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WE TACKLE TOUGH READER QUESTIONS ON...80 MAXIMUM PC SEP 2020 maximumpc.com
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Case Conundrums
Hi folks—long-time reader
and love the mag. I have a
Maingear Shift PC that’s
getting long in the tooth
(seven-year-old Haswell
processor, one panel doesn’t
stay in). I’m looking into
building a new PC. One minor
question, and don’t laugh:
My PC sits between my desk
and sofa, and because of
the height of the PC, it’s a
fantastic drink-holder as the
height is exactly the same
level as the arm on my sofa. Is
there an equivalent-sized new
case that’s easy to build in that
you would recommend? The
sharp edges of the Shift were
another detriment, although it
looks great—thanks! –JerryEDITOR ZAK STOREY
RESPONDS: This is a tough
one, actually more because
the dimensions are incredibly
difficult to source. We’ve
found a review from Tom’s
Guide back in 2014 for the
Maingear Shift that seems to
be the only place that lists the
case’s height. And even then
they’ve failed to list in which
order those dimensions are
measured, so we’re assuming
that it’s 24 inches tall. It’s a
bit problematic as there’s a
ton of full towers but some
are much taller than that,others much shorter, and
some have bizarre top-panel
design features, which are a
bit annoying if you’re trying to
keep a drink on there. One of
the closest we can find to that
height is be quiet!’s Dark Base
Pro 900, but it comes in just
slightly shorter at 23 inches.
What I might be more
tempted to recommend is
that you build some sort of
small plinth for your PC out
of a few off-cuts of wood, or
something along those lines.It’s a small bit of DIY, but that
way you can control exactly
how high your PC case is, and
it gives you access to more
cases, as you’ll only need
to adjust the height of your
plinth. It’s also a good idea if
your PC is sat on carpet, as
you can keep it lifted off the
ground and it’ll give the power
supply fan (if it’s facing down)
better access to cool air.
I’m a fan of using recycled
pallet wood for DIY projects,
as long as you get the right
stuff to use indoors. It gives
things a rustic feel, and you
can paint it, stain it, or oil
it whatever color you want
to match the rest of your
furniture. Also, if you’re not
great at woodwork you can
claim it’s “meant to look that
way because it’s rustic.” I
found a place local to me that
sells recycled pallet wood
boards at 25 cents per foot, so
it's worth checking out.Microsoft Edge Virus
Hi, In other circumstances,
I might have been willing to
give MS Edge a go, say if they
offered it for download like
almost every other browser
in the world. But the way that
MS jammed it down my throat,
making it next to impossible
to uninstall (even through
power shell) and having it runat startup in spite of being
disabled in Task Manager... it’s
a bit much. I was able to get it
off my computer after much
fiddling around (booting to
Linux Live, etc) but what are
they thinking? –Steve GEDITOR ZAK STOREY
RESPONDS: I’m so glad you
gave me the opportunity to
rant about this, because I
can’t even begin to explain
to you how frustrated I was
when that update came
around, and it was like “try
Microsoft Edge,” massive
full-screen window, no
way of clicking out of it
without hitting continue,
then it offered to import all
of my Firefox bookmarks.
Absolutely agree with you,
it’s obtuse and reeks of that
same notion back when
Apple added that U2 album to
everyone’s iPhones.
It certainly doesn’t help its
case, I know Edge is now a lot
better than what it used to be,
it’s basically just a spin-off of
Google’s Chromium, complete
with access to its extensions
and so on, but it’s a bit gross
really. That said, once I got
past the update, I unpinned
the icon from my Windows
bar, deleted the icon from my
desktop and it hasn’t bothered
me since. The only thing I do
Data Analysis
Case Construction
Microsoft Edge
Last issue on page 53, we
mentioned that you should
unplug fans during the
cleaning process, as the
motors can generate an
electrical charge when
spun quickly. It’s worth
noting this is no longer the
case with new fan motor
designs. Thanks to Carey
Holzman for pointing this
out. Check out his video
disproving the tech myth
here: bit.ly/2OJTKMQ[CORRECTION]