JUN 2022MAXIMU MPC 95
Keeping a Low Pro le
Unclear Windows
RAM Raider
Desktops vs. Laptops
Thanks very much
for pointing the
inconsistencies of this
board out though, and it’s
something I'll keep an
eye out for in future. In
the meantime, I’ll point
you towards Logitech’s
G915 TKL, which I’ve also
been using—it’s much
more consistent, but it’s
a wireless board and will
cost you an eye-watering
$210. But hey, no one said
good design was cheap!The Key, The Secret
I’m a long-time reader all
the way back from Boot
issue #1 and I just wanted
to write in and point out
that with the latest issue’s
$1300 build and last issue’s
budget build, there was
no cost factored in for a
Windows license. However,
in the part of the build
instructions where the OS
is mentioned, it’s spoken of
as an essential. Sure, we
can use a free Linux OS,
but that’s not mentioned,
and leaving that cost out
is misleading for the total
given. All in all, thanks for a
great magazine that as long
as it’s still in print (paper!),
I’ll be a subscriber.
–M. WhitefordThe builds in the back all
have Windows Home for
$32. Where do you get that?
I have yet to find it available
at any place for less than
$95. If Home is $32, then
pro would be only $75. I
would love to find Windows
Pro for $75! –S. KurtEDITOR-IN-CHIEF, GUY
COCKER, RESPONDS: I’ve
had quite a few questions
about Windows 10/11, how
we price it up, and where
we get the $32 figure from
in our Blueprint section.
Apologies if it hasn't been
clear until now.
If you go to a big box
retailer or online store
then it will cost around
$100-120 to get Windows
on a DVD or USB Flash
Drive. However, as
Maximum PC readers, weassume you’re comfortable
with making your own
installation media and then
simply buying a license.
Buy or reuse a USB stick
(at least 8GB) and head to
http://www.microsoft.com/en-
us/software-download/
windows11 to create your
installation media.
To purchase the license,
head to a reputable online
key retailer such as G2A.
com or Gamivo.com, and
you’ll find Windows 11
Home for around $32, and
Windows 11 Pro for $60.
It’s also worth reminding
you that if you already have
a Windows 10 license, you
should be able to activate
Windows 11 for free.
If you’re upgrading or
building a new system,
there’s a chance it
might not work during
installation, but you can
still install the operating
system and then contact
Microsoft for help if
needed. I’ve personally
had to do this before
and found Microsoft to
be very helpful.Wham! Bam!
Thank You RAM
I’m finally going to pull
the trigger on building a
new PC. I’m just going to
upgrade my motherboard,
CPU, cooler, and memory.
I hate slowness and want
to be able to push game
settings to maximum, so I
was going to get a Core i9
and 64GB or 128GB of RAM.
I will be gaming, photo
editing, and maybe video
editing. Is this amount
of RAM too much? Should I
consider an Intel Core
i7 chip? Or go AMD?
I need advice! – L. KeelEDITOR-IN-CHIEF, GUY
COCKER, RESPONDS:
Congratulations on
upgrading your PC! The
questions you’ve asked are
what every PC builder goes
through. Essentially, your
core challenge seems to
be: what components do I
need to spend the most on?
I’ve made someassumptions based on the
information you’ve given
me, the biggest of which is
that I don’t know what GPU
you’re going to be using.
This is most relevant to
your wish to game at max
settings — in that case,
you’ll want an Nvidia RTX
3090 Ti or AMD RX 6900 XT.
However, I would suggest
read ing our GPU feature
on page 26. It tells you why
you don’t need to game at
ultra and why you’d get
much better bang for your
buck elsewhere.
In terms of memory, for
gaming , the returns diminish
above 32GB, and 16GB is still
more than enough for most
games. Photo and video
editors always love having
more memory though,
so there could be an
argument for going for
64GB if this is the main
purpose of the machine.
It’s the same advice
for the processor—the
i9-12900K will tear through
your creativity tasks, but
the i7 saves you at least
$150 and only the most
hardcore of 4K editors will
see the difference. Even
the i5-12600K, which is
less than half the price of
the i9, is good enough for
most, including gamers.
On the AMD question,
the high-end Ryzen 9 5950X
is a good match for your
i9, but it’s a year older
and doesn’t support DDR5
RAM. Not a big issue right
now, but something to think
about for the future.
I hope this helps, and
enjoy your new PC!Dreaming of Desktops
Hello! I’m 13 years old and
have loved PCs ever since
I was 11. I’ve never had a
desktop PC and I have to
wait a year to get a job in
North Dakota to buy one,
sadly. But that brings me to
my question: what will be
different on a desktop over
my current gaming laptop?
I’m running an Acer Nitro
5 with a Core i5 11th gen
CPU, an Nvidia GTX 1650,
and Windows 11.My second question is
could you write about this
AI aimbot that claims to be
“undetectable”. My main
game is Valorant and
I want to know how worried
I should be. I love the
hard work that goes into
the magazine. Thanks for
your time! –J. ArndtEDITOR-IN-CHIEF, GUY
COCKER, RESPONDS: It was
a pleasure to read such a
well-written letter from the
next generation of PC user.
I can remember getting into
PC gaming at the same age,
although that sadly feels a
long time ago now!
To answer your question
on laptop vs. desktop, the
benefits of a desktop tend
to be that you can get more
power for your money, plus
the improved airflow
and cooling options will
allow you to overclock
your components.
In your case, though, I’d
stick with what you’ve got,
or upgrade your laptop
when you have the funds to
do so. Assuming you also
use the laptop for school
and internet browsing,
you have a more portable
option in the Acer Nitro 5,
and if you’re mainly playing
Valorant, you don’t need
anything more than the
system you already have.
Check out our review of
the new 2022 Acer Nitro 5
on page 80, or the Lenovo
Legion 5 Pro on page 82, to
see what this year’s mid-
range laptops can do.
On Valorant or any other
online game, cheaters
will always try their
luck sadly. Riot does a
good job of detecting and
banning cheaters through
its Vanguard anti-cheat
system, and last year, a
Swedish eSports platform
called G-Loot used AI to
detect player inputs.
I believe the latter is
the future of fraud
detection in online gaming
and should be both more
accurate and faster at
detecting the bad actors
© LOGITECH than manual reporting.