW8

TINYURL.COM/QYEPJQ7

TINYURL.COM/NVONCWT

TINYURL.COM/Q4EOO4M

TINYURL.COM/OVNPPQ7

Overall rating

HEAD TO TINYURL.COM/PNUDFBK FOR OUR PERIPHERALS BUYING ADVICE TEST CENTRE



18/02/2016 10:29

Top 5 charts

Best NAS drives

1 Synology DS115j

2 Qnap HS-210

3 WD My Cloud EX2100

4 Synology DS216play

5 Synology DS414j

Price

£83 inc VAT (diskless)





Website

Synology.com

Qnap.com

Wd.com

Synology.com

Synology.com

Drive bays

1

2

2

2

4

Processor

800MHz Marvell Armada 370

1.6GHz Marvell single-core

1.3GHz Marvel Armada 385

1.5GHz STM STiH412

1.2GHz Mindspeed Concerto

Memory

256MB DDR3

512MB DDR3

1GB DDR3

1GB DDR3

512MB DDR3

Remote access











eSATA









1x

USB port

2x USB 2.0

2x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0

2x USB 3.0

2x USB 3.0

1x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0

Raid options

None

0/1/JBOD

00/1/JBOD

00/1/JBOD

0/1/5/6/10/JBOD

Software

DSM 5.1

HD Station

My Cloud

DSM 5.2

DSM 5.0

Dimensions

71x161x224mm

302x220x41mm

216x109x148mm

165x100x226mm

184x168x230mm

Weight

700g

1.5kg

3.5kg

1.8kg

2.2kg

Warranty

1 year

2 years

3 years

2 years

3 years

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/MNEYVNK

TINYURL.COM/OEXRYNY

TINYURL.COM/M643BSG

TINYURL.COM/JTQF67V

TINYURL.COM/M643BSG

Overall rating

Best external hard drives

1

2

3

4

5

Seagate Backup Plus Slim

Transcend StoreJet 25M3

WD My Passport Ultra Metal

Toshiba Canvio Basics

Seagate Seven mm

Price

£74 inc VAT

£70 inc VAT

£90 inc VAT

£76 inc VAT

£99 inc VAT

Website

Seagate.com/gb/en

Uk.transcend-info.com

Wdc.com/en

Toshiba.co.uk

Seagate.com/gb/en

Capacity tested

2TB

2TB

2TB

2TB

500GB

Capacity range

500GB, 1TB, 2TB

500GB, 1TB, 2TB

1TB, 2TB

500GB, 1TB, 2TB

500GB

Disk size

2.5in

2.5in

2.5in

2.5in

2.5in

Spin speed

N/A

5400rpm

N/A

5400rpm

5400rpm

Transfer speed

142MB/s

135MB/s

114MB/s

117MB/s

49MB/s

Encryption

N/A

256-bit AES

256-bit AES

256-bit AES

N/A

Other interfaces

USB 3.0

USB 3.0

USB 3.0

USB 3.0

USB 3.0

Software

Seagate Dashboard

Transcend Elite

WD Drive Utilities

None

Seagate Dashboard

Dimensions

113.5x76x12.1mm

130x82x19mm

110x80x19mm

111x79x21mm

123x82x7mm

Weight

159g

234g

241g

207g

178g

Warranty

2 years

3 years

3 years

2 years

2 years

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/OABWL4B

TINYURL.COM/M72D3EP

TINYURL.COM/L2B7V3B

TINYURL.COM/JWHHACB

TINYURL.COM/O6KZFDM

Overall rating

HEAD TO TINYURL.COM/O99Z6ZO FOR OUR STORAGE BUYING ADVICE 138 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews May 2016


TEST CENTRE

18/02/2016 10:29

Top 5 charts

Best SSDs

1

2

3

4

5

OCZ Arc 100

Samsung 850 Pro

SanDisk Extreme Pro

Crucial MX200

Kingston HyperX Savage

Price

£69 inc VAT

£365 inc VAT

£172 inc VAT

£301 inc VAT

£185 inc VAT

Website

Ocz.com

Samsung.com/uk

Sandisk.co.uk

Uk.crucial.com

Kingston.com/en

Capacity tested

240GB

1TB

480GB

1TB

480GB

Price per GB

28.8p

36.5p

35.8p

30.1p

38.5p

Memory cache

512MB DDR3

1GB LPDDR2

1GB

1GB DDR3

256MB

Controller

Indilinx Barefoot 3 M10

Samsung MCX

Marvell 88SS9187

Marvell 88SS9189

Phison PS3110 S10

Encryption

AES 256-bit

AES 256-bit

AES 256-bit

AES 256-bit

Unknown

Flash

Toshiba 19nm MLC

Samsung 40nm V-AND MLC

SanDisk 19nm MLC

Micron 16nm MLC

Toshiba 19nm A19 MLC

Firmware updated via

OCZ SSD Guru

Samsung SSD Magician

SandDisk SSD Dashboard

Crucial Storage Executive

None

ATTO peak sequential

489-/447MB/s

564-/534MB/s

556-/525MB/s

533-/514MB/s

564-/543MB/s

CDM peak IOPS

79.2-/90.3MB/s

103.2-/93.7MB/s

102.7/91.4MB/s

26.1/90.1MB/s

91.6-/94.8MB/s

CDM 4kB rnd

27-/127MB/s

36-/89MB/s

32-/88MB/s

29-/131MB/s

26-59MB/s

Warranty

3 years

10 years

10 years

3 years

3 years

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/QZQLYY4

TINYURL.COM/OVHDALD

TINYURL.COM/NMSJU25

TINYURL.COM/P3YX2KE

TINYURL.COM/ON54VUC

Overall rating

Smart thermostats

1

2

3

4

5

Honeywell EvoHome

Heat Genius

Nest Learning Thermostat

Hive Active Heating

Tado

Price (from)

£249 inc VAT

£249 inc VAT

£179 inc VAT

£179 inc VAT

£199 inc VAT

Website

Honeywelluk.com

Heatgenius.co.uk

Nest.com

Hivehome.com

Tado.com/gb

Zones controlled

12

6

1

1

1

Hot water control











Underfloor heating











Warranty

18 months

2 years

2 years

1 year

1 year

Verdict

EvoHome is the best smart heating system we’ve tested. It isn’t perfect though, and it’s also very expensive, or can be. But if you value convenience and comfort above saving money, it’s the one to buy.

Heat Genius is very good at a very useful thing. It is easy to use and efficient. How long it takes to pay for itself will depend on your circumstances, and it may be that a full system is too much of a long-term investment for you. If you are looking to install in your a zoned smart heating system, we are happy to recommend Heat Genius.

If you need only a single thermostat and don’t need control over hot water, the Nest is a good choice. The Nest Protect smoke and carbon monoxide alarm also works with the thermostat, but it’s not cheap. There’s also the Nest Cam, but the tie-in with the thermostat is minimal.

The Hive Active Heating system is a great upgrade for anyone that wants or needs the ability to be able to control their heating remotely. It’s by no means the most advanced smart thermostat, but it will do the job at a good price for a lot of people.

Tado is the best smart thermostat if you like the idea of presence detection as it simply follows you and your smartphone via GPS, and turns the heating up or down as you get further away or nearer home. There’s also hot water control, but the thermostat itself isn’t the best looking.

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/Q3CXA4Z

TINYURL.COM/Q2TUKL9

TINYURL.COM/N9MWV4G

TINYURL.COM/PDLCSAS

TINYURL.COM/O4K3A2A

Overall rating

HEAD TO TINYURL.COM/O99Z6ZO FOR OUR STORAGE BUYING ADVICE TEST CENTRE



18/02/2016 10:29

Top 5 charts

Best budget graphics cards

1

2

3

4

5

Sapphire Radeon R7 250X

MSI R7 260X OC

EVGA GeForce GTX 750

Asus GeForce GT 740 OC

MSI GeForce GT 730

Price

£65 inc VAT

£91 inc VAT

£90 inc VAT

£65 inc VAT

£48 inc VAT

Website

Sapphiretech.com

Uk.msi.com

Eu.evga.com

Asus.com/uk

Uk.msi.com

Graphics processor

AMD Radeon R7 250X

AMD Radeon R7 260X

nVidia GeForce GTX 750

nVidia GeForce GT 740

nVidia GeForce GT730

Installed RAM

1GB GDDR5

2GB GDDR5

1GB GDDR5

1GB GDDR5

2GB GDDR3

Memory interface

128-bit

128-bit

128-bit

128-bit

128-bit

Core clock

950MHz

1175MHz

1294MHz

1033MHz

780MHz

1625MHz/6.5GHz

1253/5012MHz

1.25/5GHz

900/1800MHzHz

Overall rating

Memory clock/Effective 1125/4500MHz Stream processors

640

896

512

384

320

Texture units

40

56

32

32

20

Power connectors

1x 6-pin

1x 6-pin

None

1x 6-pin

1x 6-pin

DirectX

12

11.1

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Digital interface

1x DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort

2x DVI, HDMI, Mini-DP

1x DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort

1x DVI, HDMI, VGA

1x DVI, HDMI, VGA

Warranty

2 years

3 years

3 years

3 years

2 years

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/OLJ83SQ

TINYURL.COM/OZ6WUYT

TINYURL.COM/PB3F6EN

TINYURL.COM/PAH5VMJ

TINYURL.COM/P8J4C2R

Best graphics cards

1

2

3

4

5

Asus GeForce GTX 980 Ti

Zotac GeForce GTX 980 Ti

MSI GTX 980 Gaming 4G

Club3D Radeon R9 390

XFX Radeon R9 390X

Price

£639 inc VAT

£532 inc VAT

£404 inc VAT

£288 inc VAT

£309 inc VAT

Website

Asus.com/uk

Zotac.com

Uk.msi.com

Club-3d.com

Xfxfore.com/en-gb

Graphics processor

nVidia GeForce GTX 980 Ti

nVidia GeForce GTX 980 Ti

nVidia GeForce GTX 980

AMD Radeon R9 390

AMD Radeon R9 390X

Installed RAM

12GB

12GB

4GB

8GB

8GB

Memory interface

384-bit

512-bit

256-bit

512-bit

512-bit

Core clock/boost

1216/1317MHz

1105/1140MHz

1216/1317MHz

1010MHz

1050MHz

Memory clock

7200MHz

7010MHz

7010MHz

6000MHz

6000MHz

Stream processors

2816

2816

2048

2560

2816

Texture units

172

172

128

160

176

Power connectors

2x 8-pin

1x 8-pin, 1x 6-pin

2x 8-pin

1x 8-pin, 1x 6-pin

1x 8-pin, x 6-pin

DirectX

12

12

12

12

12

Digital interface

DVI, HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.2

DVI, HDMI, 3x Mini-DisplayPort DVI, HDMI, 3x DisplayPort

2x DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort 1.2

2x DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort 1.2

Warranty

3 years

5 years

3 years

2 years

3 years

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/NDZZQKJ

TINYURL.COM/POYHNUH

TINYURL.COM/Q5OPK9S

TINYURL.COM/PC5PGWM

TINYURL.COM/Q8Q2GVS

Overall rating

HEAD TO TINYURL.COM/M7DF9RF FOR OUR GAMING BUYING ADVICE 140 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews May 2016


TEST CENTRE

18/02/2016 10:29

Top 5 charts

Best 4K flat-panel TVs

1

2

3

4

5

Panasonic TX-50CX802B

Samsung UE48JU7000

Sony KD-55X8505C

Philips 40PUT6400

Finlux 55UX3EC320S

Price

£1,299 inc VAT

£1,200 inc VAT

£1,200 inc VAT

£449 inc VAT

£799 inc VAT

Website

Panasonic.co.uk

Samsung.com/uk

Sony.co.uk

Philips.co.uk

Finlux.co.uk

Screen size

50in

48in

55in

40in

55in

Panel type

LCD (LED)

LCD (LED)

LCD (LED)

LCD (LED)

LCD (LED)

Native resolution

3840x2160

3840x2160

3840x2160

3840x2160

3840x2160

3D enabled











Apps

BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, All 4, Demand 5, Netflix, YouTube, Amazon

BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, All 4, Netflix, Amazon, YouTube and apps store

YouView with BBC iPlayer, ITV BBC iPlayer, Netflix, YouTube, BBC iPlayer, Netflix, Player, All 4 and Demand 5; Spotify Connect, Daily Motion, YouTube, Twitter, Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Philips App Store, Google Play Facebook, Viewster, Flickr

Networking

Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct




Ethernet, Wi-Fi

Inputs

3x HDMI, 3x USB

4x HDMI, 3x USB

4x HDMI, 3x USB

4x HDMI, 3x USB

4x HDMI, 3x USB

Dimensions

112.1x4.6x65.2cm

108.7x6.7x63cm

123.6x6x72.2cm

90.4x8.3x52.6m

123.3x10.6x71.3cm

Weight

18kg

11.1kg

19.9kg

7.8kg

17.2kg

Warranty

1 year

1 year

1 year

1 year

1 year

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/ZLFQ3JV

TINYURL.COM/Q2W3VZY

TINYURL.COM/ZGSP9FM

TINYURL.COM/JQVWCFU

TINYURL.COM/P934VXT

Overall rating

Best 4K flat-panel displays

1

2

3

4

5

BenQ BL3201PT

Philips BDM4065UC

Samsung UD970

Acer S277HK

ViewSonic VP2780-4K

Price

£699 inc VAT

£600 inc VAT

£1,400 inc VAT

£499 inc VAT

£699 inc VAT

Website

Benq.co.uk

Philips.co.uk

Samsung.com/uk

Acer.co.uk

Viewsoniceurope.com/uk

Screen size

32in

40in

31.5in

27in

27in

Panel type

IPS

VA

PLS

IPS

IPS

Native resolution

3840x2160

3840x2160

3840x2160

3840x2160

3840x2160

Pixel density

157ppi

110ppi

140ppi

163ppi

163ppi

Brightness

350cd/m2

120cd/m2

350cd/m2

300cd/m2

350cd/m2

Static contrast ratio

1000:1

5000:1

1000:1

530:1

1000:1

Response time

4ms

8.5ms

8ms

4ms

5ms

Ports

DVI-DL, HDMI, DP, mDP

HDMI, DP, mDP, VGA

HDMI, DVI, 4x USB 3.0

DVI, HDMI, DP, mDP, 4x USB 3.0 HDMI, DP, 4x USB 3.0

Dimensions

490.2x740.3x213.4mm

904x512x88mm

728x427x62mm

614x406x113mm

642.7x469.7x347.8mm

Weight

12.5kg

8.5kg

10.3kg

4.9kg

11.7kg

Warranty

3 years

2 years

Not specified

Not specified

3 years

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/NPA62QL

TINYURL.COM/Q2W3VZY

TINYURL.COM/OBWBBYN

TINYURL.COM/NTV4EVD

TINYURL.COM/O69CMTB

Overall rating

HEAD TO TINYURL.COM/LNLDBJX FOR OUR DIGITAL HOME BUYING ADVICE TEST CENTRE



18/02/2016 11:39

Top 5 charts

Best e-book readers

1

2

3

4

5

Amazon Kindle Voyage

Amazon Kindle (7th gen)

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite

Nook GlowLight

Kobo Aura H20

Price

£169 inc VAT

£59 inc VAT

£109 inc VAT

£89 inc VAT

£139 inc VAT

Website

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.co.uk

Nook.com/gb

Kobo.com

Screen size

6in touchscreen

6in touchscreen

6in touchscreen

6in touchscreen

6.8in touchscreen

Screen technology

E Ink

E Ink

E Ink

E Ink

E Ink

Screen resolution

1440x1080

600x800

768x1024

758x1024

1430x1080

Built-in light

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Storage

4GB

4GB

2GB

4GB

4GB, microSD up to 32GB

Book store

Amazon Kindle

Amazon Kindle

Amazon Kindle

Nook

Kobo


Optional extra

No

Optional extra

No

No

Battery life

Six weeks

Four weeks

Eight weeks

Eight weeks

Two months

Dimensions

162x115x7.6mm

169x119x10.2mm

117x169x9.1mm

127x166x10.7mm

179x129x9.7mm

Weight

180g

191g

206g

175g

233g

Warranty

1 year

1 year

1 year

1 year

1 year

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/NXAAU3Q

TINYURL.COM/NSFORJE

TINYURL.COM/PREZPRK

TINYURL.COM/OZ5WMPO

TINYURL.COM/MJVR4M9

Overall rating

Best media streamers

1

2

3

4

5

Roku Streaming Stick

Roku 3

Google Chromecast 2

Amazon Fire TV Stick

Google Chromecast

Price

£49 inc VAT

£99 inc VAT

£30 inc VAT

£35 inc VAT

£30 inc VAT

Website

Roku.com

Roku.com

Play.google.com

Apple.com/uk

Play.google.com

Type

Dongle

Set-top box

Dongle

Dongle

Dongle

Ports

HDMI, Micro-USB

HDMI, USB, ethernet

HDMI, Micro-USB

HDMI, Micro-USB

HDMI, Micro-USB

Processor

600MHz single-core

900MHz single-core

13.GHz dual-core

Dual-core

Single-core

RAM

512MB

512MB

512MB

1GB

512MB

Graphics

Not specified

Not specified

Not specified

Not specified

Not specified

Storage

None

512MB, plus microSD slot

None

8GB (not user-accessible)

None

Voice search

No

Yes

No

No

No

Remote control

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

No

Dimensions

78.7x27.9x12.7mm

89x89x25mm

52x52x13.5mm

84.9x25x11.5mm

72x35x12mm

Weight

18g

170g

39g

25g

34g

Warranty

1 year

1 year

1 year

1 year

1 year

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/OAP9QF9

TINYURL.COM/PT7MGUL

TINYURL.COM/Q4B6B29

TINYURL.COM/NAQRNOC

TINYURL.COM/QBGTCS2

Overall rating

HEAD TO TINYURL.COM/LNLDBJX FOR OUR DIGITAL HOME BUYING ADVICE 142 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews May 2016


TEST CENTRE

18/02/2016 10:29

Top 5 charts

Best games consoles

1

2

3

4

Sony PlayStation 4

Microsoft Xbox One

Nintendo Wii U Premium

Sony PlayStation 3 Super Slim Microsoft Xbox 360

5

Price

£349 inc VAT

£349 inc VAT

£249 inc VAT

£249 inc VAT

£199 inc VAT

Website

Playstation.com

Xbox.com

Nintendo.co.uk

Playstation .com

Xbox.com

Processor

Octa-core AMD x86

1.75GHz octa-core AMD x86

IBM Power multicore CPU

IBM CPU

IBM Xenon CPU

Graphics

1.84TFlops AMD Radeon GPU

1.31TFlops AMD Radeon GPU

AMD Radeon GPU

256MB nVidia RSX

512MB ATI Xenos

RAM

8GB GDDR5

8GB DDR3

Not specified

Not specified

512MB GDDR3

Storage

500GB

500GB

32GB, plus SD card support

500GB

500GB

Optical drive

Blu-ray, DVD, game discs


Wii U, Wii discs only


DVD, game discs

Ports

2x USB 3.0, AUX, HDMI

USB 3.0, HDMI

4x USB 2.0, HDMI

2x USB 2.0, HDMI

5x USB, HDMI

Connectivity

Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n

802.11b/g/n

Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n

Other

1 controller

1 controller, 4K, Kinect option

1 controller

1 controller

1 controller

Dimensions

275x53x305mm

333x274x79mm

46x269x171mm

290x230x60mm

269x75x264mm

Weight

2.8kg

3.2kg

1.6kg

2.1kg

2.9kg

Warranty

1 year

1 year

1 year

1 year

1 year

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/NBFLQK2

TINYURL.COM/M6J4KHS

TINYURL.COM/6J49LHL

TINYURL.COM/QDJP56O

TINYURL.COM/PFP9CCK

Overall rating

Best budget portable speakers

1

2

3

4

5

Denon Envaya Mini

UE Roll

Marsboy 5W Orb

Lumsing B9

i-box Twist

Price

£99 inc VAT

£99 inc VAT

£38 inc VAT

£23 inc VAT

£41 inc VAT

Website

Denon.com

Ultimateears.com

Amazon.co.uk

Lumsing.com

Iboxstyle.com

Speaker(s)

Not specified

Not specified

Not specified

Not specified

2x 3W

Bluetooth

Bluetooth 4.0

Bluetooth

Bluetooth 4.1 + EDR

Bluetooth 3.0 + EDR

Bluetooth 2.1

Handsfree calls

Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes

NFC

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

No

Frequency response

Not specified

108Hz to 20kHz

80Hz to 18kHz

20Hz to 20kHz

Not specified

Impedence

Not specified

Not specified

4 ohms

4 ohms

Not specified

Extra features

IPX4 splashproof

IPX7 splashproof

MicroSD slot

MicroSD slot, lanyard

None

Claimed battery life

10 hours

9 hours

12 hours

25 hours

5 hours

Dimensions

209x54x51mmmm

134x39x40mm

150x148x138mm

177x50x70mm

246x59x56mm

Weight

558g

330g

454g

300g

380g

Warranty

1 year

2 years

1 year

1 year

5 years

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/QDRNP3P

TINYURL.COM/O7T7ZUU

TINYURL.COM/JJLOPCD

TINYURL.COM/P623MK8

TINYURL.COM/LET9RDF

Overall rating

HEAD TO TINYURL.COM/LNLDBJX FOR OUR DIGITAL HOME BUYING ADVICE TEST CENTRE



18/02/2016 10:30

Top 5 charts

Best budget headphones

1

2

3

4

5

Rock Jaw Alpha Genus

RHA S500i

RHA MA450i

Sennheiser HD 429

Skullcandy Grind

Price

£41 inc VAT

£39 inc VAT

£39 inc VAT

£45 inc VAT

£25 inc VAT

Website

Rockjawaudio.com

Rha-audio.com/uk

Rha-audio.com/uk

En-uk.sennheiser.com

Skullcandy.co.uk

Type

In-ear

In-ear

In-ear

Circumaural over-ear


Frequency response

20Hz to 20kHz

16Hz to 22kHz

16Hz to 22kHz

18Hz to 22kHz

20Hz to 20kHz

Nominal impedence

16 ohms

16 ohms

16 ohms

32 ohms

33 ohms

Sensitivity

108dB

100dB

103dB

110dB

98dB

In-line remote

No

Yes (3 button)

Yes (3 button)

No

Yes (On the headphone)

Mic

No

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Extra grommets

Yes, and filters

Yes

Yes

N/A

N/A

Carry case

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

Cable length

1.2m

1.35m

1.5m (braided)

3m

1.2m

Weight

11g

14g

14g

218g

399g

Warranty

1 year

3 years

3 years

1 year

1 year

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/NNYUFBF

TINYURL.COM/ZZ9PZDG

TINYURL.COM/P7W7RVL

TINYURL.COM/ND8TD8O

TINYURL.COM/Z2JL4TO

Overall rating

Best headphones

1

2

3

4

5

Denon AH-D600

Denon AH-MM400

Audio-Technica ATH-WS99

Bose QuietComfort 20

Denon AH-W150

Price

£229 inc VAT

£196 inc VAT

£79 inc VAT

£259 inc VAT

£59 inc VAT

Website

Denon.co.uk

Denon.co.uk

Eu.audio-technica.com/en

Bose.co.uk

Denon.co.uk

Type



Over-ear

In-ear

Over-ear wireless buds

Frequency response

8Hz to 25kHz

10Hz to 40kHz

8Hz to 25kHz

20-21kHz

5Hz to 25kHz

Nominal impedence

37 ohms

32 ohms

37 ohms

32 ohms

16 ohms

Sensitivity

120dB

96dB

120dB

105dB

102dB

In-line remote

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Mic

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Extra grommets

N/A

N/A

N/A

Yes

Yes

Carry case

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Cable length

3m

Not specified

0.8m

1.3m

N/A

Weight

250g

310g

250g

44g

23g

Warranty

1 year

1 year

1 year

1 year

1 year

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/NBCFJW6

TINYURL.COM/J7G56N9

TINYURL.COM/QDRCCAT

TINYURL.COM/OEAGFOF

TINYURL.COM/O2CJV3R

Overall rating

HEAD TO TINYURL.COM/OKZ9TUK FOR OUR BUYING ADVICE 144 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews May 2016


TEST CENTRE

18/02/2016 10:30

Top 5 charts

Best power banks

1

2

3

4

5

Zendure A2 (2nd gen)

Xiaomi 10,000mAh

Anker PowerCore+ 20100

Maximas XTRON USB-C

iHarbot Power Bank MS024

Price

£25 inc VAT

£11 inc VAT

£32

$69 (£45)

£7.50 inc VAT

Website

Zendure.com

Mi.com/en

Anker.com

Indiegogo.com

Amazon.co.uk

Capacity

6700mAh

10,000mAh

20,100mAh

13,400mAh

5000mAh

Input

1x 7.5W Micro-USB

1x 10W Micro-USB

1x 15W USB-C

1x 10W Micro-USB

1x 10.5W Micro-USB

Outputs

1x 10.5W USB

1x 10.5W USB

2x 12W USB

1x 21W USB

1x 10W USB

Auto-on/-off

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Auto-on

Passthrough charging

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

Status indicator

4 LEDs

4 LEDs

4 LEDs

4 LEDs

4 LEDs

LED flashlight

No

No

No

No

No

Carry case

Yes

No

Yes

No

No

Dimensions

93x48x23mm

91x60.4x22mm

184x62x24mm

77x21x93mm

118x11.6x63mm

Weight

137g

207g

155g

247g

150g

Warranty

1 year

1 year

18 months

Not specified

18 months

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/NGCNO5F

TINYURL.COM/NFQZOCB

TINYURL.COM/ZEZURYP

TINYURL.COM/PVO2LEC

TINYURL.COM/PVO2LEC

Overall rating

Best desktop chargers

1

2

3

4

5

Tronsmart Titan

CHOEtech 6-port Charger

Aukey USB Charging Station

iClever USB Travel Charger

Lumsing Desktop Charger

Price

£25 inc VAT

£25 inc VAT

£17 inc VAT

£20 inc VAT

£13 inc VAT

Website

Tronsmart.com

Choetech.com

Hisgadget.com

Hisgadget.com

Lumsing.com

90W

60W

54W

50W

50W

USB 1 18W USB

15W USB

9W USB

12W USB

8W USB

USB 2 18W USB

15W USB

9W USB

12W USB

8W USB

USB 3 18W USB

15W USB

9W USB

12W USB

8W USB

USB 4 18W USB

15W USB

9W USB

12W USB

8W USB

USB 5 18W USB

12W USB

18W USB

12W USB

8W USB

USB 6 N/A

15W USB

N/A

12W USB

N/A

Overall rating Max output Outputs:

Colours available

Black

Black

Black

Black

Black

Dimensions

160x81x28mm

71.5x29x88.4mm

94x60x25mm

100x69x27mm

92x58x28mm

Weight

292g

158g

149g

180g

146g

Warranty

1 year

1 year

1 year

1 year

1 year

FULL REVIEW

TINYURL.COM/GMVDCHM

TINYURL.COM/QG4X5D9

TINYURL.COM/P2CZMCU

TINYURL.COM/MPA4DWC

TINYURL.COM/Z2VV3MQ

HEAD TO TINYURL.COM/QCD8J7Y FOR OUR BUYING ADVICE TEST CENTRE



18/02/2016 10:30

OUTBOX BRAD CHACOS

How VR (nearly) brought me to my knees I

’ve played thousands of hours of games over my lifetime, everything from Super Mario Bros to Quake III Arena or Witcher 3. But none has ever evoked such a strong reaction from me as the Everest demo I tried on the HTC Vive Pre recently. I have a deep-seated fear of heights, you see. Like, it’s a serious problem. Merely standing on a stool to reach something on the top shelf of a closet gives me the heebie-jeebies. And cleaning out gutters? Whoa boy. But it’s never bothered me in games. I love flying around in a wingsuit in Just Cause 3, for example. And it hasn’t even been a problem in other virtual reality titles. I have a first-generation Oculus Rift developer kit at home and adore soaring through space in Elite: Dangerous or plummeting out of the sky in SkyDIEving. But that Everest demo brought me to my knees. Not literally, but close. I can’t be sure why, but I chalk it up to the HTC Vive’s dual VR motion controllers, which are tracked separately and allow you to use your hands in games. The initial part of the demo tasks you with walking across a flimsy ladder splayed over a deep, black chasm in the Himalayas, with the wind kicking up drifts of snow around you, sending flakes swirling down into the darkness below. “Come across,” your virtual buddy on the other side beckons. “Grab the edges.” No problem. I bent down – you have to physically do that in Vive games that use the motion controllers – caught a glimpse of my death in the chasm below, and froze. Not intentionally. But between the vividness of the scene, the way the headset and headphones completely immersed

me in this frozen world, and the physical act of reaching out and grabbing the ladder, my mind decided this was real and stopped me cold. I stood there, contemplating how to proceed, willing my body to move. Eventually – after an eternity – it listened, but only after I gritted my teeth and shouted in my head “This isn’t real, it’s just a floor,” while my primitive ape mind screamed back: “Yes it is. What are you doing?” The first step, a lifetime later, almost made me lose it, as ice snapped off the ladder and tumbled down into the chasm beneath my feet. But slowly, and not so surely, I made it to the other side of the ladder – a 10-foot trip that I would’ve leaped over without thinking about in any other game. And I’ve never felt so proud (or shaky) in my life. This is what virtual reality is capable of under ideal circumstances, with headphones and motion controllers and a large, empty room to wander around. Of fooling your monkey brain. Of truly transporting you to places you’d otherwise never visit – at least if your PC is up to the task. Until my body refused to move while trying to scale Mount Everest, I hadn’t realised how vital proper made-for-VR controls could be to the virtual reality experience. I mean, I’ve played tons of Oculus games and demos on an Xbox 360 controller and found myself immersed just fine. But motion controls and freedom of physical movement push the experience over the top. It’s a shame most people don’t have a 15x15-foot room to dedicate to a full VR setup like the Vive. Oh, and before I left, the nVidia guys told me that four people refused to cross that ladder at all. So even though I was still shaky and sweaty, I didn’t feel quite as foolish. J

“

Until my body refused to move while trying to scale Mount Everest, I hadn’t realised how vital proper madefor-VR controls could be to the virtual reality experience

”

146 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/opinion May 2016

146 Outbox 250.indd 146

23/02/2016 12:07

IBC_PCAMAY16.indd 71

22/02/2016 09:47

BT One Phone Every time the office phone rings, it could be a potential customer on the other end. But what if no one is there to take the call? With BT One Phone, your employees can handle all their landline calls through their mobiles, so it’s easy for them to take every call, especially the really important ones. Find out how BT One Phone can help your business never miss that call.

0800 085 0166

OBC BT 250.indd 4

bt.com/business/takeeverycall

23/02/2016 11:38

PC Advisor – May 2016

Recommend Documents