Maximum PC - USA (2021-Holiday)

As you can imagine, the

pandemic has well and truly

put a stop to press events. The

chance to travel the world to be

among the first to hear about

the latest tech is a privilege

and it was certainly a huge

incentive to join the industry.

However, I started slap-bang

in the middle of Covid-19, so

until now I haven’t been able

to go anywhere.

Thankfully, I was able to

go to Intel’s Alder Lake CPU

event in late October to learn

about the new 12th-gen

chips. This is one of Intel’s

biggest architectural changes

in a decade and I have to say

I’m excited about the full

release. I won’t give away

too much here, but if you’re

into overclocking, you should

be excited about these new

processors. They make the

experience much easier with

far more customization than

before. We’ll also see Intel’s

XMP 3.0 supporting DDR5

memory too. Exciting stuff.

One of the biggest leaps

forward is the introduction of

a hybrid architecture. These

processors now contain

both performance cores for

foreground tasks and efficient

cores for background tasks.

They also have Intel’s Thread

Director to dictate which cores

do which job for maximum

performance and efficiency,

but more on that next issue.

Although the gathering

was a lot smaller than typical

press events, I had a great day

meeting lots of new people

and getting a taste of what’s to

come (hopefully) in the future.

SAM LEWIS

Staff Writer

ZAK STOREY, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

MAN,THIS HAS BEEN a really difficult issue

for me to write. On the one hand, and

I’m sure my production team will agree,

I’ve been insanely efficient for once,

meeting every single one of my personal

deadlines ahead of schedule, planning,

commissioning, and organizing the next

two issues on top of that, so my successor

doesn’t have such a hard time, and

generally just being punctual with backup

plans on backup plans.

But on the other hand, it’s been difficult

because it’s going to be my last issue. I’m

finding it challenging at times to write,

without getting emotional. It’s in the back

of my mind that this is my last build-it,

my last review, my last editor’s intro, and

that’s quite rough. For me at least.

I know that might sound ridiculous, but

it’s just one of those things. Maximum PC

has been pretty much the entirety of my

working career to this point (aside from

a stint on Tom’s Hardware). It’s where

I became the man I am today. It has

allowed me to do so many things, learn so

much, and hone my craft. It has massively

contributed to my next career move too.

Without it, I would likely have broken

up with my partner that I met at college

years ago, due to long distance. I wouldn’t

have my house, my dog, and I’d probably

be living back home, working in the

police or as a construction worker like

my old pops and grandfather before him.

And that’s not even mentioning all the

incredible people I’ve had the opportunity

to work with, the friendships I’ve made,

and of course interacting with all of you,

which has been incredibly special to me.

I’ve nothing but good things to say about

the magazine and its community. I’m so

thankful for all of the support, particularly

over the last couple of years. I have loved

reading all of your letters and emails—

I know I didn’t respond to everything, but I

did read all of them and tried to bear your

suggestions in mind whenever I could.

The reason Maximum PC still exists

today is because of all of you, without a

shadow of a doubt. Without your support,

we couldn’t do what we do and, yeah, that

just makes it something special. So thank

you for everything. It’s been a pleasure

and absolute honor being editor of this

place. It’s a time in my life I won’t forget.

So for now, I’ll sign off for one last time.

I wish you all the best, and if you ever see

me and my flat cap out and about, let me

know and I’ll buy you a beer!

It’s been a hell of a ride

Where it all began

74 MAXIMUMPC HOL 2021

tested. reviewed. verdictized.
in the lab

74