RICHARD SWINBURNE / VIEW FROM TAIWAN
OPINION
A
s it’s 2020, and this is the 200th issue of Custom PC,
I’ve been thinking back over my past two decades of
building PCs, so crack out your rose-tinted glasses
with me as I look back at how the industry has changed.
Firstly, back in 2002 the ATI Radeon 8500 wasn’t necessarily
faster than the equivalent GeForce 3, but it provided better
image quality (an important factor when you had analogue
monitor inputs) and helped to cement Radeon as a top-tier
graphics brand. I bought the cheaper Radeon 8500 LE instead.
This version could be ‘pencil-modded’ to bump up the voltage
on the core and memory, enabling overclocking further than
the full 8500 card. Sadly, a carefully placed bit of graphite can
no longer upgrade you to a premium graphics card!
Soon afterwards, in 2003 Corsair’s Pro-series
memory added LEDs with a practical use,
showing an active read-out of how intensively
the memory subsystem was being accessed.
The LEDs bounced through green, orange and
red depending on the exact load, and the
effect was both good-looking and informative.
Unfortunately, Corsair was unable to update
the technology beyond the days of DDR, and the Pro series
was shelved when DDR2 took over.
In the early 2000s, Western Digital also injected some
enthusiast spark into the previously banal storage market.
Its Raptor was the drive on which to store your Windows XP
installation, and the 10,000rpm spindle speed gave a trade-
off between never-before experienced responsiveness at the
expense of a persistent high-pitched whine.
If you could afford two or more of them in RAID 0, your
HDTach results would be highly enviable. The 3rd-generation
Raptor X even had a window on it, so you could see the headszipping around inside, and a few modders went even further
by opening them up and inserting some LEDs.
Intel’s Core architecture later arrived in 2006, and its superiority
over the previous NetBurst architecture is well documented
history. What’s less well documented, in my opinion, is that the
late LGA775 era was the last set of PC platforms that allowed
truly affordable high-end performance.
You could overclock even the cheapest models via the front
side bus to get decent performance. For example, a cheap 1.8GHz
Core 2 Duo E6300 could be pushed to a decent 2.4GHz, while
the later Core 2 Quad Q6600 was a firm enthusiast favourite.
This was later killed off when Intel moved to the Quick Path
Interconnect (QPI). For me, Sandy Bridge was bittersweet. It
was celebrated for its easy overclocking to a
very high frequency, but it normalised a locked
platform, and unlocked K-series chips that
have commanded a price premium ever since.
In recent years, what really changed the
game (ahem) for me has been outside the case- displays with variable refresh rates. Kudos
to Nvidia for being disruptive to displays
and launching G-Sync in 2014, which pushed AMD to react
with FreeSync. Regardless of which side of the fence you sit,
these monitors have been hugely successful, because few
technologies improve the quality of experience to such a
degree while still being affordable (true HDR is very much
not affordable). The momentum behind FreeSync ultimately
pushed Nvidia to open support for G-Sync to more VRR
displays, boosting the options for GTX/RTX card owners. It’s
a rare win for consumer choice.
If you’d like to share some of your own favourite memories
about PC building, let me know on Twitter!
20 YEARS OF CHANGE
From windowed hard drives to pencil-modded GPUs, Richard Swinburne
looks at how PCs have changed over two decadesRichard has worked in tech for over a decade, as a UK journalist, on Asus’ ROG team and now as an industry analyst based in Taiwan @ricswi
Sadly, a carefully placed
bit of graphite can no
longer upgrade you to a
premium graphics card!RICHARD SWINBURNE / VIEW FROM TAIWAN
OPINION
A
s it’s2020,andthisisthe200thissueofCustomPC,
I’vebeenthinkingbackovermypasttwodecadesof
buildingPCs,socrackoutyourrose-tintedglasses
withmeasI lookbackathowtheindustryhaschanged.
Firstly,backin 2002 theATIRadeon 8500 wasn’tnecessarily
fasterthantheequivalentGeForce3,butitprovidedbetter
imagequality(animportantfactorwhenyouhadanalogue
monitorinputs)andhelpedtocementRadeonasa top-tier
graphicsbrand.I boughtthecheaperRadeon 8500 LEinstead.
Thisversioncouldbe‘pencil-modded’tobumpupthevoltage
onthecoreandmemory,enablingoverclockingfurtherthan
thefull 8500 card.Sadly,a carefullyplacedbitofgraphitecan
nolongerupgradeyoutoa premiumgraphicscard!
Soonafterwards,in 2003 Corsair’sPro-series
memoryaddedLEDswitha practicaluse,
showinganactiveread-outofhowintensively
thememorysubsystemwasbeingaccessed.
TheLEDsbouncedthroughgreen,orangeand
reddependingontheexactload,andthe
effectwasbothgood-lookingandinformative.
Unfortunately,Corsairwasunabletoupdate
thetechnologybeyondthedaysofDDR,andtheProseries
wasshelvedwhenDDR2tookover.
Intheearly2000s,WesternDigitalalsoinjectedsome
enthusiastsparkintothepreviouslybanalstoragemarket.
ItsRaptorwasthedriveonwhichtostoreyourWindowsXP
installation,andthe10,000rpmspindlespeedgavea trade-
offbetweennever-beforeexperiencedresponsivenessatthe
expenseofa persistenthigh-pitchedwhine.
IfyoucouldaffordtwoormoreoftheminRAID0,your
HDTachresultswouldbehighlyenviable.The3rd-generation
RaptorX evenhada windowonit,soyoucouldseetheheads
zippingaroundinside,anda fewmodderswentevenfurther
byopeningthemupandinsertingsomeLEDs.
Intel’sCorearchitecturelaterarrivedin2006,anditssuperiority
overthepreviousNetBurstarchitectureiswelldocumented
history.What’slesswelldocumented,inmyopinion,is that the
lateLGA775erawasthelastsetofPCplatformsthatallowed
trulyaffordablehigh-endperformance.
Youcouldoverclockeventhecheapestmodelsviathe front
sidebustogetdecentperformance.Forexample,a cheap1.8GHz
Core2 DuoE6300couldbepushedtoa decent2.4GHz, while
thelaterCore2 QuadQ6600wasa firmenthusiastfavourite.
ThiswaslaterkilledoffwhenIntelmovedtotheQuick Path
Interconnect(QPI).Forme,SandyBridgewasbittersweet.It
wascelebratedforitseasyoverclockingtoa
veryhighfrequency,butit normaliseda locked
platform,andunlockedK-serieschipsthat
havecommandeda pricepremiumeversince.
Inrecentyears,whatreallychangedthe
game(ahem)formehasbeenoutsidethecase- displayswithvariablerefreshrates.Kudos
toNvidiaforbeingdisruptivetodisplays
andlaunchingG-Syncin2014,whichpushedAMDtoreact
withFreeSync.Regardlessofwhichsideofthefenceyousit,
thesemonitorshavebeenhugelysuccessful,becausefew
technologiesimprovethequalityofexperiencetosucha
degreewhilestillbeingaffordable(trueHDRisverymuch
notaffordable).ThemomentumbehindFreeSyncultimately
pushedNvidiatoopensupportforG-SynctomoreVRR
displays,boostingtheoptionsforGTX/RTXcardowners.It’s
a rarewinforconsumerchoice.
If you’dliketosharesomeofyourownfavouritememories
aboutPCbuilding,letmeknowonTwitter!
20 YEARS OF CHANGE
From windowed hard drives to pencil-modded GPUs, Richard Swinburne
looks at how PCs have changed over two decadesRichard has worked in tech for over a decade, asa UKjournalist,onAsus’ROGteamandnowasanindustryanalystbasedinTaiwan @ricswi
Sadly, a carefully placed
bit of graphite can no
longer upgrade you to a
premium graphics card!