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Posts Tagged ‘maximum pc’

It’s easy to build a gaming machine on a budget if you’re playing at 1650×1080 or 1920×1200, but if you’re rocking 2560×1600, you need a little more oomph

As Maximum PC senior editor Gordon Mah Ung puts it, building a budget gaming rig for a 30-inch panel is the metaphorical equivalent of slapping a Ferrari engine into a crappy Ford car. If you can afford a display that rings up north of $2,000, then why the heck are you trying to cut corners on the system you’re connecting it to?

I can’t answer that one for you. But what I … [Read More...]

Steven P. Jobs, the founder of Apple, passed away today after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

Although we’ve voiced a lot of complaints about Apple over the years, there’s not one of us on the Maximum PC staff (even Gordon) who isn’t saddened to hear this news. Steve Jobs was a one-of-a-kind figure in the tech community, and his passing is a tremendous loss.

Rest in peace, Steve. You were a true innovator and you’ve left a hell of a legacy.

This article was written by MaximumPC (Source)… [Read More...]

What netbooks were meant to be

We’re not living so close to the cutting edge here at Maximum PC that we can’t see the utility of a no-frills, budget portable that’s capable of performing all the common day-to-day computing tasks. Whether it serves as a secondary machine for work on-the-go or as a primary PC for a school-age kid, we get it. It’s the same need that netbooks were meant to fulfill, if only they hadn’t fallen short of the mark. What netbooks taught us is that today’s common computing tasks—which include things like gaming and high-def video playback—require more … [Read More...]

Polywell’s latest packs a surprise GPU

Here at Maximum PC, we adhere to the cable news statistics rule that two data points is all you need to create a trend. So being presented with the second white system we’ve seen in the last three months, we can now declare that white is the new black (which was the new beige).

And, (Kent Brockman voice-over) it’s a trend we like. Far from gaudy, Polywell’s Ignition X5800 manages to look powerful, stately, and professional. It’s an appropriate aesthetic coming from a company with a long history of making computers for work. For … [Read More...]

You don’t need to spend a fortune to take advantage of Intel’s newest platform

Previous builds in this section have tended toward the expensive side, whether they’ve been the $8,600 photo studio or our $1,800 mini-ITX gaming build. While we stand by those choices (this is Maximum PC), we’ve also heard your cries for more affordable options. Often, a budget build means buying parts that are a little past their prime—and don’t get us wrong, you can find great deals there. But for this month’s build, I knew I wanted to explore Intel’s hot new Sandy Bridge architecture—and, if I … [Read More...]

AMD vs. Intel? Feh. For power users, it’s all about quad-core Sandy Bridge vs. hexa-core Gulftown (or if you’re not up with the brevity thing Core i7-2600K versus Core i7-980X). Maximum PC’s Gordon Mah Ung highlights the kinds of sacrifices you might have to make if you decide to go with the hexa-core when configuring your next machine. And, surprisingly, a high-clocked Sandy Bridge system will give its older sibling a shockingly good competition.

You can find Gordon’s official reviews of both machines here and here.

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This article was written by MaximumPC (Source)… [Read More...]

Can we build a PC that’s quiet and cool without sacrificing performance—or spending a fortune?

Anyone can build a gaming PC. Seriously, it’s easy. Minus a few technological bits of know-how here and there, there’s really nothing that tough about buying the fastest components you can afford and slapping them in whatever chassis you happen to have on hand. Done, right?

Maximum PC never shies away from a challenge, however, and Sr. Associate Editor Nathan Edwards has upped the ante for this month’s build-it. One of the key problems of building a tricked-out rig is that you’re sure to increase … [Read More...]