Custom PC - UK (2021-05)

CUSTOM PC / 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

Contents

Welcome 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.

COVER

STORY

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