MA XIMUMPC
FUTURE NETWORK USA
150 North Hill Drive, Suite 40, Brisbane, CA 94005
http://www.futurenetworkusa.com
PRESIDENT Jonathan Simpson-Bint
VICE PRESIDENT/CFO Tom Valentino
VICE PRESIDENT/CIRCULATION Holly Klingel
GENERAL COUNSEL Charles Schug
PUBLISHING DIRECTOR/GAMES Simon Whitcombe
PUBLISHING DIRECTOR/TECHNOLOGY AND MUSIC Steve Aaron
PUBLISHING DIRECTOR/BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Dave Barrow
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR/TECHNOLOGY Jon Phillips
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR/MUSIC Brad Tolinski
DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL SERVICES Nancy Durlester
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Richie Lesovoy
Future Network USA is part of
Future plc.
Future produces carefully targeted
special-interest magazines for
people who share a passion. We
aim to satisfy that passion by creat-
ing titles offering value for money,
reliable information, smart buying
advice and which are a pleasure to
read. Today we publish more than
150 magazines in the US, UK, France
and Italy. Over 100 international
editions of our magazines are also published in 30 other countries
across the world.
Future plc is a public company quoted on the London Stock Exchange
(symbol: FUTR).
FUTURE plc
30 Monmouth St., Bath, Avon, BA1 2BW, England
http://www.futureplc.com
Tel +44 1225 442244
NON EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN: Roger Parry
CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Greg Ingham
GROUP FINANCE DIRECTOR: John Bowman
Tel +44 1225 442244
http://www.futureplc.com
REPRINTS: For reprints, contact Ryan Derfl er, Reprint Operations
Specialist, 717.399.1900 ext. 167
or email: [email protected]
SUBSCRIPTION QUERIES: Please email maxcustserv@cdsfulfi ll
ment.com or call customer service toll-free at 800.274.
Quick Start Which new
technologies will defi ne 2006? ............. 10Head2Head Surround sound:
headphones vs. speakers .................... 16Watch Dog Maximum PC takes
a bite out of bad gear ............................. 20How To Install Linux on your PC ...... 59
Ask the Doctor Diagnosing
and curing your PC problems .............. 62Contents
R&D The wonderful world of
virtual 3D audio .................................. 66In the Lab Learn how various
thermal pastes compare .................... 70In/Out You write, we respond ....... 110
Rig of the Month Not just
a hod rod, but a hot mod ................. 112EDITORIAL
EDITOR IN CHIEF Will Smith
MANAGING EDITOR Katherine Stevenson
EXECUTIVE EDITOR Michael Brown
SENIOR EDITOR Gordon Mah Ung
SENIOR EDITOR Josh Norem
FEATURES EDITOR Logan Decker
SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR Steve Klett
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Claude McIver
EDITOR EMERITUS Andrew Sanchez
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Tom Halfhill, William Matens,
Thomas McDonald
ART
ART DIRECTOR Natalie Jeday
ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR Boni Uzilevsky
PHOTO EDITOR Mark Madeo
ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHER Samantha Berg
BUSINESS
PUBLISHER646-723-540 Bernard Lanigan 5 , [email protected]
SOUTH WESTERN AD DIRECTOR949-360-4443, [email protected] Dave Lynn
SOUTH WESTERN AD MANAGER562-983-8018, [email protected] Issac Ugay
NORTH WESTERN AD DIRECTOR925-964-1205, [email protected] Stacey Levy
EASTERN AD DIRECTOR646-723-5453, [email protected] Anthony Danzi
EASTERN AD MANAGER646-723-545 9 , lpresser (^) @futurenetworkusa.comLarry Presser
NATIONAL SALES MANAGER, ENTERTAINMENT415-656-8536, [email protected] Nate Hunt
ADVERTISING COORDINATOR415-656-8313, ju [email protected] Jose Urrutia
MARKETING COORDINATOR Tara Wong
PRODUCTION
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Richie Lesovoy
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Dan Mallory
CIRCULATION
CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Stephanie Flanagan
FULFILLMENT MANAGER Angela Martinez
DIRECT MARKETING SPECIALIST Janet Amistoso
NE WSSTAND COORDINATOR Alex Guzman
Departments
Reviews
PC enclosure Cooler Master
CM Stacker 830 ....................................... 72
Desktop PC S1 Digital
Media Center ........................................... 74
External water cooler
Thermaltake Symphony .......................... 75
Wireless 5.1 speakers
Logitech Z-5450 Digital ............................ 76
Mid-size case Silverstone
Sugo SG-01 ............................................. 76
PDA Palm TX ........................................ 77
Streaming boxes Pinnacle
ShowCenter 200; Olive Musica ............... 78
MP3/video player
iPod Video ................................................ 80
JANUARY 2006 MA XIMUMPC
VGA coolers Arctic Cooling
Silencer ..................................................... 82
Cordless mouse Logitech G7 ..... 82
Antivirus apps McAfee
VirusScan; Norton AnitVirus ................... 84
7
88
Age of Empires III ................................ 86
Call of Duty 2 ........................................ 88
FEAR ........................................................ 90
Gaming
72
80
75