DECEMBER 2006 MAXIMUMPC 119
MAXIMUM
PC
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LETTERS POLICY: MAXIMUM PC invites your thoughts and comments. Send them to
[email protected]. Please include your full name, town, and telephone number, and limit
your letter to 300 words. Letters may be edited for space and clarity. Due to the vast amount of
e-mail we receive, we cannot personally respond to each letter.player with a big screen. If that’s what you’re
looking for, look no further than the Archos 604.
This media player boasts a screen of mammoth
proportions: 4.3-inches, measured diagonally,
with a 16:9 aspect ratio. In fact, we like it so
much that we named it “Best of the Best of
2006” in its category (you’ll find the whole story
on page 40).
PROBLEMS WITH DVD COPY 5
Your review of InterVideo DVD Copy 5 Platinum
software (Nov. 2006 issue) missed one important
point: It sucks when ripping to WMV format. Although
most newer widescreen DVDs work fine, most older
ones including Mr. Holland’s Opus and Mulan look
squashed. What sucks even more is that the software
sports a 0-percent success record when ripping
full-screen movies to WMV—again, all get squashed.
Other formats such as MP4 appear to work fine, but
for those of us that have settled on WMV as their
video format of choice, the DVD Copy 5 software fails
miserably. Interestingly, these bugs have existed since
version 4, but back then InterVideo’s tech support
conveniently wrote off my problem when they found
out I was ripping a commercial DVD using AnyDVD
to unencrypt. Come on, what else are people using
DVD Copy 5 for?
—Jeremy Heiner
EDITOR IN CHIEF WILL SMITH RESPONDS: I’ve
actually had a lot of luck using DVD Copy 5 to
rip to WMV for playback on a variety of devices.
However, you did discover a problem with non-
anamorphic discs and the DVD Copy 5 program.
The solution for non-anamorphic widescreen
DVDs and full-screen programs—like our
Futurama and Simpsons DVDs—is the same.
When you configure the encode, you need to
select a non-widescreen resolution. We’ve
ripped tons of full-screen TV shows without any
problems whatsoever.
As for supporting AnyDVD-assisted rips, I’m
not surprised that InterVideo wouldn’t help you.
Assisting you in your DMCA-illicit behavior is
against U.S. law (wink, wink).
WHAT POWER SUPPLY TO BUY
I was wondering if a review would be coming up on
different power supplies. I noticed that your 2006
Dream Machine used a PC Power & Cooling sup-
ply [September 2006]. What makes that the best
unit versus comparably rated supplies from Antec,
Thermaltake, Seasonic, or Hyper X?
Is there a calculation available that helps decide
what size PSU I’ll need? How did you know that a
750-watt supply was enough to run all the hardware
in the Dream Machine?
—Robert PattermannSENIOR GORDON MAH UNG RESPONDS: We’ve
been working on a way to reproduce our previ-
ous power supply roundup [June 2004], but
the logistics are a challenge. We continually
choose PC Power and Cooling PSUs because
of the company’s reputation for reliability and
real-world power ratings. I can’t remember the
last time one of the company’s PSUs failed us.
I do hear you, though; it is difficult to navigate
the waters with all the “performance” power
supplies being sold today.
An easy way to judge quality is to check
for either ATI CrossFire or Nvidia SLI certifi-
cation. Because both ATI and Nvidia have a
vested interest in making sure your power
supply can deliver enough juice to run dual
cards, the companies’ approval programs have
helped weed out the poseurs in the power sup-
ply category. We generally recommend that you
buy a more powerful PSU than you think you
need. It’s better to have too much power than
too little.WILL THE REAL CPU PRICE PLEASE
STAND UP?
While reading the Head2Head section about mid-
range CPUs (Holiday 2006), I was amazed at your
comment, “Normally, CPUs sell below their 1K unit
price.” I wonder what planet you guys are living on.
On the Planet of Earth, the exact opposite is going on.
—Xiao ChenyangSENIOR EDITOR GORDON MAH UNG: You’re living
on the bizarro planet Earth, Costanza. The 1K unit
pricing is the price AMD or Intel charges small
fries. When Michael Dell calls up and orders 15
million CPUs from Intel, you can bet your sweet
bippy he gets a better price than the 1KU. But
what happens when Dell or other large compa-
nies have a glut of inventory and decide to get rid
of it? It goes out the door before it gets too stale,
at prices below the 1KU. Other back-room pricing
deals help to lower chip prices below their list
prices. For example, the Sempron 2800+ in
Socket 939 has a 1KU price of $47, yet it streets
for $40. Intel’s Core 2 Duo has a 1KU of $183, yet
sells on the street for $181—and that part is
brand-spanking new! Give it six months and
you’ll find the E6300 priced even lower. If AMD
wasn’t having a proc shortage, most of its parts
would be priced lower, too.JANUARY
ISSUE