Clear out the junk to

12 THE NEWS

Intel Optane; China bans VPNs; 3D TV is dead; Game Mode goes beta.

16 THE LIST

Maximum PC’s 40 favorite things

we saw at CES.

SPEED UP WINDOWS 10

A real test of core competencies.

R&D

60 AUTOPSY

We prize apart a PlayStation 4 Pro and peer at its pieces.

62 HOW TO

Set up a Twitter bot; colorize black and white photos; boost your NAS; make better audio recordings.

72 BUILD IT

Are four cores still king in the

26 40 52 gaming world? We find out.

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DEBUT

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Never before has the high-

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editorial

Gordon Tuan

EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief: Tuan Nguyen Executive Editor: Alan Dexter Senior Editor: Jarred Walton

Mah Ung Nguyen

Reviews Editor: Zak Storey Technology Editor: Bo Moore Contributing Editor: Chris Angelini Contributing Writers: Alex Campbell, Alex Cox, Nate Drake, Cat Ellis, Ian Evenden, Matt Hanson, Jeremy Laird, Chris Lloyd, Nick Peers Copy Editor: Katharine Davies Editor Emeritus: Andrew Sanchez

ART Art Editor: Fraser McDermott Image Manipulation: Gary Stuckey Photography: Future Photo Studio

THE NEVER-ENDING

XXXXXXX

BUSINESS Vice President, Sales: Stacy Gaines, stacy.gaines@futurenet.com Vice President, Strategic Partnerships: Isaac Ugay,

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isaac.ugay@futurenet.com East Coast Account Director: Brandie Rushing,

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PERFORMANCE

West Coast Account Director: Austin Park, austin.park@futurenet.com

WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME Director of Marketing: Robbie Montinola my freshman year of college in 1988. I attended Dartmouth, and fussing about upgrade.” The answer might surprise I’ll be honest; I still love checking

West Coast Account Director: Brandon Wong,

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX EMAIL was in course.)

brandon.wong@futurenet.com West Coast Account Director: Tad Perez, tad.perez@futurenet.com

Director, Client Services: Tracy Lam

with hardware. Tinkering, tweaking, and

you: displays. my inbox and discovering email—

Director, Retail Sales: Bill Shewey

otherwise trying to squeeze out every we had a system named BlitzMail.

from friends, family, writers, Earlier this year, at CES, I witnessed

last drop of GPU and CPU performance. Ever y student was granted an email

readers, PR people, whomever—even

PRODUCTION

Head of Production UK & US: Mark Constance

You can find endless amounts of displays finally debuted, with some

address and access to the system.

if it has become a bit over whelming. a flurry of display announcements. 8K

resources that tell you what you should Production Assistant: Emily Wood Like most students, I didn’t use it at all. It’s hard for even me to believe, companies showing working demos. Between re years and my first job in PC Week’s lab in 1992 to actually

Production Controller: Vivienne Calvert

Project Manager: Clare Scott

and shouldn’t do with your hardware. but back then I was in the habit of HDR is on the rise, primarily in HDTVs,

FUTURE US, INC.

One Lombard Street, Suite 200, San Francisco, CA 94111

But very little attention is given to the

start usingaccounts, I’ve never had

operating system side of the computer, writing letters and postcards.

but it’ll no doubt show up in computer

Tel: (650) 872-1642, www.futureus.com

displays this year. Refresh rates are trouble keeping up. Until now. This is

which is unfortunate, because that’s I vividly recall the tipping point, going up, too, and a new HDMI spec was partially what inspired this month’s ultimately where the results matter the though. In 1re years and my first job

Global Chief Revenue Officer: Charlie Speight Vice President, Marketing & Operations: Rhoda Bueno

announced, delivering 4K resolution at an Finance Director: Ryan Lamvik cover stor y. Over the last 18 months, HR Generalist: Carla Marcos

most. So we’ve gone and done just that. in PC Week’s lab in 1992 to actually

astonishing 120Hz. The display industry I’ve begun to notice that my ability to

start using it. Like a lot of corporate Windows 10 is, without doubt, one of

quickly parse, read, and respond to

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It’s well made, stable, and chock-full of used for interoffice communications. But the volume wa989 in the middle

So, we took it upon ourselves to I need to develop new systems and

bring all the newest bad-ass displays shortcuts. I need to change my ways.

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actually want or use. Take, for example, of my sophomore year, I was eating

features—some of which you may not

I’m curious—are you finding

Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Echo, or Google talking about how great email was tests. Some are better than others, but one result is consistent across the REPRINTS If so, what have you done to better Assistant. Sure, it can tell jokes, look up Future US, Inc., 4000 Shoreline Court, Suite 400, for chatting up women. I remember

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Cortana, the smart assistant not unlike

lunch with a few freshmen who were

into the lab, and run them through our yourself in the same boat as I am?

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board: Current displays have advanced manage your email life? Let me know

South San Francisco, CA 94080 information on Wikipedia, and search being shocked at the notion that significantly in just a few years. Website: www.futureus.com at George@maximumpc.com. Tel: 650-872-1642, Fax 650-872-2207

your computer, but I personally don’t these guys didn’t have the courage to pick up the phone. Little did I know.

XXXXXXXXX Which brings me to my sage advice:

Next Issue on Sale April 4, 2017

always the most expensive part of my Finally, the winners of last month’s disable it, freeing up system resources email the next day. I didn’t. It took build, because I spend all my computing challenge to identify the fake Google for other duties. three more years and my first job in PC Week’s lab in 1992 to actually time staring at it, and a good display will app icon. For those scoring at home,

get me what I need much faster. So I I’d be lying if I said that I took to

use it. I reckon my keyboard skills can

Invest in a display. A good display is

outlast your PC, for the most part. You the correct answer was Google are other areas of Windows 10 that you workplaces, email was commonly might upgrade this and that inside, but Storage. Here are the winners: Keith can dive into, and with a little know-how,

start using it. Like a lot of corporate Things don’t end there, though. There

the screen will be there for some time. Future is an award-winning international media Lucas (who was the first correct group and leading digital business. We reach more

gain just not increased performance used for interoffice communications.

response), Andy Man, Chris Brush

and create world-class content and advertising than 57 million international consumers a month

from your PC, but enough performance to remember going two or three hours

But the volume was manageable; I

What do I use? Two 32-inch 4K

displays. But with 8K on the way, I’m

solutions for passionate consumers online, on tablet

and smartphone, and in print.

witness actual usability improvements. without new email. That sounds ts. starting to get an itch. starting to get an itch.

Future plc is a public company quoted Non-executive chairman Peter Allen Chief executive Zillah Byng-Thorne

clearing out old system update files, and absolutely crazy now, but this was

Startup options, system services, es,

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the era before SPAM even existed. nd

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(symbol: FUTR).

more—our crack team of experts show ow

www.futureplc.com

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you a wide range of pro-level tricks to As more friends started working to

take your rig by the horns. and came online, the postcard- and

Gordon Mah Ung is Maximum PC’s

©2017 Future US, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine

letter-writing days ended forever.

may be used or reproduced without the written permission of

yourselves, “Well, I’ve done all that, (That lab job was also awesome Tuan Nguyen is expert, and all-around muckraker. Maximum PC ’s editor-in- chief, also known as “the pointy end of the

Some of you might be thinking to to

deputy editor, senior hardware

Future US, Inc. (owner). All information provided is, as far as Future

(owner) is aware, based on information correct at the time of press.

Readers are advised to contact manufacturers and retailers directly with regard to products/services referred to in this magazine. We

but tell me what’s going to give me because after four years of using a Mac in college, I was able to get

stick.” He’s been writing, marketing, and

welcome reader submissions, but cannot promise that they will be published or returned to you. By submitting materials to us, you

giant leaps in performance on my next back to PC gaming—after hours, of

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the beginning of the magazine, where the articles are small

12 MAXIMUM PC SPRING 2017 maximumpc.com

Commercial 3D memory finally arrives

Intel’s Optane Technology Ships

individual transistors. These first modules have two layers of memory cells, but three- layer cells are due later in the year. The exact physics and manufacturing method has yet to be revealed.

Intel’s announcements about Optane veer into hyperbole. It will “change the face of computing with an unparalleled combination of speed, endurance, and density.” These first modules are about three times faster than a standard SSD in random and sequential read. Write speeds are less impressive—still capable of beating SSDs, but by much slimmer margins. The 32GB module manages 1,600MB/s on reads and 500MB/s on writes. Latency is between SSD and DRAM. We have nothing on price yet, but they won’t be cheap. Expect to pay around five times the price of flash RAM, or twice that of DRAM.

Sure, they are fast, but you are right to feel a little underwhelmed at this point. This doesn’t beat emerging NVDIMM or NVMe technology,

and isn’t what we were promised. Early presentations about 3D XPoint spoke of speed boosts of up to a thousand times SSD, and touched on the long- held dream of unified RAM and storage. Alas, these claims have proved elusive. The tantalizing early proclamations were based on the core performance of the chips at the cell level. Once it goes through all the subsystems of the hardware and software, the speed is degraded considerably. Perhaps it might have been wiser not to publicize such appetizing claims in the first place.

Larger capacity SSD versions are currently being tested in servers by IBM and Facebook. Before the end of the year, we will see more mainstream applications, which currently

sport “Beach” codenames— Mansion Beach, Stony Beach, and Carson Beach—each a family of Optane SSDs running on PCIe or SATA. Its future as

a DRAM replacement is less obvious. Conventional modules are already cheap and fast, but its use in servers cannot be far away.

Optane is having a slightly difficult birth, and the 8000p is

a bit of a dull start. However,

a huge research budget and much effort has been poured into its success. This is just a taster. A single unified high- speed memory is still a long way away, but we do have commercial 3D memory that is already faster than NAND, and has an interesting roadmap. You will be hearing a lot more about Optane. –CL

THE LAUNCH

of an M.2 SSD memory module is not normally of much interest, but Intel’s new 8000p is based on the company’s new Optane technology, which has been several years in the making, and responsible for quite a few promises along the way. The modules come in 16GB and 32GB sizes, and you’ll need a specific set of hardware to run them: a Kaby Lake chip, a 200-series chipset, a compatible M.2 slot, and a compatible BIOS. They have been designed to boost Intel’s Rapid Cache Technology performance, and a small number of machines have been announced that are Optane- ready, among them Lenovo’s ThinkPad T570 and HP’s Envy Curved 34.

Optane is Intel’s brand name for the 3D XPoint technology,

a 3D memory system jointly developed by Intel and Micron. The tech has been in the labs since 2012. Memory cells sit in

a three-dimensional mesh, and use the change in resistance of the materials to store data. Importantly, there are no

Memory cells sit in a 3D mesh, and use the change in resistance to store data.

Not quite what we were expecting, but it’s a start.

quickstart

3D TV IS DEAD NO NEW HARDWARE IS BEING BUILT

THE LAST TWO BIG PLAYERS making 3D TVs— LG and Sony—are to drop their support with this year’s models. The format is dead, for the mass market at least. Lack of content was obvious; there was very little broadcast 3D, and even that has now stopped. Enthusiasm from consumers dropped off sharply, and the TV people’s attention has shifted to HDR and 4K. 3D content will live on, but only through VR.

3D TVs came on the back of 3D movies, which appeared in sporadic waves since the 1950s, each powered by new technology. The first wave lasted just three years, and the revivals fared little better. The current dalliance with 3D movies has at least attracted some

CHINESE BAN big budget titles, but there are signs that this is fading, too. The odds are that 3D will return

at some point, probably using yet another technology, but for now you had better start

ON VPN hoarding those 3D Blu-rays if you want any use out of your 3D TV. –CL S

Free trade for China,

GAME MODE

but no free Internet

GOES BETA

THE CHINESE MINISTRY

of Industry and

It’s all about

Information has announced the start of a 14-month campaign to target the use of

consistency

VPNs in China to “clean up” the Internet,

PRESS WINDOWS AND G in the latest

and encourage the “healthy” development

Windows Creator Update, and you

of the industry. Running a VPN business

enter the much anticipated Game

inside China will now require a state license,

Mode. As expected, it’s mostly about

and presumably close co-operation with the resource allocation, specifically CPU and GPU resources to the game, getting all authorities. President Xi Jinping recently

processor cores running effectively, and keeping the GPU focused on the game delivered a speech to the World Economic

graphics. The emphasis is not so much on performance increases—these are Forum on the benefits of opening up

marginal, at 2–5 percent—but to get Win 10 rigs, Xbox One, and the forthcoming world trade and world borders. The irony

Scorpio console to offer a consistent experience. The target standard is 900p is palpable.

to 1080p for Xbox One, and 4K at 60fps for Scorpio. The “Games” section in Details on the new rules are a little

“Settings” sports the Xbox logo, and here you can configure each game. Win32 vague, but the clear targets are businesses

support has been confirmed, too, which is welcome. You also have game inside China who provide VPNs for its

streaming via Beam, and a new Game DVR settings page. It’s about blurring the citizens. The firewall that surrounds

lines between platforms, and focusing on a consistent game experience. –CL China has also started blocking VPN sites. Large corporations are unaffected so far. VPNs are popular in China to access otherwise blocked sites, such as Google and

Tech Tragedies and Triumphs

YouTube, and evade censorship on specific

A monthly snapshot of what’s up and down in tech

subjects, principally anything concerning dissatisfaction with the state.

The Internet arrived in China in 1994, and the state started to attempt to control it in 1998; a firewall for the entire nation

TRIUMPHS

TRAGEDIES

followed in 2003. China’s efforts to control

DRONEGUN

BURNING LAPTOPS

the Internet were initially greeted with much

HP has recalled over 100,000 skepticism in the West. The Internet was

We now have ray guns that can shoot

laptop batteries over issues with seen as too porous and too distributed to

down drones with concentrated

electromagnetic radiation—not

overheating and possible fires.

be stopped. While it is still difficult to stop a

available to the public yet, though.

determined individual, the state has proved

WIN 7 NOT SECURE

remarkably effective at suppressing the INTEL BACKS 7nm It still has three years of official curious. In China, you expect to be tracked,

Intel is building a pilot plant

support left, but Microsoft has

warned that Windows 7 is now and self-censorship is natural.

to develop the 7nm process.

intrinsically insecure. Meanwhile, in the rest of the world, VPNs

Moore’s Law still has legs.

are free to use and popular, even if the

GOOGLE PARKING

APPLE SLUMP

Apple’s share of the market has they are put to. China has shown that it is

authorities aren’t always keen on the uses

Google Maps will now include

dropped to 6.1 percent of PCs possible to effectively control what it was

a color-coded guide to how

online, down from 9.6 percent once thought almost impossible to police.

difficult it is to park at your

barely a year ago. Let’s hope nobody else gets any ideas. –CL

destination. Handy.

14 MAXIMUM PC SPRING 2017 maximumpc.com

Jarred Walton TECH TALK

The Current State of Integrated Graphics

THE WORLD OF INTEGRATED GRAPHICS has a long and storied history, most of which can be summed up as: they’re too slow and lacking in functionality. For years, the most “popular” graphics chips have been Intel’s, not because they were fast but because they were ubiquitous.

The good news is that Intel started putting more into play, and by targeting a closed effort into improving graphics when it created HD

platform, manufacturers can do Graphics, in 2010. The latest iteration is its 600

more with less. The PS4’s custom series, in the new Kaby Lake CPUs, which is largely

AMD processor uses about two- the same as the 500 series. A huge chunk of the

thirds of the die space on graphics, processor is devoted to graphics—roughly one third

I ran tests on 15 modern games, and even at low the die. The PS4 also uses GDDR5, quality settings and 1280x720, less than half were AD with a 256-bit interface clocked at

with the relatively slow Jaguar CPU of the die. But even so, performance isn’t stellar.

cores relegated to one eighth of

playable. But there is some good news in that all 15 5,500MT/s, with over four times the games rendered without any noticeable errors. Less

bandwidth of a dual-channel DDR4- demanding games such as Overwatch, League of

2667 configuration, and the PS4 Pro Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2,

should double GPU performance. and many indie titles are also definitely playable.

AMD’s Kaveri APU uses half the die

I’m eager to see what AMD does Perhaps more interesting is what Intel has

space on graphics functionality.

with the upcoming Zen APUs. Will been doing over the past seven generations of

it include a high-speed memory Core processors. Intel more than quadrupled its

Kaby Lake at 440Gflops, are less

cache, along with substantially mainstream integrated graphics performance GTX 1050 (1,733Gflops) and RX 460

than half the performance of the

more GPU cores? It could, and going from first-gen to third-gen Core, but since

I’ve seen rumors of an APU with then, most of the desktop parts (Broadwell being

(2,150Gflops) that represent entry-

potentially 1,024 Vega GPU cores— the exception) haven’t seen much improvement. In

level dedicated GPUs. That’s a big

twice the number found in AMD’s raw computational power, the fastest GT2 variants

part of why most gamers end up

current top APUs. Combined with of Intel’s HD Graphics have sat in the 400-450Gflops

running a dedicated graphics card.

stacked memory (a single 2–4GB range since Haswell’s HD 4600 in late 2012.

Other factors include sharing

HBM2 stack, perhaps), AMD could AMD is only slightly better, with its top APUs, like

system memory bandwidth. Even

end up surpassing the performance the A10-7890K, sitting at 887Gflops, while lower-tier

with two or three times as many

of its RX 460. Certainly, AMD has parts like the A8-7670K (581Gflops) and A6-7470K

GPU cores, without increasing the

the expertise to pull this off, but (410Gflops) are well off the pace. More critically,

memory bandwidth, a lot of potential

I’m not convinced it will be enough all of these parts, including desktop Skylake and

performance is lost. An HBM2 cache

is a potential solution, and Intel has

to capture the interest of gamers,

used eDRAM caches with its Iris

with price being a major factor. AMD

products, but few desktop users are

might end up cannibalizing sales of

interested in improving integrated

its $100-200 graphics cards in order

graphics when a quick upgrade to

to sell more $100-200 APUs.

A quick upgrade to a dedicated

a dedicated graphics card can more than double performance.

graphics card can more than Jarred Walton has been a

Consoles are a different matter,

PC and gaming enthusiast

double performance.

where economies of scale come

for over 30 years.

maximumpc.com

SPRING 2017

MAXIMUM PC MAXIMUM PC

MAXIMUM PC’s TOP 7 THINGS FROM CES

MSI AM4+ MOTHERBOARDS

AMD VEGA GPU

7 2017, AM4+ mobos are coming thick and fast. 3 With HBM 2.0 and impressive compression

With Ryzen launching in the first quarter of The future’s bright for AMD’s next-gen GPUs.

tech, that 4K screen might have a use after all.

RAZER PROJECT VALERIE

6 triple-screen gaming notebook touts a

Although not to everyone’s liking, this

total resolution of 11520x2160.

2 cards catch up. The PG27UQ combines 4K,

ASUS ROG SWIFT PG27UQ

Meet the future of monitors—once graphics

144Hz, G-Sync, and HDR in one sexy package.

AMD FREESYNC 2

5 rate. Similar to G-Sync, AMD is now

The revolution of AMD’s variable refresh

enforcing standards including low latency and HDR.

iBUYPOWER PROJECT SNOWBLIND

1 The transparent LCD screen was first seen at

Computex last year. Acting as a second display

LG NANO CELL via HDMI, you can run anything you want on it. TECHNOLOGY

4 LG is innovating on top

of quantum dot by shrinking the pixel size down to a single nanometer to improve viewing angles, even beyond the limits of IPS and VA.

16 MAXIMUM PC SP R I N G 20 1 7 maximumpc.com

Alex Campbell OPEN SOURCE

Vulkan Can’t Bring Games to Linux by Itself

FOR YEARS AND YEARS, being a Linux user meant giving up on the idea of playing top-tier games when they’re released. For the most part, that’s still true, but technologies are emerging that will make it easier for developers to distribute games for Linux. Unfortunately, these new- fangled technologies don’t solve all of the underlying issues.

The first big thing that offers promise is the Vulkan need. The formats allow them to graphics API, the spiritual successor to OpenGL. As

stop chasing library updates, and an open API, Vulkan has promised a cross-platform

distribute software images that are API for developers who want to develop for Linux,

known to run on the vast majority of Windows, Mac, and even mobile devices. (The API

unify distribution in the face of the early 2016, and hardware released during the year AD fracturing caused by each distro’s

Linux systems without issue. also shipped with support for the modern Wayland

These formats also aim to graphics server.) The API spec was published in

offered support for Vulkan. However, very few package management solution. games offered support, with most released in 2016

Debian, Ubuntu, and Mint have opting for DirectX 11 or 12. Id Software’s id Tech

Doomed? Actually, things are

deb; Fedora and openSUSE have 6-powered Doom was a notable exception, showing

looking up for Linux gamers, but

RPM; Arch and Manjaro use tar.xz; the blistering-fast performance that Vulkan offered.

there’s still much work to be done.

Gentoo builds everything from Epic’s Unreal Engine 4 also supports the API.

source because why the hell not? With a high-performance, modern graphics API

shy away from Linux development

This landscape is hell for software available for Linux, one would thing there would

is understandable. The market is

minuscule compared to the number

distribution (and creates a lot of

work that volunteers have to do). hasn’t come. A quick scan of a list of games with

be a tidal wave of AAA games for Linux. That wave

of gamers on Windows, and Linux

Unfortunately, the three new Vulkan support on Wikipedia shows eight games

presents a moving target in terms

competing formats—flatpak, snap, written for Vulkan. Only two of those (Dota 2 and The

of libraries and drivers. Anyone

and AppImage—suffer from the Talos Principle) are available on Linux. (Id’s Doom is

who’s broken something like Wi-Fi

same problem, in that there’s three curiously Windows-only, breaking from id’s history

or Bluetooth support because of an

of them. Hopefully, 2017 will see a of releasing shooters for Linux as well as Windows.)

update knows what I mean. That

clear winner pull ahead of the pack. There simply aren’t many games written for

means a huge headache for very

But even if one does, and developers Vulkan yet, but given time, that will change. The

little return for a game dev shop.

have a clearer and more stable percentage of those games that are released for

But there are a few new packaging

platform to target, the chicken Linux might not, however. The big reason developers

technologies that aim to fix that.

Universal Linux “container” (penguin?) or the egg problem will formats are one of the most likely persist: There aren’t many important new ideas for desktop

gamers on Linux because there users. They differ slightly from aren’t many games for Linux, and container technologies such as there aren’t many games for Linux

Linux is a moving target in Docker, and aim to unify the Linux because there aren’t many gamers. terms of libraries and drivers; application distribution space.

a huge headache for very little Alex Campbell is a Linux geek

These technologies promise to

allow developers to package their

who enjoys learning about

return for a game dev shop.

apps with the libraries that they

computer security.

maximumpc.com

SPRING 2017

MAXIMUM PC

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BY MATT HANSON

AVG AntiVirus vs. Bitdefender Antivirus vs. Microsoft Defender

No matter how careful you are online, you can still be at risk of picking up a nasty virus or other malware. If you don’t want to shell out for an expensive (and resource-hogging) antivirus app, there are plenty of free tools to keep you protected. Far from being cut-down and basic, even these free programs come with plenty of features to protect your PC. But are they too good to be true, and how do they compare to the built-in protection that Windows offers? We pit three of the most popular free antivirus tools against each other to find out.

AVG AntiVirus also comes

ROUND 1

ROUND 2

with a browser plugin for protection

Features

Ease of Use

when surfing

Defender has virus, malware,

We want our antivirus app to

the Internet.

and spyware detection and

be unobtrusive, and keep us

removal. Real-time protection

protected with the minimum of

monitors downloaded files.

fuss. In that regard, Windows

There’s no firewall. Cloud-

Defender has a huge advantage, based protection defends as if you’re running a recent against threats identified on

version of Windows, it is already

other users’ PCs. It comes

installed and configured.

Bitdefender

preinstalled, with no ads or pop-

Downloading and installing

Antivirus is

ups nagging you to upgrade.

Bitdefender is straightforward,

both speedy

The free version of AVG

scanning your PC during

and highly

features virus, malware, and

the process. The interface

effective

spyware protection, and real-

is streamlined and easy to

at spotting

time security updates. Unlike

understand, and the Autopilot

nasties.

Defender, it comes with a plugin

mode means you can leave it

to protect you from unsafe

alone to get on with protecting

links, downloads, and email

you. To scan specific files, just

attachments. A gaming mode

drag and drop them.

(that cuts down on resources

AVG’s interface has simple

used) is welcome, but if you

indications letting you know if

want firewall or phishing

your PC is protected, and a big

Windows

protection, you must pay.

button to scan your system. It’s

Defender is

Bitdefender offers similar

not as hands-off as the others,

preinstalled

features as AVG, plus comes

but installation is simple. You’re

with Windows,

with Autopilot mode, which

encouraged to install a browser

and never

configures security settings

plugin to protect you while

nags you to

on the fly, enables automatic

online, but it tries to change your

shell out for

updates, and more, with no

homepage and default search

an upgrade.

annoying pop-ups, but AVG’s

engine, which we don’t like.

gaming mode gives it the edge.

Tie:

Winner:

Windows Defender

AVG

and Bitdefender

20 MAXIMUM PC SPRING 2017 maximumpc.com

ROUND 3

ROUND 4

ROUND 5

And the

Winner

Virus Scanning

Scan Speeds

Resource Use

Is…

In the latest AV Comparatives

On our test machine, Windows

Antivirus software can be

benchmarks (which are Defender completed a Quick

very resource hungry. With

Every one of these AV tools company), Bitdefender blocked

carried out by an independent

Scan in one minute, scanning

Microsoft’s knowledge of

has something going for it, 1,618 out of 1,619 test cases

11,288 files. We then performed

Windows, you’d think Defender

be it Windows Defender’s successfully, with a protection

a deeper scan on a full 100GB

would have an advantage here.

convenience, Bitdefender’s rate of 99.9 percent. AVG didn’t

hard drive, which completed in

While performing a full scan, it

excellent detection rate, or catch quite as many, with 1,612,

26 minutes, 42 seconds. Next

took up a peak of 275MB of RAM,

AVG’s speed and lightness. If and 99.6 percent. Windows

up was Bitdefender, and the

with CPU use (a powerful quad-

you go with Bitdefender, you Defender caught 1,570 test

initial Quick Scan took just 49

core Intel Core i7) hovering

can be sure your PC is as well cases, for a protection rate of

seconds. With the free version

around 54.6 percent. When not

of Bitdefender, scan choices are

in use, it used 152MB of RAM.

protected as possible for a

free program, and if you just not quite as good as the other

97 percent. That’s still high, but

a bit limited, so we dragged and

Bitdefender was much more

stick with Windows Defender, two AV products on test.

dropped the entire 100GB folder

resource-intensive. When idle,

you’ll at least be protected AV Comparatives also took just seven minutes, 10

on to the program to scan. That

it used around 180MB of RAM,

against the majority of threats. tested the programs for false

but when scanning, it had peaks

However, the overall winner flags—these are safe files or

seconds, which is a lot quicker

of 780MB RAM use (though

of these tests is AVG. It comes websites that are incorrectly

than Windows Defender.

around 400MB for most of the

with plenty of features, has an identified as harmful, and Scan option, though it offers lots

AVG doesn’t have a Quick

scan time), and CPU usage

excellent detection rate, and blocked by AV programs. Both

spiking at 98 percent, averaging

decent scanning speeds. What AVG and Bitdefender passed

of ways to configure scans, so

about 70 percent. The price to

we really love, though, is how the tests with no wrongly

they only check the bits of your

pay for such fast scanning.

few resources it takes up when blocked files or websites, but

PC you want. The default is a

Meanwhile, we were very

running in the background, Windows Defender incorrectly

full, deep scan. This is advisable

impressed with the impact of

or even when scanning your blocked 23 cases. While it’s

with all AV products, to make

AVG. At idle, the software takes

sure your PC is completely safe.

up 130MB of RAM, while in use

computer. It does a great job

of protecting your PC, while Bitdefender (with Bitdefender

a close call between AVG and

However, with our custom scan

it only takes up around 160MB.

having almost no impact on just edging a win), Windows

of the 100GB hard drive, it took

Better still, CPU use never went

performance—like all good AV Defender’s performance was

9 minutes, 48 seconds. Much

higher than 14 percent—a far

products, you’ll hardly know rather disappointing.

faster than Windows Defender,

cry from the stress Bitdefender

but not as quick as Bitdefender.

puts the PC under.

it’s there.

Winner:

Winner:

Winner:

Bitdefender

Bitdefender

AVG

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THIS MONTH THE DOCTOR TACKLES...

> Workstation Power er > Mixing Memory y > Jumping to X9 X99

Workstation Power

render to 17 hours or so. You Hi Doctor. My son is a 3D digital

could use a cheaper CPU, but design student at Rochester

anything lower than the -2630 Institute of Technology (RIT).

will typically be outperformed We purchased a Lenovo P700

by a 6- to 10-core 3GHz-plus system for his design work and,

single-CPU system, which is of course, gaming. He uses

also more affordable. If you applications such as Maya,

have the budget to go higher RealFlow, and Adobe’s CC suite.

than the E5-2630, a quick rule He’s having an issue setting

of thumb for rendering is to up his hardware to reduce the

use Xeon CPUs that end in a 0 time it takes to render projects

(-2630, -2640, -2660, and so on). in Maya—they take as long as 30

“Keep in mind that many of hours to complete. I don’t think

the other tasks you mentioned adding more memory will help,

(gaming, Maya modeling, and and he’s already running dual

all Adobe software) do not work Xeon processors, with a pretty

well with dual-Xeon systems. good graphics card.

There is extra processing We looked for ways to

overhead when you have two better utilize both processors,

physical CPUs, and unless the but can’t figure that out. He

software is good at utilizing also thinks a second graphics

multiple cores at the same card might help, but can’t find

time—as rendering is—you documentation supporting his

Lenovo’s ThinkStation P700 may require higher-end CPUs for

often get better performance hypothesis. Any ideas you have

optimal rendering performance.

with one CPU than with two. In would be greatly appreciated.

following guidance: “If faster

with higher core counts, but

fact, for gaming and modeling/

–Dave Fantauzzo

render times from Maya are

the E5-2609 v3 is only one step

animation, four cores running

at high clock rates yield much THE DOCTOR RESPONDS : The

your primary concern, the

up from the lowest-end CPU of

better performance.” Doc is well versed in matters

solution isn’t quick or easy.

that generation. Upgrading a

You are correct that more

dual-Xeon setup isn’t as cheap

of hardware, but less familiar

RAM likely won’t help (32GB is

as adding RAM, but it’s the only

Mixing Memory

with Maya, and the resources

Dear Doctor, When it comes to its renderer exploits. To get you

typically plenty), and as Maya

thing that will help significantly.

memory, if I’m using the same the best answer, the Doc went

uses a CPU-based rendering

“For rendering, the Xeon

brand and speed, does it matter to his friends at Puget Systems

engine, upgrading the GPU

E5-2630 v3/v4 is usually the

if I install two 16GB modules in Auburn, Washington, who

won’t improve render times

lowest-end dual-CPU config

with a CAS rating of 14 and two test and write about optimizing

either. The weakest link in your

we recommend to one of our

4GB sticks at CAS 16? Both configurations for workstation

son’s dual-Xeon workstation

customers. Compared to the

would be DDR4-3200. Or would applications. Matt Bach, in

is the CPUs themselves. Two

E5-2609 v3s your son has today,

a slower data rate at CAS 12 be Puget’s lab, sent over the

Xeons can work very well for

a pair of E5-2630 v3s could be

rendering, as they scale nicely

expected to drop that 30-hour

better? I’m doing some gaming,

↘ submit your questions to: doctor@maximumpc.com

22 MAXIMUM PC SPRING 2017 maximumpc.com 22 MAXIMUM PC SPRING 2017 maximumpc.com

BIOS settings to default. If the

old Tarzan movies. If I overclock,

issue persists, you’re likely

it’ll be conservative.

out of luck. Don’t be surprised

I also have a Samsung M.2-

if this is the case; it could be

based boot drive and a Samsung

that the capacity differences

SSD for user data. If I use an

between 16GB and 4GB

external SSD for downloading

modules are simply too great.

Internet content, and that

In regard to your external

content is infected with a virus,

drive question—yes, any virus

would only the portable drive be

on one drive can potentially

affected, or could the contagion

affect other drives as well.

spread to other devices? A $60 external drive lost to cooties

The Right Connection

would be far better than the

Hello, I’m a long-time

permanent drives.

subscriber, going back to the

If this helps, I plan on buying

days of Boot. In the January

Gigabyte’s Z170X-Gaming 7 supports simultaneous use of its

a Core i7-6700K, an MSI Gaming

2017 issue, editor-in-chief Tuan

CPU_FAN and CPU_OPT headers.

M7 or Asus Maximus VIII Hero

Nguyen’s Lab Notes article

motherboard, a Corsair H110i

I should make the jump to GT cooler, a Samsung 850 EVO

“Short Circuits” intrigued me,

diagnostic software still thinks

X99? I still need to buy a new 500GB M.2, a Samsung 850

as I recently built a new system.

I’m using Windows 8.

motherboard and RAM. EVO 1TB, an MSI GeForce GTX

I double-checked and verified

I’d like to remove everything

I have a Core i7-4790K on the 1080, and a Be Quiet! Dark Base

that I was using both the CPU_

and reinstall from a Windows

Z97 chipset, and that’s working 900 chassis.

FAN and CPU_OPT headers,

10 Home disc. However, it is my

–Ray Nimeth

which Tuan warns against doing.

understanding that because

fine for me, but I’d like to take

advantage of the additional THE DOCTOR RESPONDS : Let’s

I’ve had the system for a

the laptop has UEFI, it requires

cores, PCIe lanes, and support start with your memory

month and have had no problem

the original OEM partitions to

for full-speed M.2 drives. I want question. The answer isn’t

whatsoever. It consists of a Core

boot. In other words, I can’t

to get the most from my ROG straightforward because

i5-6600K attached to a Gigabyte

delete the OEM partitions and

Swift PG279Q, a task I suspect it depends on a number

Z170X-Gaming 7 motherboard,

software before performing a

may require two GPUs. of variables. First, there’s

with a Corsair H60 CPU cooler.

full reinstallation.

However, I’ve heard that the your motherboard’s BIOS.

The radiator fan is connected to

Is there any way around this

LGA-2011 v3 interface won’t be Depending on how the firmware

the CPU_FAN header, while the

requirement, and how does one

used for Skylake-X and Kaby was written, it might choose

pump is connected to CPU_OPT.

get a laptop with no operating

Lake-X. And some of the new the slowest common memory

I left it as-is for the moment

system to perform its own

Z270 boards that are coming settings, the memory settings

because, like I said, zero

installation?

–Gerald Gibson

out look quite tempting as well, from a preset priority list of

issues. Thoughts? –Mike H.

especially with their support for slots on the board, the serial

THE DOCTOR RESPONDS :

Intel’s upcoming Optane tech. presence detect (SPD) settings

THE DOCTOR RESPONDS : Tuan

Updating an older system

I mostly do digital drawing from a random module, or

was having issues with an Asus

to Windows 10 sometimes

and gaming, though I do use it could refuse to boot when

board; that company’s support

requires a BIOS/UEFI update.

virtual machines from time to presented with conflicting SPD

folks advised against using both

For anyone else considering

time. Do you think I’d be better information. The memory chips

headers concurrently to avoid

this, depending on how old the

served making the jump to on those modules could also be

the problem he encountered.

laptop is, it may or may not

the enthusiast X99, or finding incompatible due to different

The Doc consulted Gigabyte

support Win 10, or you may run

some other use for my new CPU densities or capacities.

about your motherboard, and

into driver limitations.

and sticking with consumer So, there’s a lot that could go

was told that the CPU_FAN

That said, if you have an

platforms like Z270 or (gasp) wrong—if you have the option to

and CPU_OPT headers can be

optical disc drive, Windows

used together without an issue.

10 Home media, and the

AMD’s Ryzen?

–Jordan S.

avoid mixing kits, take it.

CPU_FAN is either for a heat

key, there should be nothing

THE DOCTOR RESPONDS : The Doc both, try installing the modules

If you already have them

sink or radiator fan that can

preventing you from starting

wouldn’t jump to X99 for gaming in alternate slots, so that the

ramp up and down based on

afresh. Update the UEFI by

alone; your fast quad-core CPU kits each populate one channel.

CPU temperature; CPU_OPT is

downloading the latest version

is fine for that. Plus, a single Check your manual for guidance

an additional header that can

from Lenovo’s website. Pop the

GeForce GTX 1080 or 1070 will on where to put the higher-

provide 100 percent power all

disc in your drive, and ensure

drive your QHD display well capacity modules. Should your

the time to the pump. Each has

your firmware is configured

enough in the latest games. system boot successfully at

its own IC to control amperage

to look there first upon boot.

Even if you do crave more low baseline settings, dial in

limits. You’re in the clear.

Or, visit http://go.microsoft.

com/fwlink/?LinkId=691209 graphics performance, two x8 manual settings for the data

slots are plenty for CrossFire rate, CL timings, command

Reinstalling Win 10

to download Microsoft’s media

or SLI. But virtualization does rate, and voltage (that is, don’t

I have a Lenovo laptop that

creation tool.

benefit from lots of cores and use XMP). Specify the lower of

came with an OEM copy of

cache. That could be reason the settings between both kits.

Windows 8 and a UEFI firmware.

Jumping to X99

alone for you to make the Should you run into trouble

I upgraded to Windows 10 on

Hey, Doc! I got my hands on a

switch, if the workload is booting up, try resetting the

my own, and it was working

Core i7-6850K for a great price,

well. Unfortunately, the OEM

and I’m wondering whether

important enough.

23

maximumpc.com

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MAXIMUM PC

big screen group test

BIG-SCREEN DEBUT

Never before has the high-end PC monitor market been so vibrant and innovative. Allow Jeremy Laird to help you solve this particular paradox of choice

26 MAXIMUM PC SPRING 2017 maximumpc.com

A WINDOW INTO YOUR COMPUTING WORLD . That’s

refresh rates synched with the output of their video

what a PC monitor is. The question is, do you want

card. Then there’s the widespread adoption of far

your view to be a miserable, letter-box glimpse, or

higher resolutions, such as 4K or UHD.

a broad, expansive, and liberating vista?

Even more recently, there’s been a revolution in

OK, that’s a loaded way of posing the problem of

colors and contrast. HDR, or high dynamic range, is

screen choice. It ain’t all about size. In fact, at the

the latest technology to hit the display market. It’s

high end, generous proportions are a given. So it’s

already pretty much taken over the high-end HDTV

all the rest that you need to worry about: panel type,

segment. Now it’s beginning to assimilate monitors.

native resolution, and pixel pitch, for instance.

However, the process will be more complicated

But that’s just the basics. The PC monitor market

on the PC, as if the practicalities of implementing

is more complex than ever. That begins with a much

HDR weren’t already complex enough. Point being,

broader choice of shapes and sizes. You can go

you’ll be able to pick and choose between various

seriously big these days. You can also go seriously

aspects of what has become known as HDR.

wide, thanks to 21:9 aspect ratio panels. And you

An example is quantum dot technology. It’s

can go curved for a wrap-around experience.

a color enhancement feature that isn’t strictly

Meanwhile, several spectacular new image-

associated with increasing dynamic range, but

enhancement technologies have emerged over the

it’s part of the broader HDR toolkit that’s

last two years. It wasn’t that long ago that refresh

finding its way into PC monitors. So,

rates for LCD monitors were stuck at 60Hz. Now you

let’s dissect the high-end PC

can go up to 160Hz. Gamers can also opt for dynamic

display market.

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LET’S TAKE A TOUR around the recent history of same, what’s the point? Likewise, is a screen hooked

Above from left to right:

the high-end PC monitor. Remember when a 24- up to a PC while you sit on a couch 15 feet away a

The Asus PA329Q has

inch widescreen monitor with a 1920x1200 native monitor or a TV? Similarly, it’s possible to go too

advanced quantum dot

resolution constituted high end? We’re thinking big in terms of panel viewability. Beyond 40 inches,

technology, but it’s the

2004, and the Dell 2405FPW. You can get something

a screen situated at conventional monitor viewing

purist’s choice.

close to that for about 100 bucks today. Incredible.

distances requires a whole lot of head craning.

About three years later, Dell shook things up That said, many people who thought 30-inch

The Dell UP3017Q is

again with the 3007WFP, a 30-inch 2560x1600 beast

panels were too big 10 years ago are probably happily

one of the first OLED PC

that was so spectacular at the time, it was hard to running 32-inch or 34-inch monitors today. What

monitors to arrive—but

imagine anything bigger. But a further five years feels unwieldy at first, can soon make reverting to a

it costs a fortune.

down the road in 2017, and the 3007 is toast. smaller screen seem restrictive. On a similar note, Screen tech is advancing at breakneck speed. One

where do projectors fit in? A projector can never be a

LG’s 38UC99 is the

moment you’re marveling at the latest superwide direct replacement for a PC monitor, yet nothing can

latest superwide

curved monitor, the next you’re having your entire

compete with their sheer cinematic scale.

curved-screen wonder.

field of view saturated by staggering HDR visuals courtesy of a 55-inch UHDTV, and every monitor

POINTS OF VIEW

This HDTV is big and

you’ve ever used before suddenly seems tiny. Aspect ratio is another consideration. Superwide

beautiful, but do you

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Choices must 21:9-aspect monitors are gaining traction. They’re

really want a 50-inch

be made. You can’t have everything in one monitor. fantastic for movies. They work great with games.

screen as a PC monitor?