Computer Power User - February 2014, Tygodniki, prasa, magazyny, Tygodniki, prasa, magazyny

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STL CARDINALS PC
TAKE ME OUT TO THE LAN
INTEL
®
INSIDE
THE GLASS CANNON & ITS
INTEL CORE
™
I7-4960X ARE READY TO RUMBLE
ALSO: LOOK INSIDE FOR DETAILS ON THE
INTEL ELEMENTS
GIVEAWAY!
February | Vol. 14 Iss. 02
Complimentary Copy
FEBRUARY 2014 | VOL 14 ISSUE 02
48
28
Mad Reader Mod
STL Cardinals PC Struts Its Stuff
CPU System Workshop
Ivy Bridge-E + Radeon R9 = Over 9,000
DID YOU FIND THE HIDDEN
CPU
LOGO ON OUR COVER?
FRONTSIDE — P. 3
News, product release information,
and stats from the tech industry.
LOADING ZONE — P. 59
Software reviews, betas, updates, and
how-tos.
HEAVY GEAR — P. 12
The latest PC hardware is here:
reviews, product profiles, and
category roundups.
DIGITAL LIVING — P. 66
Games and leisure, news from
around the web, tech company
interviews, and more.
HARD HAT AREA — P. 37
CPU
’s Mad Reader Mod winner,
LAN party coverage, and in-depth
looks at the latest and greatest
hardware and technology.
BACK DOOR — P. 87
Monthly last-page interview with
people who help to shape the PC
industry.
Gotcha. Here it is.
Contact Us
P.O.Box 82545
Lincoln, NE 68501
or
120 W. Harvest Drive
Lincoln, NE 68521
Advertising:
(800) 247-4880
Fax: (402) 479-2104
Circulation:
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Fax:
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www.cpumag.com
email: feedback@cpumag.com
Copyright 2014 by Sandhills Publishing Company.
Computer Power User
is a registered trademark of Sandhills Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction of material appearing in
Computer Power User
is strictly prohibited without written permission. Printed in the U.S.A. GST # 123482788RT0001
Computer Power User
USPS 005-665 (ISSN 1093-4170) is published monthly
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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Smart Computing, P.O. Box 82545, Lincoln, NE 68501.
Mount This Cooler To That Card
With NZXT’s Kraken G10 Kit
NZXT says you can increase the cooling performance of
your GPU by up to 40% over stock coolers and achieve
results that mimic those from a custom liquid setup if you
use its Kraken G10 aftermarket cooling accessory. The
Kraken is a (near) universal mounting bracket that allows
you to attach your liquid cooler (NZXT Kraken liquid
coolers as well as most brands of liquid coolers from other
MFRs) to most graphics cards “regardless of chipset or
manufacturer.” e bracket comes with a 92mm fan and
zip-tie points to tuck and hide the tubing. e Kraken
G10 is available in three dierent colors (black, red, and
white) and retails for $29.99. row one on the GPU in
your latest build and get crackin’.
Time To Go On A Rampage:
ASUS Rampage IV Black Edition
ASUS blacked out its new X79 E-ATX motherboard, the
Republic Of Gamers Rampage IV Black Edition, and added
a mouth-watering assortment of OC tools and accessories to
appeal to enthusiasts. e OC panel lets you ne-tune and
monitor performance in real time, and ASUS lled a new
UEFI BIOS with settings and overclocking proles so you can
eke the best performance out of your particular build. OC
DDR3 to 2800MHz+, reset your drives back to their original
factory settings with SSD Secure Erase, and on and on. Even
with all the new trimmings, ASUS says the Rampage IV
Black Edition is its “most stable gaming motherboard yet.” At
$499.99 retail, it ain’t cheap, but it sure is gorgeous.
WATCHING THE CHIPS FALL
CPU
Released
Original Price
Last Month’s Price
Online Retail Price*
Here is the pricing
information for
various AMD and
Intel CPUs.
AMD FX-9590 Eight-Core
6/11/2013
NA
$349.99
$279.99
AMD FX-9370 Eight-Core
6/11/2013
$375
$219.99
$289.99
AMD FX-8350 Eight-Core
10/23/2012
$195
$199.99
$199.99
AMD FX-8320 Eight-Core
10/23/2012
$169
$159.99
$159.99
AMD FX-6350 Six-Core
4/30/2013
$132
$139.99
$139.99
AMD A10-6800K Quad-Core
6/4/2013
$142**
$139.99
$139.99
AMD A10-6790K Quad-Core
10/28/2013
$130
$129.99
$129.99
AMD A10-6700 Quad-Core
6/4/2013
$142**
$148.99
$148.99
AMD A8-6600K Quad-Core
6/4/2013
$112**
$109.99
$119.99
AMD A8-6500 Quad-Core
6/4/2013
$112**
$118.99
$118.99
Intel Core i7-4960X Extreme Edition
9/3/2013
$990**
$1,049.99
$1,049.99
Intel Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition
11/12/2012
$999**
$1,039.99
$1,039.99
Intel Core i7-4770K
6/2/2013
$339**
$324.99
$339.99
Intel Core i7-4770
6/2/2013
$303**
$309.99
$309.99
Intel Core i7-3820
2/12/2012
$305**
$299.99
$299.99
Intel Core i5-4670K
6/2/2013
$242**
$224.99
$239.99
* As of Month Year
** Manufacturer’s
estimated price
per 1,000
Intel Core i5-4670
6/2/2013
$213**
$219.99
$219.99
Intel Core i5-4570
6/2/2013
$192**
$199.99
$199.99
Intel Core i5-4430
6/2/2013
$182**
$189.99
$189.99
Intel Core i3-4340
9/1/2013
$149**
$159.99
$159.99
CPU / February 2014
3
Thermaltake Does It Up Red:
ARMOR A30i Speed Edition
When you hail from the land of Big Red (Nebraska) as we
do, you develop a warm spot in your heart for all things
scarlet. Evidently ermaltake likes red as well, as they have
added that color option to their line of ARMOR A30i Speed
Edition Gaming Cubes. e A30i is a compact case built
for LAN parties that supports micro-ATX and mini-ITX
motherboards. Despite its small size, this unit has room for
two 5.25-inch and one 3.5-inch externally accessible drives,
as well as two 3.5-inch and two 2.5-inch internally hidden
devices. It also can handle most oversized graphics cards (up
to 350mm in length). ere are two USB 3.0 ports and one
HD Audio port. e case comes with two blue LED fans
(90mm intake in front and 200mm exhaust fan on top), plus
there are two additional 60mm fans in the rear.
Built To OC: The EVGA GeForce GTX
780 Ti Classied KINGPIN Edition
EVGA is targeting hardcore overclocking enthusiasts with its
newest GTX 780 Ti Classied card. e K|NGP|N Edition
takes its name from overclocking guru Vince “K|NGP|N”
Lucido. EVGA says he and fellow OC master Tsemenko
“TiN” Illya co-designed the card. Lucido says the card should
hit clockspeeds over 1.85GHz “with extreme cooling,” and
EVGA claims the card is “the nal answer in the search for
the greatest overclocking graphics card on the planet.” We’re
guessing you’ll have fun testing out those claims for yourself.
BitFenix Rocks A New Look With Flo
BitFenix, the computer chassis and accessory company that
specializes in products for modders, is stepping out of its usual
territory a bit to introduce its rst personal audio product, a
premium PC headset called Flo. e company says it designed
Flo to be used both at the computer and away from it, which
is why the headset comes with a removeable microphone. Just
plug in the mic when you’re ready to team up with friends
and frag some bad guys, then unplug the mic and enjoy the
crisp sounds of your favorite tunes. The Flo sports 40mm
neodymium drivers with a frequency response of 20hz to 20khz
and sensitivity of 96db/1mW. Cables include a 1-meter straight
cable with inline remote, a 1-meter mobile audio cable, and
a 2-meter cable with headphone and microphone plugs for
when you’re at the PC. e earpieces are enclosed and feature
Bitfenix’s own trademarked SoftFeel material for comfortable
listening. Flo is available in blue, red, white, and black.
4
February 2014 / www.computerpoweruser.com
ASRock + Fatal1ty = 990FX Killer
ASRock recently announced a new line of motherboards called
the Killer Series that targets gamers and sports a Fatal1ty tag.
ere are two Intel boards and two AMD boards in the series;
shown here is the 990FX Killer. ASRock says this mobo is
the rst in the world to include a PCIe Gen2 x2/SATA M.2
socket. e new socket is designed for Next Generation Form
Factor (NGFF) SSDs and other devices. M.2 cards come in
various lengths; the socket on ASRock’s 990FX Killer supports
42mm, 60mm, 80mm, and 110mm. e Killer series of mobos
includes all kinds of tweaks and features for gamers, such as the
Killer E2200 Intelligent Networking Platform, which reduces
latency and improves gaming peformance by giving priority
to gaming traffic ahead of other traffic on your network.
Also included is F-Stream, a suite of multipurpose software
that includes OC Tweaker, XFast RAM, Key Master (for
customizing keyboard kill-key combos), and similar utilities.
e price of the 990FX was unannounced at press time.
HARDWARE MOLE
LIFX Reinvents The Light Bulb
You’ve probably seen products that let you turn your
lights on and o remotely
—
even from your phone
—
but
do they let you wake up to increasing light or fall asleep
to dimming light? Or better yet, change the color of
the light itself? LIFX has created a Wi-Fi-enabled LED
bulb that you can manipulate from your smartphone. A
variegated color slider on a phone app lets you select the
color you want and the app lets you control the lights
from afar. Change the light, change the mood. e bulbs
are now available online for $89 (hey, they last for years);
see lifx.co for more info.
Now Available In White:
Corsair Carbide Series Air 540
Corsair’s Carbide midtower cases are wide-bodied beasts
with side-by-side chambers that separate components
to improve overall airow. e rst chamber holds the
motherboard, graphics cards, and hot-swappable 3.5-
inch drives; the second houses the PSU, SSDs, and
5.25-inch drives. is arrangment provides plenty of
open airspace for cooling. Corsair originally launched
the Carbide series last summer in black and silver,
but recently announced it was making a white version
available for $149.99.
CPU / February 2014
5
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Computer Power User - February 2014, Tygodniki, prasa, magazyny, Tygodniki, prasa, magazyny

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