Maximum PC - USA (2019-10)

maximumpc.com OCT 2019 MAXIMUMPC 95

registry, whatever tool is

relevant for your SSD (such

Samsung Magician), and

then fill in any gaps using

the tools we recommend

in our regular Windows

optimization features.

Tiniest PC

Maybe you’ve already done

it, but if you haven’t, why

not set up a challenge to

build the smallest possible

computer, à la Raspberry

Pi? Can we do better than

the Pi? And what would

be the requirements?

One would have to be that

you can get out on the

Internet—what else?

–Geoffrey Nicoletti

EXECUTIVE EDITOR, ALAN

DEXTER, RESPONDS: This

is the kind of challenge we

can get behind, Geoffrey,

and it will be interesting to

see what the extra money

nets you, particularly as

the Raspberry Pi 4 now

sets the bar much higher.

Being able to run Windows

10 is an obvious place to

start (and all the goodies

that come with that), as

well as more memory,

a dedicated graphics

processor, and speedy

main storage (possibly the

Raspberry Pi’s weakest

aspect)—that all makes

for a much more capable

machine, although at a

much higher cost. Consider

us intrigued.

More Than Gaming

I have an even better and

cheaper solution for your

movie- and game-playing

readers. It’s called the

Steam Link. It isn’t just for

playing games. You can use

it to do almost anything

you can do on your PC,

while sitting in front of the

TV on your couch or chair.

To activate it, connect a

mouse and/or keyboard

and turn that device on.

When launched, it tries to

connect to any PC on the

network running Steam. It

will connect up right away

and give you instant access

to everything in the Steam

library. But here is the

tricky part: At the top-right

is the power button; click,

and in the list find “Exit Big

Picture Mode.” Once you

do this, Steam reduces to

a window on your PC. You

now have full access to run

any program you wish. No

need to have a full-blown

PC in your living room. You

now have the full power of

your PC from your couch

or chair. I used Plex for

years and it could be very

frustrating, because some

content never appeared

correctly, no matter what

I tried. But now instead of

putting a PC by the TV, with

all that entails, I have the

best of both worlds.

–William Horn

EXECUTIVE EDITOR, ALAN

DEXTER, RESPONDS: Nice

tip, we hadn’t actually

thought of doing this. It’s

a shame that the device

has been discontinued,

although if anyone’s

interested in doing this,

you can pick them up on

eBay pretty cheap (to

be fair, they were cheap

anyway). We had a Steam

Link languishing in a

drawer in the office for so

long we actually gave it

away to a colleague in the

end, which we may now be

regretting after reading

your letter....

Next-Gen Audio

I really enjoyed reading

“The Sound of Silence”

by Phil Iwaniuk, as well

as his review of the EVGA

Nu Audio soundcard. I do

wonder, though, given its

specs, why does it have an

SPDIF-out but not HDMI?

However, given that the

next PlayStation (consoles

are basically mid-range

gaming PCs) has a custom

3D audio chip for more

immersive, positional

sound, are we likely to

see a new generation of

soundcards engineered for

enhanced immersive game

audio, similar to how we

rely on graphics cards for

improved visuals?

–Julián Parrilla Grajales

EXECUTIVE EDITOR, ALAN

DEXTER, RESPONDS: While

it would be great to think

that soundcards are about

to get a new lease of life,

the fact of the matter is

that they’re now seen as

a commodity—something

that is used as an upsell

for the more expensive

motherboards. Add-in

cards are a bit of a niche

consideration, and the

really good options are still

the reserve of audiophiles

and audio professionals.

Still, we’ll enjoy a moment

of optimism and hope that

next-gen consoles do give

audio hardware a boost.

Gaming Genres

Just a suggestion: When

writing your game reviews,

could you specify the genre

of that game, such as FPS,

RPG, MMORPG, and so on?

This way, it is easier for the

readers to focus on what is

appealing to them.

–Oleg Kravt

EXECUTIVE EDITOR, ALAN

DEXTER, RESPONDS: Good

idea. So good, in fact, that

we’ve started doing this

already. I hope you like

the change.

[NOW ONLINE]

HOW ARE MICROCHIPS

MADE, ANYWAY?

Modern computers are built out of a collection of seven

primary components: the CPU, GPU, RAM, storage,

motherboard, case, and power supply. Each of these—

yes, even the case—now contains anywhere from a few

microchips to potentially hundreds of chips that handle

a wide variety of tasks. Audio, communication, graphics,

storage, and, of course, the CPU, aka central processing

unit. The primary building block of our modern computers

is the silicon microchip, but what exactly is a microchip,

and how is it made? It’s a fascinating and incredibly

complex topic, so we’re going to give you the ultra-

condensed version.

Microchips, microprocessors, CPU, GPUs, or whatever

you want to call them are fundamentally similar. They’re

all made from semiconductors, typically on 300mm silicon

wafers, which in turn are cut from a large silicon crystal

cylinder. Those silicon cylinders are where everything

starts, and they’re grown from a seed crystal dipped

into a molten vat of nearly pure silicon. That “nearly” bit

is important, however, because small impurities in the

wafers can lead to errors or non-functional parts.

Read the full article: https://bit.ly/3006uCS

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