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C U S TO M P C / ISSUE 212

08 The naming game Richard Swinburne dissects Nvidia’s simpler but far more confusing laptop GPU naming scheme.

10 Gaming snake oil Supplements are the latest craze to hit gaming but Tracy King thinks we’ve seen it all before.

16 Intel Core i9-10850K Intel’s 10-core, 20-thread processor is available – emphasis on available – for under £400, but how does it fare?

18 Thermaltake Tower 100 This glass-sided mini-ITX tower is a great way to show off your components, but does it have the cooling performance too?

20 Asus ROG Swift PG259QNR With its 360Hz refresh rate and built-in latency analyser, this display takes gaming performance to the next level.

42 Cracking cases Looking for a top-of-the-line ATX case? Antony Leather tests five of the latest premium options.

50 Marvellous mechs Edward Chester puts eight of the latest high-end mechanical keyboards through their paces.

Highlights

ContentsWelcome to Issue 212

94 Raspberry Pi Pico Gareth Halfacree puts Raspberry Pi’s tiny new microcontroller to the test.

98 PCI-E 4 risers inbound PCI-E riser cables are a great way to jazz up your build, and now PCI-E 4 cables could be on their way.

100 Shiny! Antony Leather shows you how to dismantle your waterblocks and clean them to a shine.

106 Pentium 4 revisited Much maligned but well remembered, Ben Hardwidge looks back on Intel’s NetBurst microarchitecture.

114 Making the sale AMD may be winning the review wars but many buyers are still opting for Intel, explains James Gorbold.

68 The joke’s on you There’s nothing wrong with games being funny, but they shouldn’t be laughing at how bad they are, argues Rick Lane.

74 Reality Check Rick Lane checks out the latest VR gaming news and reviews Jurassic World: Aftermath.

76 Build a first-class water-cooled PC This comprehensive guide teaches you how to build a fully water-cooled PC with the latest high-end gaming components.

86 Switching gear Mechanical keyboards are the choice du jour but what makes them so special? Edward Chester explains all.

COVERSTORY

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THE BEST-SELLING MAG FOR PC HARDWARE, OVERCLOCKING, GAMING & MODDING / ISSUE 212

GEFORCE TO GO RTX 3000-SERIES LAPTOPS REVIEWED

HOW TO CLEAN YOUR WATERBLOCKS TO A SHINE

MAKE A SENSATIONAL HIGH-END GAMING SYSTEM JUST LIKE THE PROS

WHAT'S YOUR TYPE? 8 mechanical keyboards tested How mechanical switches work

15 PAGE SPECIAL

BUILD ITLIGHT IT

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MAY 2021 MAY 2021 // £5.99 £5.99

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Cover guide

76 30

10050

Reviewed CPUS 16 Intel Core i9-10850K

CASES18 Thermaltake Tower 100

GAMING MONITORS20 Asus ROG Swift PG259QNR21 Alienware AW2721D

NAS ENCLOSURES24 WD My Cloud EX225 QNAP TS-231P3

GAMING CHAIRS26 Vertagear PL450028 Razer Iskur

GAMING LAPTOPS30 Asus Zephyrus Duo32 PC Specialist Defiance VIII Pro

PC SYSTEMS34 Cyberpower Ultra 9 XT36 PC Specialist Prism Elite

Custom kit38 Unim mug warmer38 Noklead alarm clock38 Phission soundbar39 True Utility Sharkey Niaguoji 7-Port USB Hub39 Hamswan SC-G04 VR headset

Case Labs43 be quiet! Silent Base 80244 Corsair 5000D Airflow45 Fractal Design Meshify 246 NZXT H510 Elite47 Phanteks Enthoo Pro 2

Mechanical keyboard Labs51 Cooler Master CK550 V2 52 Corsair K100 RGB53 Ducky Shine 7 RGB54 Filco Majestouch-2 55 Logitech G915 TKL56 Logitech G Pro X 58 Razer BlackWidow V3 59 SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL

Games69 Disjunction70 Hitman 372 The Medium73 Werewolf74 Jurassic World: Aftermath

Hobby tech92 BBC Doctor Who HiFive Inventor Coding Kit94 Raspberry Pi Pico96 Initiating Paraneon

38 PRODUCTS REVIEWED

5

Regulars

3 From the editor

8 Richard Swinburne

10 Tracy King

12 Incoming

14 Letters

38 Custom kit

60 How we test

62 Elite products

68 Inverse look

74 Reality check

92 Hobby tech

97 For the win

98 Customised PC

100 How to guides

105 Folding@home

106 Retro tech

110 Readers’ drives

114 James Gorbold

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