maximumpc.com MAY 2020 MAXIMUM PC 83
claims if you’re not paying
for the product, you are the
product. And although
the lines around that have
certainly blurred over
the years, with VPNs it is
still true. There are a few
free ones, but they usually
come with a fairly minimal
data cap, and much slower
speeds than a standard
network, so not ideal if you
want to stream content
from the other side of the
planet, for instance.
You could try Hotspot
Shield Free VPN—that’s
the best I’ve played with—
which has the largest daily
data cap, at 500MB. Or you
could give Windscribe a go.
This isn’t one I’ve used (a
colleague recommended
it to me), but it does come
with 10GB of data per
month, so that’s a plus.
Personally, I use
ExpressVPN pretty much
every day; it’s insanely
useful. I’ve got the year-
long subscription, which
equates to about $8.32
a month, so not exactly
cheap, but I get good usage
out of it. It also comes
with a mobile app, and I’ve
even got it hooked up to
my router for maximum
privacy across all my home
devices as well.Monitor Upgrade
Hi! As we both know, an
unlabeled Dell 1680x1050
60Hz monitor is no match
for an RTX 2060. I am
looking to upgrade to
something along the lines
of a 1080p 144Hz monitor.
I don’t need anything
super-gimmicky or gamery.
I just want something
reliable and presentable.
My graphics card supports
HDMI, DisplayPort, and
DVI-D. Thanks for any help
–Alex HillEDITOR, ZAK STOREY,
RESPONDS: I do love a
good monitor upgrade and
you’ve certainly got the
card for the job, although
it is a bit tricky going off so
few specs. Usually, when
we recommend monitors,knowing budget and screen
size is important.
The big question is
screen size. For 1080p, for
pixel density alone, you’re
probably best off with a
24-inch panel; 27-inch gets
a bit grainy, even compared
to your (I’m assuming) 22-
inch 1680x1050. That said,
I’m a big fan of ViewSonic’s
range—on the whole, the
build quality is really good,
warranties impressive, and
customer support good—
so I’d recommend the
ViewSonic VX2458CMHD.
It’s a curved 24-inch panel,
and VA, so you’ve got nice
crisp saturated colors. It
also has that 144Hz refresh
rate and a 1ms response
time. It’s about $160—a lot
of tech for the price.
That said, the RTX
2060 is no slouch, so you
could get away with a 27-
inch 1440p screen. Most
games, even AAA titles,will perform well above
the 60fps mark with that,
and you’ll benefit from
the extra screen real
estate. If that sounds more
intriguing, Samsung’s
C27JG56 is around $280.
It’s another curved VA
panel, at 144Hz, and with a
4ms response. I’ve actually
just recommended this
model to a friend of mine.
Both panels have
FreeSync as standard, so
you’ll likely be able to set
up G-Sync, too. Check out
our tutorial on page 52 for
more information.More Intel Please!
While I understand the
magazine’s preference for
discussing builds based
on AMD’s processors, I’m
writing to ask for a bit more
Intel coverage. Why? While
nowadays Intel isn’t always
the best performer, its
long legacy ensures bettercompatibility, at least for
now. I’d like to try running
the Windows 10X emulator,
or Google’s new Fuchsia
OS, both of which support
Intel but not AMD CPUs.
So, what would I like to
see? Just the occasional
Intel build, so those of us
planning to build on Intel
can get your insights. And
maybe one mid-level build
at the end of the magazine,
too? It needn’t be updated
each month. Thanks.
–RobertEDITOR, ZAK STOREY,
RESPONDS: This isn’t the
first time this has come up
in our letters pages, and I
understand where you’re
coming from. It was an
Intel Core i5-2500K that
got me into overclocking
and then, eventually, this
job, so I’ve absolutely got
respect for the company.
Almost all of my rigs are
now AMD, based on the
value and performance
proposition they represent,
but it’s hard to deny just
how much that little quad-
core impacted my life.
Obviously, right now,
things are a little difficult
for us—with COVID-19
running rampant and
impacting all our office and
photography plans—but
rest assured, once things
return to normal, I’ll work
hard to ensure our content
is suitably balanced
between the two teams.
You may have noticed a
few changes in this issue
(outside of the page-cut)—
red-hued reviews being
one of them. As part of
my new remit, I can tinker
with the mag, try ideas out,
and give things a refresh.
Blueprints is an area I’ve
wanted to adjust for some
time, so this is something
we’ll follow up. As a
general shoutout, if anyone
has any ideas or something
you’d like to see tweaked,
we’re always open to
(constructive) criticism and
suggestions. Email us at
the address opposite, and
we’ll see what we can do.[NOW ONLINE]WFH? PROTECT YOURSELF
FROM CYBER ATTACKERSThe concept of working from home and remote workforces
has been around and in practice for a while now, but recent
global events have changed the game entirely, with many
governments urging citizens to dramatically increase
social distancing measures. Indeed, COVID-19 has driven
entire offices to close and whole companies to work from
home, resulting in an unprecedented shift in the working
landscape. Organizations are having to rapidly adapt, and
a vital consideration is security, particularly given cyber
attackers’ propensity for opportunism in times of crisis.
Unfortunately, distressed global climates and times of
uncertainty are prime times for hackers to launch attacks
and we can already see targeted Coronavirus-themed
phishing attacks in circulation. Therefore, it’s imperative
for organizations to implement business contingency plans
that prioritize protecting remote workforces from attacks.
Read the full article: https://bit.ly/2J8xlFY©^
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