maximumpc.com MAR 2020 MAXIMUMPC 95
to happen to simulation
and FPV drones (I am not
into games). For example,
if you look at flight
simulation, even Microsoft
has decided to get back in
the game shortly, and VR
will be required.
Another thing about
flight simulation is there
is no such thing as a
maximum PC. More power
means more realism, and
today’s computers can’t
keep up with what the
software can do. I run 2K
per eye in VR, and it is
great. I can’t turn on all the
features, because my GTX
1080 Ti can’t keep up.
Try flying a real drone
in VR and tell me it isn’t
great. This technology
goes beyond PCs, but it is
groundbreaking for some
uses and is getting better.
2.5 HD screens in each eye
is amazing. –Bill Cullen
STAFF WRITER, CHRISTIAN
GUYTON, RESPONDS: It’s
fair to say that VR does
have applications beyond
gaming, and personally
we’d love to see the VR
market improve and
broaden. There are a few
reasons why we didn’t
discuss topics such as
drones, though: The
global market for drone
racing (not exclusively
VR drones, either) is
currently valued around
two billion US dollars,
while the VR gaming
market was valued at over
10 billion in 2018, and
has far higher predicted
growth. Similarly, the flight
simulator market is valued
around four billion USD, but
the majority of that isn’t in
consumer software.
There’s also the question
of cost. One of our biggest
issues with VR is the initial
buy-in price, which needs
to come down as the global
divide between the rich
and poor widens if VR is
going to truly become a
widespread technology.
Add a powerful system and
a good-quality racing drone
or flight sim software on
top of that, and VR becomes
a difficult area to break into
for many people.
We agree that the
potential is there for
some really awesome
stuff as both VR and PC
hardware improve, and we
genuinely would like to see
VR implemented in more
areas, but right now it feels
like it hasn’t quite reached
the place it needs to be.Dropping Boxes
In the January 2020 issue,
there is a short article
on setting up Dropbox. It
notes the 2GB limit for the
free account, but it misses
a much more significant
limitation: The free account
can only have three devices
(PCs or phones) running
Dropbox. Dropbox rolled
out this policy change in
March 2019. Existing free
users were grandfathered
in, but if an existing user
tries to set up Dropbox on
a new device, they have to
reduce their installations
to just three devices at
that time.
I had Dropbox on five
devices, and a new laptop
for Christmas ultimately
forced me to move to
OneDrive, since I couldn’t
set it up with Dropbox, and
I didn’t want yet another
monthly subscription to
something that I’d have to
keep, essentially, for life.
I don’t like OneDrive as
much, but we own a small
business that has the full
version as part of Office- It works fine.
BTW, I’ve been a
subscriber since CD-ROM
Today folded into boot,
which became Maximum
PC. Probably been a
subscriber since before
many readers were born!
–Mark Gottschalk
EXECUTIVE EDITOR, ALAN
DEXTER, RESPONDS: While
this won’t affect everyone,
it’s still a good point
that’s worth highlighting,
because depending on
your setup, you can smash
through the three-devicelimit quite easily (although
with five devices, keeping
under the 2GB can be a
stretch as well). Ultimately,
this may push you away
from the free version of
Dropbox—either calling on
you to subscribe (and we
absolutely understand your
reluctance here), use an
alternative, or configure
some kind of workaround.
One option is to use adifferent email address
for your mobile devices;
although this does mean
that not everything is the
same place, this may be
preferable, depending on
how you use your various
devices. Here in the office,
we find ourselves relying
on Google Drive more and
more, because it has a
15GB limit and supports
unlimited devices.I wanted to take a moment and thank you for the numerous
articles that you’ve published over the years on building a
PC. I’ve been an avid computer user since I was about 16
years old (my first computer was a Commodore 64), but
yesterday was the first time that I built my own PC. Your
magazine was extremely helpful in selecting components
and building the PC. I also had to refer to a couple of YouTube
videos from Newegg Studios and a young man named Joey
Delgado for additional information, but your magazine is
what inspired me and gave me the push in that direction.
I took my time with the build and spent about five hours
from start to finish. I work as a design engineer in the
automotive industry, so I probably spent too much time
planning the cable runs, but they all worked out. By far
the most difficult portion of the build was connecting the
front panel connectors. Some of them were definitely not
designed for man-size hands and fingers! I had to take a
break and settle down during that portion of the build.
The computer didn’t boot on the first start-up, but the
Asus motherboard had an LED light, which indicated that
something was wrong with the memory. I remember reading
several articles in your magazine that this is a common
mistake with new builders, and your remedy was spot-on:
The memory wasn’t seated properly. The second start-up
went fine. I also didn’t have to access the BIOS and modify
the boot drive, because the computer went right to the flash
drive to install Windows 10. –Scott CorteseFIRST BUILD
[READER SPOTLIGHT]Here are the specs of my new build:
Case: Corsair Carbide 175R
PSU: Corsair RM750x
Mobo: Asus ROG
Strix Z390-E
CPU: Intel Core i7-9700K
Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S
GPU: Asus ROG Strix
GeForce RTX
2060 6GB
RAM: Corsair Vengeance
LPX 16GB DDR4 3000
SSD: Samsung 970 EVO
PLUS M.2 2280 1TB
HDD: WD Black 1TB
Fans: Corsair ML120 (x3)
OS: Windows 10 Home
64-bit