Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
p98
12
WELCOME PAGE
Welcome!
WE LIVE IN a throwaway
culture. Long gone are the
days when youd buy
anything a house, a car, a
washing machine, a
lawnmower and expect it
to last a lifetime.
Now items are made to
last for a lifetime, as long as youre a gerbil.
New-build ats get erected and within weeks
repair works begin; owners of old bangers are
coerced into upgrading to newer cars by
punitive road tax and insurance fees;
consumer electronics advance so quickly that
youve just about set up your latest TV when
the next HD/3D/4K/Ultra HD version comes
along and you just have to go out and buy a
replacement, not least because your current
one goes on the blink after a few years.
And dont even think about taking your
broken-down item to be xed, as the cost of
repairs are generally almost as much, or more,
as buying a new and better one.
But here at Shopper were taking a stand.
We think you should be able to buy the latest
computer or electronics kit and use it for as
long as you want to. So for those of you
faced with a PC that has slowed down over
MEET
THE
TEAM
David Ludlow
Seth Barton
Katharine Byrne
Richard Easton
David Neal
Lee Bell
A house, because Im
never going to afford one
at this rate
| JULY 2016
James Archer
CONTACT US
Editor Madeline Bennett madeline@computershopper.co.uk
Reviews Editor James Archer james@computershopper.co.uk
News Editor David Neal daveneal@computershopper.co.uk
Contributing Editor Seth Barton seth@computershopper.co.uk
Contributing Editor Katharine Byrne katharine@computershopper.co.uk
Senior Staff Writer Richard Easton richard@computershopper.co.uk
DESIGN & PRODUCTION
Art Editor Colin Mackleworth
Production Editor Steve Haines
CONTRIBUTORS
Bill Bagnall, Lee Bell, Barry Collins, Mel Croucher, Kay Ewbank,
Chris Finnamore, Simon Handby, Gordon Holmes, Chris Merriman,
Ben Pitt, David Robinson, Clive Webster
ADVERTISING
Email ads.shopper@dennis.co.uk
Group Advertising Manager Andrea Mason 020 7907 6662
Advertising Manager Charlotte Milligan 020 7907 6642
COVER GIFT CONTACT
Chris Wiles coverdiscs@computershopper.co.uk
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Tel 0844 844 0031 / 01795 592905 Web www.subsinfo.co.uk
UK 44.99, Europe 70, Rest of world 90
PHOTOGRAPHY
Adrian Volcinschi, Natalie Tkachuk, Svetlana Bardarska
LICENSING AND SYNDICATION
Ryan Chambers 020 7907 6132 Ryan_Chambers@dennis.co.uk
Anj Dosaj-Halai 0207 907 6132 anj_halai@dennis.co.uk
MANAGEMENT
Tel 020 7907 6000
Group Editor David Ludlow david@computershopper.co.uk
Group Managing Director Ian Westwood
Managing Director John Garewal
Group Advertising Director Julian Lloyd-Evans
Newstrade Director David Barker
Finance Director Brett Reynolds
Group Finance Director Ian Leggett
Chief Executive James Tye
Company Founder Felix Dennis
PRINTING
Printed by Polestar, Bicester, Oxon
Distributors Seymour 020 7429 4000
LIABILITY
While every care was taken preparing this magazine, the publishers
cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of the information or
any consequence arising from it. All judgements are based on
equipment available to Computer Shopper at the time of review.
Value for money comments are based on UK prices at time of review.
All prices include VAT unless otherwise stated. Computer Shopper
takes no responsibility for the content of external websites whose
addresses are published in the magazine.
COMPUTER SHOPPER INCORPORATES UPGRADE SHOPPER,
GAMES SHOPPER, INTERNET SHOPPER, MOBILE SHOPPER, PC
SHOPPER, PORTABLE SHOPPER AND SOFTWARE SHOPPER
A DENNIS PUBLICATION
Computer Shopper is published by Dennis Publishing Ltd, 30 Cleveland
Street, London W1T 4JD. Company registered in England. All material
Dennis Publishing Limited licensed by Felden 2016, and may not be
reproduced in whole or part without the consent of the publishers.
ISSN 0955-8578
Copyright Dennis Publishing Limited
SUBSCRIBE
AND SAVE
Chris Merriman
Contents
p110
p98
p82
Learn
124 Business Help
Regulars
6 Letters
10 Under Development
12 Cybercop
138 Zygote
News
16 Newsle
22 In Depth
126 Helple
128 How to
Choose an SD card
Features
98 The 21 things killing your PC
110 3D printing
JULY 2016
p82
CONTENTS
p110
p116
p98
Reviews
Group Tests
82 Printers
Apple has made its best tablet yet with the new 9.7in iPad Pro,
bringing the extreme power and brilliant screen of the original
12.9in iPad Pro to a smaller, more portable design
33 Handhelds
39 Photography
42 Displays
46 Home cinema
47 Audio
| JULY 2016
50 Networks
52 Storage
53 Components
54 Software
56 Games
76 Your software*
Bring some order to your digital photo
collection with PhotoDirector 6, the
complete tool for editing, organising
and sharing your snaps
58 Best buys
FULL
PACKAGES
74 How We Test
* FREE SOFTWARE
EDITION
ONLY
EDIT
LETTERS
Letters
letters@computershopper.co.uk
ARDUINO THAN
YOU THINK
DESKTOP TO
DECKCHAIR
ROUTER MASTER
GOOD CYBERCOP,
BAD CYBERCOP
In Cybercop (Shopper
340), Gordon Holmes
asks for readers views on his
comments on national security.
His argument is ne within its
boundaries but fails to look at
the wider picture. This is a
common problem.
We can look at history and
we can look at the present day.
The basic problem is: do we
allow people to have privacy or
not? In a modern democratic
society, its easy to argue that
people shouldnt have privacy
because it is detrimental to the
enforcement of security and
would aid criminals and
terrorists. The major unseen
assumption here is that the
government and security
services are benign, law abiding
JULY 2016
LETTERS
AVAST CONSPIRACY
Star letter
WINDOWS 10 IS A DOG
| JULY 2016
not have. It
may be great for
people who take
their tablet with
them everywhere and need instant
access to their documents wherever they
are but for me, all my colleagues and in fact
everyone I know, it is about as much use as
a chocolate reguard.
In the end, after divorce levels of
frustration, I used FDisk (remember DOS?),
wiped the drive and booted from my
original Windows 7 CD. Karma is restored.
You may be thinking Im some old stick
in the mud. Old I am: I built a Spectrum and
had an Amstrad with 16-colour VGA
graphics and a 36MB hard disk. I do,
however, keep up with technology. I just
hold the (I accept radical) view that
technology should serve the man not
the other way round.
Howard Shelley
Windows 10 has divided users and will
probably continue to do so. We applaud
your thorough investigation of the new OS;
you deserve the star letter, and probably a
better operating system.
LETTERS
STAYING UP TO DATE
WITH OLDER DEVICES
You can get a lot more than you bargained for when you install free software
The XDA developers site is a great place to look for updates for older devices
COOL CUSTOMER
WINDOWS 10 UPDATE
t
ne 16
om
N
O LEnts fre
SAwsageh Jun
PCs ON TEST
in
NEXT MONTH
ROAMING CHARGES
WRITE IN
AND WIN
JULY 2016
UNDER DEVELOPMENT
Fibre pass
After years of battling with an unreliable internet connection, David Robinson nally
makes the move to bre and is delighted to nd its been funded by the taxpayer
DAVID ROBINSON
10
BOX CLEVER
REEF ENCOUNTER
JULY 2016
CYBERCOP
GORDON HOLMES
12
POLICY OFFICER
MALPRACTICE
JULY 2016
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Terms and
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Please Read: Sales subject to terms & conditions (copy available on our website). Advert does not form part of a contract. Pictures shown for illustration purposes only - colours may vary. Full specications available online.
Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. All trademarks are acknowledged. At Mesh our PCs are custom built, fully burn-tested with professional CPU
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Writing a letter and talking on a landline may seem old-fashioned, but theyre our
only ways of communicating with the world while we wait for our internet connection
David Neal
Working from home can be a solitary business, but having fun at the
e
phone scammers expense helps relieve the loneliness
MY RAVE MAY come as a surprise to
some people because I suspect it is mostly
the cause of rants. Im referring to the
Microsoft support services call that
unwelcome intrusion which I, and a great
whack of the population, receive on a
regular basis.
Theyre a terrible thing, a money-sucking
trick from a criminal underworld that wants
to steal from you, confuse you and probably
ruin your computer. They dont care if
youre a policeman or a pensioner. As long
as you might fall for their condence trick,
you are just their kind of person.
I am not likely to fall for their condence
trick, I have some time on my hands, and
the call doesnt cost me anything, so I have
taken to see it as something of a daily, or
bi-daily, treat.
I work at home in what a lot of people
would call the sticks. I am married, my wife
works not at home and I spend a great
deal of my time not talking to anyone
except the dog and my laptop.
14
JULY 2016
r
Mel Crouche
nnett
Madeline Be
| JULY 2016
15
NEWS
EYEJUSTERS
www.eyejusters.com, from 69
EYEJUSTERS ARE off-theshelf glasses with a difference.
Thanks to two handy little
dials, you can actually adjust
the lenses to x your
prescription ideal if youve
got a particular blind spot
when youre zapping aliens
for extended periods.
Theyre not a replacement
for proper eye care from an
optician, especially if youre
long-sighted rather than short-sighted, but if you want something to
boost your eyes at work, or to cause less tiredness during an extended
gaming session, they could be just what youre after.
Designed and manufactured in the UK, Eyejusters are available in a
variety of frames and materials, which manage to look cool rather than
hideously prosaic, as with similar products weve seen.
16
Really?) there was plenty to see and do, whether you wanted to
try out a cutting-edge connected home or just trawl around the
gloried market stalls.
Chris Merriman packed his sandwiches and a ask of lukewarm
Vimto and headed to Birminghams National Exhibition Centre for a
look at some of the more weird and wonderful offerings.
bunch of options in a single lock, which include a PIN code, key card,
key tag, remote fob or smartphone app. This means that although
its all just as secure, you can keep tabs on whos going in and out,
perhaps giving a cleaner access for a set period in the week, and if
you get locked out, someone else can arrange to let you in without
them having to rush home from work.
Theres even a failsafe that, if the power goes out, a hidden recess
lets you plug in a 9V battery for long enough to type in your PIN.
JULY 2016
NEWS
FIBARO SWIPE
www.barouk.co.uk, 130
REMEMBER FIVE YEARS ago, when electronic picture frames were all
the rage? That got old fast. But heres a new twist on the idea from
Polish smart home stalwarts Fibaro. The Swipe is a regular picture
frame with hidden depths. It responds to swipes and can control a
myriad of household items with a gesture.
Its a Z-Wave device so its compatible with a range of devices from
different manufacturers. Thankfully, given that its going to take a fair
beating, its scratch and shockproof, and it comes with its own stand.
The Swipe can also be used to control audio devices, so you can change
volume, skip tracks and play/pause with different combinations of
touch, all of which you choose. Once youre feeling condent you can
combine actions into a scene and using a single swipe tell the house
youre going to bed and that its time to turn off the lights, lock the
doors, close the blinds and turn on the electric blanket.
With so many devices relying on our phones to work properly
these days, its good to have a backup plan, and something more
attractive than yet another remote has got to be a good thing.
iFIT DUO
NVIDIA VR SHOWCASE
NOT A PRODUCT as such, but a chance for visitors most of whom
wont have been able to play around with virtual reality to get up close
with the best in the biz. Nvidia has been very vocal about putting its
stock into virtual reality of late, and shortly after the show gave the rst
demonstrations of virtual visits to the top of Everest and the surface of
Mars. Nvidia GPUs power both the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift VR devices.
Events such as this are important for everyone who has a stake in
VR because the computing power required to have a device in our
homes is in excess of what Joe Public already has. As such, this is a
chance to impress them enough to buy that superfast computer.
Whats almost as much fun as the virtual reality, however, is
watching people standing in black boxes interacting with thin air.
| JULY 2016
17
NEWS
Facebook captions
photos for blind people
FOR THE FIRST time ever, songs by the Beatles have been appearing
on Spotify. According to the streaming service, the band kept the fans
bobbing steadily through the rst 100 days of availability.
The Beatles appeared on Spotify on Christmas Eve, to the delight of
everyone from hard-core Beatles fans to casual listeners, said Spotify
as it counted down the mop-tops top streams for the period.
Approximately 6.5 million people have listened to The Beatles
on Spotify 67 percent under the age of 35, and 65 percent male.
Spotify has streamed 2,793 years of the Beatles and has 4.2 million
playlists with their music.
That is a lot of Beatles, an infestation maybe. Still Spotify will not
be breaking out the exterminators, particularly as it doesnt have
exclusive rights to the Fab Four, and shares streams with other rms
including Apple and Google.
Spotifys ndings also revealed that the most popular day for
listening to Beatles songs is a Thursday, and the most commonly
streamed number is
Here Comes the Sun.
The most listened
to album is the
greatest hits
compilation 1,
followed by Abbey
Road in second place
and the album known
as the White Album
Im only streaming: the Fab Four are on Spotify
in third position.
18
JULY 2016
HP unveils
the worlds
thinnest laptop
HP HAS UPPED the ultra-thin laptop
stakes by releasing the brand-new Spectre, a
device so thin that people will probably say
that you could shave with it, although
hopefully no-one will ever try to do so.
At just 10.4 mm thick, the device is a
serious beast in a small package. HP calls it a
premium PC experience and was keen to
stress the exceptional engineering when
discussing its design. The suggestion is that
this is a laptop to be proud of, to avoid
dropping, and to be envied. HP is over the
moon with it and what went into it.
The HP Spectre is the thinnest notebook
in the world and, unlike the majority of other
super-thin PCs on the market, this laptop
doesnt compromise on power or features,
said Kevin Frost, vice-president and general
manager, consumer personal systems, at HP.
A beautiful Full HD edge-to-edge display,
Intel Core i processors coupled with Bang &
Olufsen sound, and a sexy and thin design,
HPs amazing engineers set a new standard
with the all-new Spectre.
Sexy may be in the eye of the beholder,
but the Spectre is undoubtedly a nice-looking
machine. It boasts a CNC-machined aluminium
chassis of just 10.4 mm, a choice of Intel Core
i5 or Core i7 processors, a Full HD 13.3in
diagonal edge-to-edge display, Thunderbolt
connections, a 4K screen option, 512GB
storage and 8GB of memory, along with Bang
& Olufsen speakers and HPsound technology.
Its light, too, thanks to a carbon bre bottom,
weighing in at 1.1kg. Battery life is said to be in
the nine-hour range.
There are no pricing or availability details
yet, but you can expect its price to be as
spooky as its name.
| JULY 2016
19
NEWS
IT professionals dont
practise what they
preach when it comes
to password security,
according to a new study
20
JULY 2016
NEWS
Console yourself,
the game is afoot
All the movers and shakers from the world of gaming
21
IN DEPTH
10 TIMES 27 MILLION
22
FACE
HUGGING
NEVER MIND
THE QUALITY
Windows 10 has
shipped 270
million copies
TEENAGE
TEARAWAY TAY
Teaching AI to be a
teen is tricky
JULY 2016
FORWARD
CORTANA
Microsofts voice
assistant is heading
to the Xbox
IN DEPTH
PEOPLE? SCHMEOPLE!
BABY BOTS
| JULY 2016
23
REVIEWS
YOUR TRUSTED GUIDE TO WHATS NEW
VERDICT
ON REFLECTION
24
TRUE STORY
MULTITASK MASTER
JULY 2016
SIZE MATTERS
| JULY 2016
MONEY TROUBLES
SPECIFICATIONS
PROCESSOR Dual-core 2.16GHz Apple A9X SCREEN SIZE
9.7in SCREEN RESOLUTION 2,048x1,536 REAR CAMERA
12 megapixels STORAGE 32/128/256GB WIRELESS DATA
4G (cellular version) DIMENSIONS 240x170x6.1mm
WEIGHT 437g OPERATING SYSTEM iOS 9.3
WARRANTY One year RTB DETAILS www.apple.com/uk
PART CODE 9.7-inch iPad Pro
8h 56m
Battery life
0%
-50
Reference
+50
+100
25
GAMING PC
VERDICT
BAY WATCH
26
CORE CONSIDERATION
SPECIFICATIONS
RAM
FRONT USB PORTS 2x USB3 REAR USB
PORTS 1x USB3.1, 5x USB3, 1x USB2, 1x USB Type-C
TOTAL STORAGE 256GB SSD, 1TB hard disk
DISPLAY None OPERATING SYSTEM Windows 10
WARRANTY Two years RTB DETAILS www.box.co.uk
179
Windows overall
Multitasking
191
Dirt Showdown
124fps
54fps
0%
-50
Reference
+50
+100
JULY 2016
WINDOWS 10 WORKSTATION
VERDICT
DISPLAY TIME
28
TOP MODEL
SPECIFICATIONS
RAM 16GB
FRONT USB PORTS 2x USB2, 2x USB3 REAR
USB PORTS 2x USB2, 1x USB3, 1x USB3.1, 1x USB Type-C
TOTAL STORAGE 256GB SSD, 1TB hard disk DISPLAY
None OPERATING SYSTEM Windows 10 Home
and return
DETAILS www.chillblast.com
135
Windows overall
Multitasking
135
42fps
Dirt Showdown
Metro: Last Light
16fps
0%
-50
Reference
+50
+100
JULY 2016
2-IN-1 CONVERTIBLE
DELL XPS 12
VERDICT
Premier Keyboard is
pleasant; the keys are
backlit with a respectable amount of
travel and feedback, and the Precisioncertied touchpad is smooth and responsive.
4K OK
DRAIN WRECK
SPECIFICATIONS
PROCESSOR Dual-core 1.1GHz Intel Core m5-6Y57
291mm
RAM 8GB
DIMENSIONS 193x291x8mm (tablet); 198x291x25mm (laptop)
WEIGHT 790g (tablet); 1.27kg (laptop)
SCREEN SIZE 12.5in
SCREEN RESOLUTION 3,840x2,160
GRAPHICS ADAPTOR Intel HD Graphics 515
198mm
1.27kg
12.5in
| JULY 2016
25mm
closed
Windows overall
21
Multitasking
3h 13m
0%
-50
Reference
+50
+100
29
BUDGET LAPTOP
VERDICT
KEEPING STORE
SPECIFICATIONS
PROCESSOR Dual-core 1.6GHz Intel Celeron N3050
339mm
RAM 2GB
DIMENSIONS 235x339x17.9mm
WEIGHT 1.6kg
235mm
1.6kg
30
Multitasking Fail
14.1in
17.9mm
closed
11h 20m
0%
-50
Reference
+50
+100
JULY 2016
Chillblast
sales@chillblast.com
01202 068 333
ULTRA-SLIM LAPTOP
VERDICT
PRICE FROM
1499.99
www.chillblast.com
FUSION CENTURION
PROCESSOR:
CASE:
CPU COOLER:
MOTHERBOARD:
MEMORY:
GRAPHICS CARD:
OS DRIVE:
HARD DISK:
OPTICAL DRIVE:
POWER SUPPLY:
SYSTEM:
PRICE FROM
739.99
5 YEAR WARRANTY
WITH
32
LIGHT SHOW
SPECIFICATIONS
PROCESSOR Dual-core 900MHz Intel Core m3-6Y30 RAM 8GB
DIMENSIONS 324x226x12.3mm WEIGHT 1.2kg SCREEN
SIZE 13.3in SCREEN RESOLUTION 3,200x1,200 GRAPHICS
ADAPTOR Intel HD Graphics 515 TOTAL STORAGE 128GB SSD
OPERATING SYSTEM Windows 10 Home PARTS AND LABOUR
WARRANTY One year RTB DETAILS www.asus.com/uk
PART CODE UX305CA
19
Windows overall
Multitasking 3
Dirt Showdown Fail
6h 04m
Battery life
0%
-50
Reference
+50
+100
JULY 2016
APPLE iPhone SE
VERDICT
GETTING BETTER
POWER TRICK
SPECIFICATIONS
PROCESSOR Dual-core 1.8GHz Apple A9 SCREEN SIZE 4in
SCREEN RESOLUTION 1,136x640 REAR CAMERA 12
megapixels STORAGE 16GB/64GB WIRELESS DATA 4G
DIMENSIONS 124x59x7.6mm WEIGHT 112g OPERATING
SYSTEM iOS 9.3 WARRANTY One year RTB DETAILS
www.apple.com/uk PART CODE iPhone SE
Battery life
16h 46m
0%
-50
Reference
+50
+100
| JULY 2016
33
SAMSUNG Galaxy J5
VERDICT
BLACK OPS
34
UNLUCKY NUMBER
SPECIFICATIONS
PROCESSOR Quad-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 410
SCREEN SIZE 5in SCREEN RESOLUTION 1,280x720 REAR
CAMERA 13 megapixels STORAGE (FREE) 8GB (4.6GB)
WIRELESS DATA 4G DIMENSIONS 142x72x7.9mm
WEIGHT 146g OPERATING SYSTEM Android 5.1.1
WARRANTY One year RTB DETAILS www.samsung.com/
uk PART CODE SM-J500FN
17h 50m
Battery life
0%
-50
Reference
+50
+100
JULY 2016
LG G5
VERDICT
CORE WORKOUT
SEEING DOUBLE
36
SPECIFICATIONS
PROCESSOR Quad-core 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon
820 SCREEN SIZE 5.3in SCREEN RESOLUTION
2,560x1,440 REAR CAMERA 16 + 8 megapixels
STORAGE (FREE) 32GB (23.5GB) WIRELESS DATA 4G
DIMENSIONS 149x74x7.7mm WEIGHT 159g OPERATING
SYSTEM Android 6.0.1 WARRANTY One year RTB
DETAILS www.lg.com/uk PART CODE LG-H850
11h 10m
Battery life
0%
-50
Reference
+50
+100
JULY 2016
ProLite XUB3490WQSU
34 IPS ultra-wide screen with a height adjustable stand.
ProLite XUB3490WQSU is a 34 LED monitor featuring UWQHD
(Ultra Wide QHD) resolution and offering 21:9 viewable area.
Broaden your perspective by using side-by-side applications
or watch a movie shot in widescreen format.
34
www.iiyama.com
ULTRA
WIDE
HUB
WINDOWS 10 TABLET
VERDICT
TIGHT ANGLE
SERVICE CHARGE
SPECIFICATIONS
PROCESSOR Dual-core 900MHz Intel Core m3-6Y30 RAM
4GB DIMENSIONS 290.3x198.6x6.3mm WEIGHT 693g
(tablet), 1.09kg (laptop) SCREEN SIZE 12in SCREEN
RESOLUTION 2,160x1,440 GRAPHICS ADAPTOR Intel HD
Graphics 515 STORAGE 128GB SSD OPERATING SYSTEM
Windows 10 Pro WARRANTY One year RTB DETAILS
www.samsung.com/uk PART CODE SM-WE700XZKABTU
-50
Reference
+50
+100
38
JULY 2016
CANON SX720 HS
VERDICT
| JULY 2016
SHAKE IT OFF
SPECIFICATIONS
SENSOR SIZE / in
VIEWFINDER None LCD SCREEN 3in (922,000 pixels)
2.3
35mm-EQUIVALENT APERTURE
WEIGHT 258g DIMENSIONS 66x110x38mm
WARRANTY One year RTB DETAILS www.canon.co.uk
40x (24-960mm)
f/18.4-38
250 shots
Battery life
0%
-50
Reference
+50
+100
39
PANASONIC TZ100
VERDICT
40
SPECIFICATIONS
SENSOR RESOLUTION 20 megapixels
(1,040,000 dots)
www.panasonic.com/uk
300 shots
Battery life
0%
-50
Reference
+50
+100
JULY 2016
4K G-SYNC MONITOR
ACER Predator
XB271HK
VERDICT
AIM HIGH
42
LET IT BLEED
SPECIFICATIONS
SCREEN SIZE 27in RESOLUTION 3,840x2,160 SCREEN
TECHNOLOGY IPS REFRESH RATE 60Hz VIDEO INPUTS
HDMI, DisplayPort WARRANTY Two years RTB
DETAILS www.acer.co.uk PART CODE XB271HK
CONNECTION PORTS
HDMI
JULY 2016
DisplayPort
USB3 x4
4K G-SYNC MONITOR
VERDICT
44
PALETTE CLEANSER
PA
SPECIFICATIONS
SCREEN SIZE 27in RESOLUTION 3,840x2,160 SCREEN
TECHNOLOGY IPS REFRESH RATE 60Hz VIDEO INPUTS
HDMI, DisplayPort WARRANTY Three years collect and
return DETAILS www.asus.com/uk PART CODE PG27AQ
CONNECTION PORTS
HDMI
DisplayPort
USB3 x2
3.5mm headphone
JULY 2016
WWW.ESET.CO.UK/BUSINESS
ESET
ENDPOINT
SECURITY
CURVED 4K TV
SAMSUNG
UE48JS8500
VERDICT
With excellent picture quality and a full lineup of catch-up services, this is a great choice
SINCE LAUNCHING IN 2015, the Samsung
UE48JS8500 has enjoyed a hefty 550 price
cut. Its the entry-level set in Samsungs
premium SUHD series, so you get a quantumdot display instead of regular LCD as well as
High Dynamic Range (HDR) support, giving it
some much-needed futureproong for the
inux of 4K HDR content including Ultra HD
Blu-rays about to hit the market.
While the UE48JS8500 has to make do
with one of Samsungs One Connect Mini
boxes to provide the bulk of its ports,
between this and the ports on the TV itself
youve got all the modern connections youll
need. This includes four HDCP 2.2-compatible
HDMI 2.0 inputs, an optical S/PDIF output
and two USB2 ports, plus component and
composite inputs, a 3.5mm headphone jack,
an Ethernet port, ports for your aerial and
satellite and a single USB3 port. Its a shame
the USB3 port isnt on the Connect box, but
its a pretty minor quibble overall.
PRECEDING HAIRLINE
46
PLAYING CATCH-UP
SPECIFICATIONS
CONNECTION PORTS
HDMI x4
JULY 2016
Component
Composite
GAMING HEADSET
VERDICT
SPECIFICATIONS
LINDY BNX-60
90 From www.amazon.co.uk
VERDICT
SPECIFICATIONS
PLUG TYPE
WEIGHT 998g CABLE LENGTH 1.5m
WARRANTY One year RTB DETAILS www.lindy.co.uk
HEADPHONES SUBTYPE Over-ear headset
3.5mm jack plug
| JULY 2016
47
.co.uk
165 From www.super.co.uk
VERDICT
48
A SMALL CHARGE
PARTY TRICK
SPECIFICATIONS
CONNECTOR None
JULY 2016
Like a rocket
from the socket.
Simply plug in and enjoy excellent Wi-Fi coverage in any room,
from any power socket, with devolo Powerline!
BUY IT!
www.devolo.co.uk
RECOMMENDED
SMAPPEE
IOT Energy Monitor
VERDICT
METER MADE
SMART DECISION
SPECIFICATIONS
WIRELESS STANDARD Proprietary but with IFTTT
INCLUDED SENSORS Electricity, solar, with options for gas
and water SUPPORTED OPERATING SYSTEMS Android,
iOS, Web WARRANTY Not given but payback period
estimated at one year of savings PART CODE 118344
50
JULY 2016
BUSINESS SSD
KINGSTON
KC400 256GB
78 From www.pcworldbusiness.co.uk
VERDICT
CLEANUP CREW
52
TRANSFERRED MALICE
SPECIFICATIONS
CAPACITY 256GB (238GB formatted) COST PER GIGABYTE
0.30 INTERFACE SATA3 CLAIMED READ 550MB/s
CLAIMED WRITE 540MB/s WARRANTY Five years RTB
DETAILS www.kingston.com PART CODE SKC400S37/256G
408.9MB/s
Huge les
161.3MB/s
Large les
132.6MB/s
Small les
0%
-50
Reference
+50
+100
JULY 2016
GIGABYTE
GA-990FX-Gaming
VERDICT
BUILDING BLOCKS
STOCK BROKER
SPECIFICATIONS
DIMENSIONS 305x244mm
CHIPSET AMD 990FX (Northbridge), AMD SB950
(Southbridge) MEMORY SLOTS 4 PCI-E x16 SLOTS 3
PCI-E x1 SLOTS 3 PCI SLOTS 0 USB PORTS 6x USB2, 2x
USB3, 1x USB3.1, 1x USB Type-C VIDEO OUTPUTS None
WARRANTY Three years RTB DETAILS www.gigabyte.
com PART CODE GA-990FX-Gaming
PROCESSOR SOCKET AM3+
Shopper overall
85
Multitasking
83
52fps
Dirt Showdown
0%
-50
Reference
+50
+100
| JULY 2016
53
VOICE-RECOGNITION APP
VERDICT
VOICE SQUAD
TRANSFER WINDOW
54
SLEEK MOVES
SPECIFICATIONS
OS SUPPORT iOS 8.1+/Android 4.4+
DISK SPACE
JULY 2016
DETAILS www.nuance.co.uk
UBISOFT
The Division
40 From www.amazon.co.uk
VERDICT
BOOM TOWN
DISTRUST EXERCISE
SPECIFICATIONS
OS SUPPORT
MINIMUM CPU Intel
JULY 2016
02
03
04
05
06
07
PCs
700
www.pcworld.co.uk
NEW
ENTRY
This all-in-one
combines a fast
processor, a
massive 2TB hark disk, depthsensing Intel RealSense camera
and a huge range of connectivity
ports, all for far less cash than a
comparable iMac.
640
www.yoyotech.co.uk
PROCESSOR Quad-core 4.4GHz Intel Core i5-6600K (overclocked) RAM 8GB FRONT USB
PORTS 2x USB3 REAR USB PORTS 6x USB3 TOTAL STORAGE 1TB hard disk GRAPHICS
CARD 2GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 DISPLAY 22in Iiyama ProLite E2283HS OPERATING
SYSTEM Windows 10 Home WARRANTY Three year (one year parts & labour RTB, two years
labour RTB) DETAILS www.yoyotech.co.uk PART CODE ER0815WRS10 FULL REVIEW Nov 2015
1,031
58
www.scan.co.uk/3xs
1,599
www.apple.com/uk
PROCESSOR Quad-core 4.6GHz Intel Core i5-6600K (overclocked) RAM 8GB FRONT USB PORTS
4x USB3 REAR USB PORTS 2x USB3.1, 1x USB Type-C, 2x USB2 TOTAL STORAGE 256GB SSD,
1TB hard disk GRAPHICS CARD 4GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 OPERATING SYSTEM Windows
10 Home WARRANTY Three years parts cover: first year onsite, years two and three RTB
DETAILS www.scan.co.uk/3xs PART CODE Performance Z170 GTK6 FULL REVIEW Nov 2015
PROCESSOR Quad-core 3.2GHz Intel Core i5-6500 RAM 8GB FRONT USB PORTS 0
REAR USB PORTS 4x USB3 TOTAL STORAGE 1TB fusion drive GRAPHICS CARD AMD
Radeon R9 M390 DISPLAY Apple 27in integrated OPERATING SYSTEM Apple OS X 10.11
El Capitan WARRANTY One year RTB DETAILS www.apple.com/uk PART CODE 27-inch
iMac FULL REVIEW Feb 2016
JULY 2016
02
03
04
06
05
07
LAPTOPS
2,249
www.johnlewis.com
DELL XPS 15
1,599
www.dell.co.uk
PROCESSOR Dual-core 2.6GHz Intel Core i7-6600U RAM 16GB DIMENSIONS 312x232x23mm
WEIGHT 1.6kg SCREEN SIZE 13.5in SCREEN RESOLUTION 3,000x2,000 GRAPHICS
ADAPTOR Unspecified Nvidia GeForce GPU TOTAL STORAGE 512GB SSD OPERATING
SYSTEM Windows 10 Pro PARTS AND LABOUR WARRANTY One year RTB DETAILS
www.microsoft.com/surface PART NUMBER Surface Book FULL REVIEW May 2016
ACER
Chromebook R 11
www.saveonlaptops.co.uk
1,170
230
The Acer
Chromebook
R 11 is the most attractive
and practical budget Chromebook you can buy, with
exceptional build quality, top processing and a lovely display.
PROCESSOR Dual-core 1.6GHz Intel Celeron N3050 RAM 2GB DIMENSIONS 20x295x203mm
WEIGHT 1.2kg SCREEN SIZE 11.6in SCREEN RESOLUTION 1,366x768 GRAPHICS ADAPTOR Intel
HD Graphics TOTAL STORAGE 16GB eMMC OPERATING SYSTEM Chrome OS PARTS AND
LABOUR WARRANTY One year RTB DETAILS www.acer.co.uk PART NUMBER ND.20411.07Q
FULL REVIEW Apr 2016
www.currys.co.uk
| JULY 2016
59
02
03
04
SMARTPHONES
SAMSUNG Galaxy S7
PROCESSOR Octa-core 2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 SCREEN SIZE 4.6in SCREEN
RESOLUTION 1,280x720 REAR CAMERA 23 megapixels STORAGE 32GB WIRELESS
DATA 4G DIMENSIONS 127x65x8.9mm WEIGHT 138g OPERATING SYSTEM Android 5.1
DETAILS www.sonymobile.com PART CODE E5823 FULL REVIEW May 2016
ONEPLUS 2
oneplus.net/uk
60
PROCESSOR Quad-core 2.3GHz Samsung Exynos 8890 SCREEN SIZE 5.1in SCREEN
RESOLUTION 2,560x1,440 REAR CAMERA 12 megapixels STORAGE 32GB/64GB
WIRELESS DATA 4G DIMENSIONS 142x70x7.9mm WEIGHT 152g OPERATING SYSTEM
Android 6.0 WARRANTY One-year RTB DETAILS wwww.samsung.com/uk PART CODE
SM-G930F FULL REVIEW Jun 2016
GOOGLE Nexus 5X
NEW
ENTRY
JULY 2016
02
03
04
05
TABLETS
ful
An immensely powerful
Nvidia Tegra K1 processor
makes this 8in device not just
the best tablet for serious gaming, but one of the best
sub-200 slates on the market. Battery life is surprisingly good, too.
PROCESSOR Octa-core 2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 SCREEN SIZE 10.1in SCREEN
RESOLUTION 2,560x1,600 REAR CAMERA 8.1 megapixels STORAGE 32GB WIRELESS DATA
4G (optional) DIMENSIONS 167x254x6.1mm WEIGHT 389g OPERATING SYSTEM Android 5
WARRANTY One year RTB DETAILS www.sonymobile.com PART CODE Xperia Z4 Tablet
FULL REVIEW Aug 2015
PROCESSOR Quad-core 2.2GHz 64-bit Nvidia Tegra K1 SCREEN SIZE 8in SCREEN RESOLUTION
1,920x1,080 REAR CAMERA 8 megapixels STORAGE 16GB WIRELESS DATA No
DIMENSIONS 221x126x9.2mm WEIGHT 390g OPERATING SYSTEM Android 5.1
WARRANTY Two years RTB DETAILS shield.nvidia.co.uk/tablet/k1 PART CODE Shield Tablet K1
FULL REVIEW Jun 2016
450
www.expansys.com
150
349
www.apple.com/uk
NEW
ENTRY
PROCESSOR Tri-core 1.5GHz Apple A8X SCREEN SIZE 9.7in SCREEN RESOLUTION 2,048x1,536
REAR CAMERA 8 megapixels STORAGE 16GB WIRELESS DATA 4G (optional) DIMENSIONS
240x170x6.1mm WEIGHT 437g OPERATING SYSTEM iOS 9 WARRANTY One year RTB
PART CODE Apple iPad Air 2 DETAILS www.apple.com/uk FULL REVIEW Feb 2015
PROCESSOR Dual-core 2.4GHz Intel Core i5-6300U SCREEN SIZE 12.3in SCREEN RESOLUTION
2,736x1,824 REAR CAMERA 8 megapixels STORAGE 256GB WIRELESS DATA No
DIMENSIONS 292x201x8mm WEIGHT 1.37kg inc Type Cover and power brick OPERATING
SYSTEM Windows 10 WARRANTY One year RTB DETAILS www.microsoft.com/surface
PART CODE Surface Pro 4 FULL REVIEW Jun 2016
150
62
NEW
ENTRY
www.ebuyer.com
www.pcworld.co.uk
NEW
ENTRY
370
www.currys.co.uk
A superb-value multi-purpose
d
tablet with a unique rotating camera and
surprisingly high-qualiy speakers. Its not the most
powerful handheld around, but its integrated kickstand makes it
ideal for watching video.
PROCESSOR Quad-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 212 SCREEN SIZE 8in SCREEN
RESOLUTION 1,200x800 REAR CAMERA 8 megapixels STORAGE 16GB DIMENSIONS
146x7x210mm WEIGHT 420g OPERATING SYSTEM Android 5.1 WARRANTY One year RTB
DETAILS www.lenovo.com/uk PART CODE 146591 FULL REVIEW Jun 2016
PROCESSOR Octa-core 1.9GHz + 1.3GHz Samsung Exynos Octa 5433 SCREEN SIZE 9.7in
SCREEN RESOLUTION 2,048x1,536 REAR CAMERA 8 megapixels STORAGE 32GB
WIRELESS DATA 4G (+90) DIMENSIONS 169x5.6x237mm WEIGHT 389g OPERATING
SYSTEM Android 5.0.2 WARRANTY One year RTB DETAILS www.samsung.com/uk
PART CODE SM-T810 FULL REVIEW Dec 2015
JULY 2016
02
03
04
05
06
PHOTOGRAPHY
www.wexphotographic.com
www.jessops.com
www.currys.co.uk
CANON G9 X
357
NEW
ENTRY
www.wexphotographic.com
64
549
NEW
ENTRY
FUJIFILM X70
NIKON D7200
www.jessops.com
JULY 2016
02
03
04
DISPLAYS
BENQ GW2765HT
277
www.ebuyer.com
VIEWSONIC VX2363Smhl-W
115
www.dabs.com
SCREEN SIZE 27in RESOLUTION 2,560x1,440 SCREEN TECHNOLOGY IPS VIDEO INPUTS
VGA, DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort WARRANTY Two years onsite PART CODE 9H.LCELA.TBE
DETAILS www.benq.co.uk FULL REVIEW Jan 2015
SCREEN SIZE 23in RESOLUTION 1,920x1,080 SCREEN TECHNOLOGY IPS VIDEO INPUTS
VGA, HDMI, MHL-compatible HDMI WARRANTY Two years collect and return PART CODE
VX2363Smhl-W DETAILS www.viewsoniceurope.com FULL REVIEW Jan 2015
ASUS PB279Q
213
www.box.co.uk
569
www.laptopsdirect.co.uk
SCREEN SIZE 27in RESOLUTION 3,840x2,160 SCREEN TECHNOLOGY AHVA REFRESH RATE
60Hz VIDEO INPUTS 4x HDMI, DisplayPort, Mini DisplayPort WARRANTY Three years RTB
DETAILS www.asus.com/uk FULL REVIEW Apr 2015
SAMSUNG S32D850T
AOC U3477PQU
SCREEN SIZE 34in RESOLUTION 3,840x1,440 SCREEN TECHNOLOGY IPS REFRESH RATE
60Hz VIDEO INPUTS DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI, VGA WARRANTY Three years RTB DETAILS
www.aoc-europe.com FULL REVIEW May 2015
375
www.laptopsdirect.co.uk
| JULY 2016
500
www.currys.co.uk
65
Choosing a... TV
01
02
A 1,920x1,080-resolution TV can
display a 1080p image. You can still
buy TVs with a 720p (1,366x768) resolution,
but theyre no cheaper and the image wont
be as sharp. 3,840x2,560 Ultra HD resolution,
or 4K, TVs are nally available at reasonable
prices, although youll still pay a premium for
one over a 1080p model.
03
04
05
HOME CINEMA
PANASONIC TX-55CX700B
879
www.currys.co.uk
315
www.hillsradio.co.uk
SCREEN SIZE 55in NATIVE RESOLUTION 3,840x2,160 VIDEO INPUTS 3x HDMI (2x ARC), SCART,
component, composite TUNER Freeview HD DIMENSIONS 762x1,237x242mm WARRANTY
One year RTB DETAILS www.panasonic.com PART CODE TX-55CX700B FULL REVIEW Jan 2016
SCREEN SIZE 32in NATIVE RESOLUTION 1,920x1,080 VIDEO INPUTS 4x HDMI, component,
composite TUNER Freeview HD DIMENSIONS 428x370x91mm WARRANTY One year RTB
DETAILS www.samsung.com/uk PART CODE UE32J6300AK FULL REVIEW Dec 2015
SAMSUNG BD-J7500
LG LHB725
150
www.currys.co.uk
4K upscaling,
fantastic image
quality and a wealth of
streaming service support makes the BD-J7500 so
much more than just a Blu-ray player: it can turn any TV into
a smart one, or replace a streaming media stick.
329
ao.com
A 3D-capable
home-cinema
surround system with a Blu-ray player that has
fantastic image quality and speakers that deliver powerful sound, all
housed in an attractive package.
HDMI INPUTS/OUTPUTS 2/1 HDMI 2.0 INPUTS/OUTPUTS 2/1 OUTPUT RESOLUTIONS 720p,
1080p WIRELESS SUPPORT 802.11n, Bluetooth SPEAKER CONFIGURATION 5.1
RMS POWER OUTPUT TOTAL 1,200W DIMENSIONS 410x55x260mm WARRANTY One year
RTB DETAILS www.lg.com/uk PART CODE LHB725 FULL REVIEW Oct 2015
SONY HT-XT3
349
66
SAMSUNG UE32J6300
www.super.co.uk
360
www.amazon.co.uk
Stage
The Fidelio XS1 SoundStage
is a beautiful-looking
soundbase with sound
quality that matches its stunning design. There
are plenty of connections, including Bluetooth, and the wireless
subwoofer delivers the lower frequencies with aplomb.
SPEAKERS 2+2 RMS POWER OUTPUT 350W (total) DIMENSIONS 750x358x83mm WEIGHT
10.5kg DOCK CONNECTOR None NETWORKING Bluetooth (SBC, LDAC) WARRANTY One
year RTB DETAILS www.sony.co.uk PART CODE HT-XT3 FULL REVIEW Mar 2016
JULY 2016
02
03
04
AUDIO
RAUMFELD One S
200
www.amazon.co.uk
160
uk.raumfeld.com
RAZER Leviathan
SPEAKERS 2 RMS POWER OUTPUT 30W DOCK CONNECTOR None NETWORKING 802.11n
Wi-Fi, Ethernet DIMENSIONS 180x110x130mm WEIGHT 1.4kg STREAMING FORMATS UPnP,
Mesh Network WARRANTY One year RTB DETAILS uk.raumfeld.com PART CODE One S
FULL REVIEW Nov 2015
Soundbars are
usually built for
TVs, but Razers
Leviathan is ideal for sliding underneath a computer
monitor. It sounds great and is more than loud enough to ll a room.
It also has built-in Bluetooth streaming.
SPEAKERS 4 RMS POWER OUTPUT 30W WEIGHT 2kg (bar), 2.3kg (subwoofer)
NETWORKING Bluetooth (SBC, aptX) WARRANTY Two years RTB DETAILS www.razerzone.
com PART CODE RZ05-01260100-R3G1 FULL REVIEW Jul 2015
SPEAKERS 3 RMS POWER OUTPUT 60W DOCK CONNECTOR None WIRELESS Bluetooth
(SBC, aptX) DIMENSIONS 137x120x274mm WEIGHT 2.26kg WARRANTY One year RTB
DETAILS www.monitoraudio.co.uk PART CODE S150 FULL REVIEW May 2016
160
www.box.co.uk
149
150
NEW
ENTRY
www.johnlewis.com
www.super.co.uk
| JULY 2016
499
www.johnlewis.com
An update to a design classic, the Zeppelin Wireless
improves on its predecessor with Bluetooth and a
sleeker design but retains its fantastic sound quality.
67
02
03
04
05
VIDEO
35
www.amazon.co.uk
348
www.argos.co.uk
190
www.johnlewis.com
200
www.amazon.co.uk
The Humax
HDR-1100S is
an attractive
Freesat+ PVR thats easy to use
and integrates catch-up TV seamlessly
through Freetime.
PANASONIC HC-VX980
SONY FDR-X1000V
649
www.photospecialist.co.uk
68
253
www.amazon.co.uk
NEW
ENTRY
JULY 2016
03
02
04
05
06
RICOH SP 3600DN
www.ebuyer.com
159
www.printerland.co.uk
412
80
NEW
ENTRY
www.currys.co.uk
66
www.photospecialist.co.uk
een
Other than a tiny screen
and slightly high running
costs, the XP-530 is a
welcome addition to Epsons Expression Premium range. It prints and
scans incredibly quickly, while maintaining high quality throughout.
230
www.ebuyer.com
305
| JULY 2016
www.ebuyer.com
A very easy-to-use
document scanner that
can scan both sides of a
document at once, and lets you organise
your scans onscreen before saving them
to a computer, USB disk or Android device.
SCANNER TYPE Document scanner MAXIMUM OPTICAL SCAN RESOLUTION 600x600dpi
DIMENSIONS 189x318x170mm WEIGHT 2.8kg WARRANTY One year RTB DETAILS www.
plustek.com/uk PART CODE 0263UK FULL REVIEW Feb 2016
69
02
03
04
NETWORKS
TP-LINK Archer C9
BT Dual-Band
Wi-Fi Extender 1200
99
www.currys.co.uk
40
MODEM None WI-FI STANDARD 802.11ac STATED SPEED 1,900Mbit/s USB PORTS 1x USB3,
1x USB2 WALL MOUNTABLE No WARRANTY Three years RTB DETAILS uk.tp-link.com
PART CODE Archer C9 FULL REVIEW Sep 2015
90
www.amazon.co.uk
WI-FI STANDARD 802.11ac STATED SPEED 867Mbit/s LAN PORTS 1 WARRANTY Three
years RTB DETAILS www.shop.bt.com PART CODE 80462 FULL REVIEW Aug 2015
ASUS EA-AC87
www.box.co.uk
CANARY
All-In-One Security
www.currys.co.uk
MODEM None WI-FI STANDARD 802.11ac STATED SPEED 1,734Mbit/s USB PORTS 0
WALL MOUNTABLE Yes WARRANTY Two years RTB DETAILS www.asus.com/uk
PART CODE 90IG01A0-BU9000 FULL REVIEW Sep 2015
NETGEAR Arlo
240
www.currys.co.uk
SENSOR Not disclosed VIEWING ANGLE 147 wide angle VIDEO RECORDING FRAME
RATES 1080p (30fps) NIGHT VISION MODE Infrared LEDs DIMENSIONS 152x76x76mm
WEIGHT 400g WARRANTY One year RTB DETAILS canary.is PART CODE CT100UKWT
FULL REVIEW Mar 2016
SENSOR CMOS (size not stated) VIEWING ANGLE Horizontal 130 VIDEO RECORDING
(FRAME RATES) 720p (24fps) NIGHT VISION MODE Infrared LEDs DIMENSIONS 71x40x63mm
WEIGHT 110g WARRANTY One year RTB DETAILS www.arlo.com/uk PART CODE 131178
FULL REVIEW Sep 2015
160
70
110
www.currys.co.uk
JULY 2016
02
03
04
05
STORAGE
127
www.scan.co.uk
210
www.dabs.com
CAPACITY 500GB COST PER GIGABYTE 0.26 INTERFACE SATA3 CLAIMED READ 540MB/s
CLAIMED WRITE 520MB/s WARRANTY Five years RTB DETAILS www.samsung.com/uk
PART CODE MZ-75E500BW/EU FULL REVIEW Oct 2015
CAPACITY 6TB PRICE PER GIGABYTE 0.03 INTERFACE SATA3 WARRANTY Three years
RTB DETAILS www.wdc.com PART CODE WD60EFRX FULL REVIEW Nov 2014
SAMSUNG T1 500GB
127
www.ebuyer.com
134
www.ebuyer.com
The T1 is
signicantly faster
ash
than any USB3 ash
r.
drive as it has its own SD controller.
Combined with a USB3 connection, its able to transfer les at
unbelievable speeds, then slips into a pocket for taking on the move.
CAPACITY 500GB COST PER GIGABYTE 0.34 INTERFACE USB3 CLAIMED READ 450MB/s
CLAIMED WRITE 450MB/s WARRANTY Three years RTB DETAILS www.samsung.com/uk
PART CODE MU-PS500B/EU FULL REVIEW Apr 2015
83
www.dabs.com
138
Theres plenty of
choice when it comes to
portable hard disks, but
Toshibas Canvio Connect II has an
excellent bundled software package and
impressive USB3 speeds. Considering the
price, theres no reason not to have one.
CAPACITY 2TB COST PER GIGABYTE 0.04 INTERFACE USB3 WARRANTY One year RTB
DETAILS www.toshiba.eu PART CODE HDTC820ER3CA FULL REVIEW Nov 2015
| JULY 2016
www.ebuyer.com
A true sign of
things to come
for storage: its
the fastest, most affordable NVMe
SSD yet. If your motherboard is compatible
ompatible
with PCI Express storage, you absolutely
olutely need one.
CAPACITY 256GB COST PER GIGABYTE 0.57 INTERFACE M.2 (2280)/NVMe
CLAIMED READ 2,200MB/s CLAIMED WRITE 900MB/s WARRANTY Five years RTB
DETAILS www.samsung.com/uk PART CODE MZ-V5P256BW FULL REVIEW Jan 2016
71
02
03
04
05
COMPONENTS
276
www.scan.co.uk
187
www.novatech.co.uk
GPU AMD Radeon R9 380 MEMORY 4GB GDDR5 GRAPHICS CARD LENGTH 234mm
WARRANTY Three years RTB DETAILS www.gigabyte.com PART CODE GV-R938WF2-4GD
FULL REVIEW Apr 2016
85
www.scan.co.uk
ASUS Z170-A
122
www.dabs.com
AMD A10-7700K
72
www.scan.co.uk
GIGABYTE Radeon
n
R9 380 Windforce
80
www.novatech.co.uk
JULY 2016
SOFTWARE
70
www.xara.com/uk
65
www.wexphotographic.com
eo
Vid iting
ed
b
We sign
de
102
www.ebuyer.com
40
ic
ph n
Gra esig
d
OS SUPPORT Windows 7/8/10 MINIMUM CPU 2GHz with SSE2 MINIMUM GPU DirectX 9
MINIMUM RAM 2GB HARD DISK SPACE 5GB DETAILS www.adobe.com/uk PRODUCT
CODE 65234288 FULL REVIEW Jan 2016
t
oto en
Ph gem
na
ma
www.apple.com/itunes
OS SUPPORT Windows 7/8 MINIMUM CPU Intel or AMD with 64-bit support MINIMUM
GPU 1GB, OpenGL 3.3, DirectX 10 MINIMUM RAM 2GB HARD DISK SPACE 2GB
DETAILS www.adobe.com/uk PRODUCT CODE 65237576 FULL REVIEW Feb 2015
OS SUPPORT Apple OS X 10.7.5 MINIMUM CPU Core 2 Duo (64-bit) MINIMUM GPU Intel HD
Graphics MINIMUM RAM 1GB HARD DISK SPACE 325GB DETAILS affinity.serif.com
PRODUCT CODE Affinity Designer FULL REVIEW Mar 2015
119
www.steinberg.net
50
www.xara.com/uk
e
ag
Im iting
ed
sic n
Mu uctio
d
pro
OS SUPPORT Windows 7 or later MINIMUM CPU Intel Core/AMD dual-core MINIMUM GPU
DirectX 10 MINIMUM RAM 4GB HARD DISK SPACE 15GB DETAILS www.steinberg.net
PRODUCT CODE 45550 FULL REVIEW May 2015
GAMES
25
www.cdkeys.com
23
www.cdkeys.com
h
alt
Ste ction
a
d
orl
-w re
en ntu
Op adve
Fallout 4
AVAILABLE FORMATS PC, Xbox One, PS4 OS SUPPORT Windows 7/8.1/ 10 64-bit
MINIMUM CPU Quad-core 2.8GHz Intel, quad-core 3GHz AMD MINIMUM GPU Nvidia GeForce
GTX 550 Ti, AMD Radeon HD 7870 MINIMUM RAM 8GB HARD DISK SPACE 30GB
DETAILS www.fallout4.com FULL REVIEW Feb 2016
AVAILABLE FORMATS PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PS4 OS SUPPORT Windows 7/8.1
64-bit MINIMUM CPU Dual-core 3.4GHz Intel, quad-core AMD MINIMUM GPU Nvidia GeForce
GTX 650, AMD Radeon R9 270x MINIMUM RAM 4GB HARD DISK SPACE 28GB
DETAILS www.konami.jp/mgs5 FULL REVIEW Dec 2015
XCOM 2
20
www.cdkeys.com
23
www.cdkeys.com
NEW
ENTRY
d
ase
n-b egy
Tur strat
y
tas
Fan RPG
AVAILABLE FORMATS PC, Xbox One, PS4 OS SUPPORT Windows 7/8.1 64-bit MINIMUM CPU
Quad-core 3.3GHz Intel, quad-core 3GHz AMD MINIMUM GPU Nvidia GeForce GTX 660, AMD
Radeon HD 7870 MINIMUM RAM 6GB HARD DISK SPACE 40GB DETAILS www.thewitcher.
com/witcher3 FULL REVIEW Aug 2015
AVAILABLE FORMATS PC OS SUPPORT Windows 7 and above MINIMUM CPU Intel Core 2
Duo E4700 2.6GHz or AMD Phenom 9950 quad-core 2.6GHz MINIMUM GPU 1GB AMD Radeon
HD 5770 or 1GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 460 MINIMUM RAM 4GB DISK SPACE 45GB
DETAILS www.2k.com FULL REVIEW May 2016
| JULY 2016
73
REVIEWS
How we test
Normal speed
11ppm
Mono costs
2.2p
Colour costs
6.7p
0%
-50
Reference
+50
+100
SUMMARY OF TESTS
PC SYSTEMS & GAMING LAPTOPS
Windows overall Average speed across numerous demanding tasks
BENCHMARKS
SHOPPER BENCHMARKS
Our benchmark suite uses opensource software that runs on
Windows, Mac OS X and Linux
systems. This lets us use objective
results to compare PCs and laptops,
no matter which operating system they run. Its designed to test
each computer to its limit, using a combination of intensive
image-editing, video-encoding and multitasking tests.
We ran the tests on our reference PC, which has an Intel
Core i5-4670K processor, 8GB of DDR3 RAM and an AMD
Radeon R7 260X graphics card. We normalised our results
so this PC had a score of 100. This makes it easy to draw
comparisons between test systems.
The resulting overall score is shown at the bottom of
every PC and laptop review. As we use the same tests in our
standalone and group test reviews, you can compare the
performance of any computer, whether its a netbook,
laptop or desktop, from both sections of the magazine.
To see how your computer compares, you can download the
suite from www.shopperdownload.co.uk/benchmarks. Versions
are available for 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems.
Avoid
Below average
Good
Very good
Excellent
BEST BUY
74
RECOMMENDED
3D BENCHMARKS
DIRT SHOWDOWN
Dirt Showdown is a cracking racing game
that makes good use of DirectX 11s
fancy graphical effects. Youll want at
least 30fps for smooth racing.
TOMB RAIDER
With the ultra-demanding SuperSampling Anti-Aliasing (SSAA) enabled,
2013s Tomb Raider reboot is a great
indicator of mid-range performance.
BUSINESS
JULY 2016
PRODUCT INDEX
Product Reviews
Our guide to all the products reviewed
in this months Shopper
Hot Product
24
Samsung Galaxy J5
Samsung Galaxy TabPro S
26
Photography
Canon SX720 HS
Panasonic TZ100
Handhelds
33
Apple iPhone SE
LG G5
Displays and
Home Cinema
42
Audio
SUBSCRIBE
AND SAVE
39
Games
47
Networks
50
52
Components
53
Gigabyte GA-990FX-Gaming
CALL 0844
44 844 0031
OR SEE PAGE 122
| JULY 2016
Software
54
56
The Division
Printers
Storage
1
1
9
Reviews
82
Brother MFC-J5320DW
Brother MFC-J680DW
Canon i-Sensys MF724Cdw
Canon Pixma MG5750
Canon Pixma MX495
Dell H825cdw
Epson Expression
Premium XP-530
Epson WorkForce Pro
WF-5690DWF
HP DeskJet 3630
HP Ocejet 7510
Ricoh SP 3600DN
Ricoh SP C250DNW
75
GETTING STARTED
The download instructions on the card
insert (after page 74) show you how to
connect to the download site. Make
sure you type in the web address exactly
as shown. Youll need your coupon code
the rst time you log on to the site.
ANY PROBLEMS
If you need help with any of the
software this month, please send an
email to letters@computershopper.co.uk.
We check this inbox regularly. Please
include the issue number of the
magazine and your coupon code.
WHY DOWNLOADS
In order to provide us with free
software, publishers now require us to
offer the applications as a download and
to require online registration. You need
to use the unique code printed in the
box on the card insert to register and
download the software in this issue. The
unique code means we stop the deals
leaking online, so only Shopper readers
get the software.
NO CODE?
If you dont have the card insert with the
unique code, you must buy the 4.99
Free Software print version of the
magazine. If you have this edition and
still dont have a card, please contact
letters@computershopper.co.uk.
CyberLink PhotoDirector 6
Deluxe
PHOTODIRECTOR 6 IS a capable tool for
organising, editing and sharing your digital images.
Launch the program and youll nd its split into
ve sections. The Library is where you import, view,
rate, tag and generally organise your photos. There
are plenty of time-saving tools on hand (such as
face tagging and the ability to exclude duplicates
when importing), and its all very easy to use.
The Adjustment section provides manual and
fully automatic tweaks for colour, white balance,
sharpness and more, as well as crop and rotate
tools, healing brushes and a red-eye remover.
The Edit tab ramps up the creative possibilities.
helps turn your photos into a video le, or a
The People Beautier provides options to whiten
slideshow you can share directly on YouTube.
teeth, remove wrinkles, or perhaps reshape your
Finally, the Print tab provides a great deal of control
subjects for a more slimline look. The program can
over any printouts you might want to make.
remove unwanted objects from pictures,
Theres plenty to explore, and the new panorama
automatically lling in the
and sharing options are particularly
background. There are some
welcome. If youre an existing user,
REQUIREMENTS Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 or
10, 32/64-bit, 500MB hard disk space
simple effects, frames, a
or just looking for a powerful but
WEBSITE www.cyberlink.com
watermarking tool, and more.
user-friendly tool for managing and
NOTES Get your registration code at
When youve nished your
editing your photo collection,
phd6.disc.computershopper.co.uk
work, the Slideshow section
PhotoDirector 6 is worth a look.
76
JULY 2016
JetDrive 8 Professional
YOUR HARD DISK is in constant
use from the moment you switch
on your PC, so its important to
take good care of it. The process
of defragmentation is one of the
best maintenance steps you can
take, and Microsoft includes a
simple defrag tool in Windows.
JetDrive 6 Professional takes
things to the next level, enabling
you to optimise the performance
of your drive by performing deep
defragging as well as other tasks.
| JULY 2016
77
Panda Internet
Security 2016
PANDA INTERNET SECURITY
2016 is a capable security suite
with protection for Windows,
Android, iOS and Mac.
The Windows module offers
accurate anti-virus, browser
protection (via an
optional toolbar), a
rewall and Wi-Fi protection
to detect intruders on your
network. The Data Shield
prevents sensitive data falling into
Auslogics BitReplica 2
78
JULY 2016
Resources
Customisation
General
| JULY 2016
79
PRINTERS
FRESH PRINTS
Page 90
Page 85
Page 91
Page 86
Page 92
Page 87
Page 93
Page 88
Page 94
Page 89
Page 95
BROTHER MFC-J5320DW
BROTHER MFC-J680DW
CANON i-Sensys MF724Cdw
CANON Pixma MG5750
CANON Pixma MX495
DELL H825cdw
82
JULY 2016
PRINTERS
THEORY OF RESOLUTION
| JULY 2016
BUTTON UP
BLEEDING DRY
INSTALLING CONFIDENCE
Inkjet VS Laser
There are two main types of printer technology to consider: inkjet and laser. Inkjet printers
create text and images by simply pressing thousands of tiny ink dots directly on to the
paper; lasers are a bit more complex, as they create an electrostatic image of whatever is
being printed, and then use the heat of a laser to fuse toner particles to the paper in the
shape of that image.
The choice between inkjet or laser printers has, traditionally, not been much of a
choice at all: if you wanted high-quality but affordable prints made at home, inkjet was
the only logical choice, as both the printer and the individual toner cartridges had a lower
immediate cost while allowing for cleaner and more natural-looking colours that made
them ideal for printing photos.
On the other hand, if you were a business buyer looking for a speedy printer that could
handle bulk loads, laser was the way to go. Compatible toner might have been more
expensive per unit, but their larger capacity allowed for less frequent changes than an
inkjet would have required for the same amount of paper.
Nowadays, however, the lines have been blurred somewhat. A laser printers entry costs
have dropped to the point of comparison with upper- to mid-range inkjets, which themselves
have become ecient enough that professionals are increasingly forgoing the crisper blacks
of lasers in favour of inkjets superior all-colour performance.
Many differences do remain. Consumer inkjets are still, generally, the cheapest devices to
buy off the shelf, but the higher printing speed of laser printers means they continue to be
the rst choice for businesses with large loads. Weve included a mix of inkjet and laser
printers in this test, so read on and decide which is most suitable for your purposes.
83
PRINTERS
INKJET MFP
BROTHER
MFC-J5320DW
80
From www.printerbase.co.uk
VERDICT
Theres plenty to like about this MFP, such as the ADF lid
that clicks shut, keeping out dust
Fortunately, theres plenty more to like
about this MFP. There are neat bits of design,
such as the ADF lid that clicks shut, keeping
out dust. Its touchscreen might not be the
biggest and it doesnt respond to swipe
gestures, but its generally responsive and the
menu system is clear; we particularly like the
ability to add your own shortcuts. One
frustration is that you can only print photos
from an inserted USB drive, not PDF les or
other oce documents.
While the printers 12.8 pages per minute
text speed isnt that impressive, 7.1ppm on our
colour graphics test is quick for an inkjet at
this price. It took only two-and-a-half minutes
to duplex 10 sides of graphics on to ve
pages, while copying a 10-page document
took only 66 seconds in black, or 83 seconds
SPECIFICATIONS
TECHNOLOGY Piezo inkjet
MAXIMUM PRINT
MAXIMUM OPTICAL
RESOLUTION 6,000x1,200dpi
10.8kg
MFCJ5320DWU1
Mono speed
12.8ppm
Mixed colour
speed
7.1ppm
-50
Reference
+50
+100
Brothers menu system is clear, and you can create your own shortcuts via the touchscreen
84
JULY 2016
PRINTERS
INKJET MFP
BROTHER
MFC-J680DW
86 From www.viking-direct.co.uk
VERDICT
SPECIFICATIONS
TECHNOLOGY Piezo inkjet
MAXIMUM PRINT
MAXIMUM OPTICAL
RESOLUTION 6,000x1,200dpi
Mono speed
12ppm
Mixed colour
speed
5.5ppm
2.4p
4.7p
0%
-50
Reference
+50
+100
Brothers print interface is one of the best: the main tab covers almost everything youll need
| JULY 2016
85
PRINTERS
LASER MFP
CANON
i-Sensys MF724Cdw
VERDICT
SPECIFICATIONS
MAXIMUM
MAXIMUM OPTICAL
Mono speed
16.5ppm
Mixed colour
speed
14.8ppm
2.1p
7.3p
0%
-50
Reference
+50
+100
The i-Sensys MF724Cdws desktop interface is much easier to use than its touchscreen controls
86
JULY 2016
PRINTERS
INKJET MFP
CANON
Pixma MG5750
75
From www.box.co.uk
VERDICT
SPECIFICATIONS
TECHNOLOGY Thermal inkjet
RESOLUTION 4,800x1,200dpi
MAXIMUM PRINT
MAXIMUM OPTICAL
DIMENSIONS 148x455x369mm
MAXIMUM PAPER SIZE A4/legal
WARRANTY One year RTB DETAILS www.canon.co.uk
(24-bit)
WEIGHT 6.3kg
11.5ppm
Mono speed
Mixed colour
speed
3.6ppm
2.2p
4.1p
0%
-50
Reference
+50
+100
The MG5750 doesnt have the best controls, but its printouts are excellent
| JULY 2016
87
PRINTERS
INKJET MFP
CANON
Pixma MX495
52 From www.ebuyer.com
VERDICT
SPECIFICATIONS
TECHNOLOGY Thermal inkjet
RESOLUTION 4,800x1,200dpi
MAXIMUM PRINT
MAXIMUM OPTICAL
(24-bit)
Mono speed
8.4ppm
Mixed colour
speed
1.6ppm
2.9p
6.9p
0%
-50
Reference
+50
+100
Scans produced by the MX495 were much better than most budget devices
88
JULY 2016
PRINTERS
LASER MFP
DELL H825cdw
278
From www.ballicom.co.uk
VERDICT
SPECIFICATIONS
MAXIMUM PRINT
MAXIMUM OPTICAL SCAN
25ppm
Mono speed
Mixed colour
speed
16ppm
1.7p
8.5p
0%
-50
Reference
+50
+100
Dells software interface isnt the friendliest, but its fairly foolproof
| JULY 2016
89
PRINTERS
INKJET MFP
EPSON Expression
Premium XP-530
70 From www.currys.co.uk
VERDICT
SPECIFICATIONS
TECHNOLOGY Piezo inkjet
MAXIMUM PRINT
MAXIMUM OPTICAL
RESOLUTION 5,760x1,440dpi
9ppm
Mono speed
Mixed colour
speed
6.4ppm
2.7p
6p
0%
-50
Reference
+50
+100
The XP-530 has such a tiny screen that youll need to use the desktop software to enter your settings
90
JULY 2016
PRINTERS
INKJET MFP
EPSON WorkForce
Pro WF-5690DWF
VERDICT
SPECIFICATIONS
TECHNOLOGY Piezo inkjet
MAXIMUM PRINT
MAXIMUM OPTICAL
RESOLUTION 4,800x1,200dpi
19.2ppm
Mono speed
Mixed colour
speed
13.1ppm
0.9p
10h 16m
3.1p
0%
-50
Reference
+50
+100
Epsons excellent software makes the WF-5690DWF easy to use from a PC or a mobile device
| JULY 2016
91
PRINTERS
INKJET MFP
HP DeskJet 3630
40 From www.currys.co.uk
VERDICT
On plain paper, black text was bold and crisp, and colour
graphics were reasonably vivid, and unusually free of
inkjet artefacts such as grain or streaking
an oversimplied print driver that hides basic
choices away in an unfriendly advanced
options menu, to the even more simplistic
scan software, which survived a recent
redesign to remain almost wilfully irritating.
Unfortunately, nothing has changed here. By
default, the printer is set to its slower quiet
mode: you must unset this from the HP
Toolbox app, as counter-intuitively theres no
option in the driver.
Given its low price, it is at least much
easier to forgive this MFPs other weaknesses.
Despite a decent 11.2ppm result when printing
text, it could deliver only two pages of colour
graphics per minute. Photos were very slow,
too, with each 6x4in print taking more than
four minutes to appear.
Its not a quick copier, either, needing a
minute to duplicate a colour A4 page, or 40
seconds in black only. HPs TWAIN interface
wouldnt let us complete our 150dpi test, but
at 300dpi, scanning an A4 page took 25
SPECIFICATIONS
TECHNOLOGY Thermal inkjet
RESOLUTION 4,800x1,200dpi
MAXIMUM PRINT
MAXIMUM OPTICAL
DIMENSIONS 158x438x310mm
MAXIMUM PAPER SIZE A4/legal
WARRANTY One year RTB DETAILS www.hp.co.uk
(24-bit)
WEIGHT 4.2kg
11.2ppm
Mono speed
Mixed colour
speed
2ppm
3.7p
5.6p
0%
-50
Reference
+50
+100
Annoyingly, HPs software will attempt to install Google Chrome and set it as your default browser
92
JULY 2016
PRINTERS
INKJET MFP
HP Ofcejet 7510
94 From www.viking-direct.co.uk
VERDICT
SPECIFICATIONS
TECHNOLOGY Thermal inkjet
RESOLUTION 4,800x1,200dpi
MAXIMUM PRINT
MAXIMUM OPTICAL
(24-bit)
14.6ppm
Mono speed
Mixed colour
speed
4.2ppm
10h 16m
1.6p
10h 16m
2.7p
0%
-50
Reference
+50
+100
HPs oversimplied and unfriendly software interface lacks many advanced functions
93
PRINTERS
LASER PRINTER
RICOH
SP 3600DN
VERDICT
SPECIFICATIONS
MAXIMUM PRINT
MAXIMUM OPTICAL SCAN
RESOLUTION (OUTPUT BIT DEPTH) N/A DIMENSIONS
268x370x392mm WEIGHT 14.5kg MAXIMUM PAPER
SIZE A4/legal WARRANTY Two years RTB DETAILS
www.ricoh.co.uk PART CODE 906231
TECHNOLOGY Mono LED
RESOLUTION 1,200x1,200dpi
Mono speed
23.8ppm
1.2p
-50
Reference
+50
+100
The Ricoh SP 3600DN is built for heavy use, with a maximum duty cycle of 50,000 pages per month
94
JULY 2016
PRINTERS
PRINTE
LASER PRINTER
RICOH
SP C250DNW
70
From www.ebuyer.com
VERDICT
SPECIFICATIONS
MAXIMUM
DIMENSIONS
320x400x450mm WEIGHT 23.8kg MAXIMUM
PAPER SIZE A4/legal WARRANTY Two years swap out
DETAILS www.ricoh.co.uk PART CODE 901630
TECHNOLOGY Single-pass colour laser
Mono speed
16ppm
Mixed colour
speed
5.8ppm
2.2p
10.4p
0%
-50
Reference
+50
+100
Ricohs SP C250DNW has surprisingly low running costs for a laser printer
| JULY 2016
95
PRINTERS
RECOMMENDED
RECOMMENDED
BEST BUY
RECOMMENDED
BROTHER
BROTHER
CANON
CANON
CANON
MFC-J5320DW
MFC-J680DW
i-Sensys
MF724Cdw
Pixma MG5750
Pixma MX495
Piezo inkjet
Piezo inkjet
Thermal inkjet
Thermal inkjet
6,000x1,200dpi
6,000x1,200dpi
600x600dpi
4,800x1,200dpi
4,800x1,200dpi
1,200x2,400dpi (24-bit)
1,200x2,400dpi (24-bit)
600x600dpi (24-bit)
1,200x2,400dpi (24-bit)
600x1,200dpi (24-bit)
12.8ppm
12.0ppm
16.5ppm
11.5ppm
8.4ppm
7.1ppm
5.5ppm
14.8ppm
3.6ppm
1.6ppm
Number of colours
(cartridges)
4 (4)
4 (4)
4 (4)
5 (5)
4 (4)
Maximum colours
(cartridges)
4 (4)
4 (4)
4 (4)
5 (5)
4 (4)
Standard interfaces
Optional interfaces
None
None
None
None
None
Rating
HARDWARE
Technology
Maximum print
resolution
Maximum optical scan
resolution (output bit
depth)
Mono print speed
Mixed colour
print speed
Dimensions
240x490x290mm
172x400x341mm
479x430x484mm
148x455x369mm
189x435x295mm
10.8kg
8.3kg
31kg
6.3kg
5.9kg
Not stated
Not stated
750-2,000
recommended, 40,000
maximum
Not stated
1,000 maximum
A3
A4/legal
A4/legal
A4/legal
A4/legal
220gsm
300gsm
220gsm
300gsm
300gsm
2 (251)
3 (121)
2 (300)
1 (100)
2 (100)
2 (251)
3 (121)
3 (500)
1 (100)
2 (100)
Duplex
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Borderless printing
A3
A4
No
A4
A4
USB
No
USB
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Windows XP or later,
Mac OS X 10.7.5 or later,
Android, iOS
Windows XP or later,
Mac OS X 10.7.5 or later,
Android, iOS
Windows XP or later,
Mac OS X 10.7.5 or later,
Android, iOS
Windows XP or later,
Mac OS X 10.7.5 or later,
Android, iOS
Colour touchscreen
Colour touchscreen
Colour touchscreen
Colour LCD
Mono LCD
Weight
Duty cycle (pages per
month)
PAPER HANDLING
Maximum paper size
Maximum paper weight
FEATURES
Direct (PC-less) printing
Memory card support
Supported operating
systems
Display
BUYING INFORMATION
Warranty
Price inc VAT
80
86
289
75
52
0.8p
2.4p
2.1p
2.2p
2.9p
2.6p
4.7p
7.3p
4.1p
6.9p
www.printerbase.co.uk
www.viking-direct.co.uk
www.ballicom.co.uk
www.box.co.uk
www.ebuyer.com
www.brother.co.uk
www.brother.co.uk
www.canon.co.uk
www.canon.co.uk
www.canon.co.uk
MFCJ5320DWU1
MFCJ680DWZU1
9947B044
0557C008
0013C008
Supplier
Details
Part code
96
JULY 2016
PRINTERS
RECOMMENDED
DELL
EPSON
EPSON
HP
HP
H825cdw
Expression
Premium
XP-530
WorkForce
Pro WF5690DWF
DeskJet 3630
SP C250DNW
Single-pass colour
laser
Piezo inkjet
Piezo inkjet
Thermal inkjet
Thermal inkjet
Mono LED
Single-pass colour
laser
600x600dpi
5,760x1,440dpi
4,800x1,200dpi
4,800x1,200dpi
4,800x1,200dpi
1,200x1,200dpi
2,400x600dpi
600x600dpi (24-bit)
1,200x2,400dpi
(24-bit)
1,200x2,400dpi
(24-bit)
1,200x1,200dpi
(24-bit)
1,200x1,200dpi
(24-bit)
N/A
N/A
25.0ppm
9ppm
19.2ppm
11.2ppm
14.6ppm
23.8ppm
16.0ppm
16.0ppm
6.4ppm
13.1ppm
2.0ppm
4.2ppm
N/A
5.8ppm
4 (4)
5 (5)
4 (4)
4 (2)
4 (4)
1 (1)
2 (251)
4 (4)
5 (5)
4 (4)
4 (2)
4 (4)
1 (1)
3 (751)
USB, USB
host, Ethernet,
802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi
USB, 802.11b/g/n
Wi-Fi
USB, USB
host, Ethernet,
802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi
USB, 802.11b/g/n
Wi-Fi
USB, Ethernet,
802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi
USB, Ethernet
USB, Ethernet,
802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
500x429x504mm
138x390x341mm
342x461x422mm
158x438x310mm
287x615x727mm
268x370x392mm
320x400x450mm
31.7kg
6.2kg
14.3kg
4.2kg
13kg
14.5kg
23.8kg
700-3,500
recommended,
50,000 maximum
Not stated
35,000 maximum
1,000 maximum
800 recommended,
12,000 maximum
50,000 maximum
30,000 maximum
A4/legal
A4/legal
A4/legal
A4/legal
A3+
A4/legal
A4/legal
220gsm
Not stated
256gsm
300gsm
250gsm
162gsm
160gsm
2 (300)
1 (100)
2 (330)
1 (60)
1 (250)
2 (350)
2 (251)
3 (850)
1 (100)
3 (580)
1 (60)
1 (250)
3 (850)
3 (751)
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
No
A4
No
A4
A3+
No
No
Memory card
USB
No
USB
USB
USB, mobile
No
SD
No
No
No
No
No
Windows Vista or
later, Mac OS X 10.7
or later, Linux, SAP
R/3 release 4.6B
onwards
Windows XP or later,
Mac OS X 10.6.8 or
later, Android, iOS
Windows XP or later,
Mac OS X 10.5.8 or
later, Android, iOS
Windows Vista or
later, Mac OS X 10.8
or later, Android, iOS
Windows Vista or
later, Mac OS X
10.8 or later, Linux,
Android, iOS
Windows XP or later,
Mac OS X 10.6 or
later, Android, iOS
Windows XP or later,
Mac OS X 10.6 or
later, Android, iOS
Colour touchscreen
Colour touchscreen
Colour touchscreen
Mono LCD
Colour touchscreen
Mono LCD
Mono LCD
278
70
298
40
94
160
70
1.7p
2.7p
0.9p
3.7p
1.6p
1.2p
2.2p
8.5p
6.0p
3.1p
5.6p
2.7p
N/A
10.4p
www.ballicom.co.uk
www.currys.co.uk
www.ocedirect.
co.uk
www.currys.co.uk
www.viking-direct.
co.uk
www.ebuyer.com
www.ebuyer.com
www.dell.co.uk
www.epson.co.uk
www.epson.co.uk
www.hp.co.uk
www.hp.co.uk
www.ricoh.co.uk
www.ricoh.co.uk
210-AFRN
XP-350
C11CD14301BY
K4T99B#BEV
G3J47A
906231
901630
| JULY 2016
BUSINESS BUY
BEST BUY
RICOH
RICOH
RECOMMENDED
97
98
JULY 2016
THE 21 THINGS
KILLING
YOUR PC
JULY 2016
Hidden malware
p100
Five programs to
uninstall now
Adware
p101
p103
p104
p102
p106
p103
p109
99
Hidden malware
100
JULY 2016
JULY 2016
101
Bloatware and
unwanted applications
From the junk that was installed when you got your PC to the free utilities
youve tried and forgotten about, old software can hog resources and
really drag your computer down. Heres how to remove it
INSTALLED SOFTWARE CAN be among the
worst offenders when it comes to slowing
down your PC. Whether its the cumulative
effect of lots of new applications being
installed and removed, or simply just all the
bloated software that manufacturers see t to
install on our new computers, from free trials
to helpful utilities, software can be a real
killer. Even worse, some software is either
dangerous and open to hackers, or installs
adware or other junk with it. Theyre the main
reasons why you should uninstall the top ve
bits of rubbish software (see box, opposite).
As such, it makes sense to be harsh in the
treatment, weeding out old junk completely.
For the software you want to keep,
theres a secondary threat: start-up items.
These launch automatically with your
computer, often putting icons into the
Windows Notication Area (bottom-right,
near the clock). Everything running in here
takes up precious system resources, so
preventing these applications from running
will make your computer run faster. Well
show you how to x everything.
Most software that you dont want can
easily be removed from the Control Panel,
but the default Windows options dont
always get rid of everything. Instead, we
recommend using the free IOBit Uninstaller
(tinyurl.com/IOBitUninstallerDownload).
This application will also clear out the
hidden junk left behind by applications.
REMOVE UNWANTED
APPLICATIONS
Security software
Drivers
102
Old software
MODERN UI/START
SCREEN APPS
JULY 2016
Java
TOOLBARS
FREE SOFTWARE
STARTUP APPLICATIONS
JULY 2016
Thunderbird
CamStudio
DVDVideoSoft
DVDVideoSoft makes
utilities, such as screen
recorders and YouTube downloaders,
but its software installers come with
lots of nasty hidden extras. You
should avoid anything by this
manufacturer and remove all its
software using IOBit Uninstaller and
our malware guide on page 100.
103
Bloated Windows
operating system
Over time, Windows can become so bloated and messed up that the only
thing to do is to start again from scratch. Heres how you do it
THE MORE YOU add and install applications
and use Windows, the more orphaned les
you get, the more startup applications you
have hogging resources, and the more bloated
your PC gets. Sometimes it makes more sense
to start again. If youre running Windows 7
you can only do this by doing a clean install.
If you have Windows 8 or Windows 10, its
better news: you can restore your computer
from inside Windows. Heres how to do it.
Windows 8
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JULY 2016
Windows 10
Well show you two methods for restoring your PC: the rst uses the built-in
Windows 10 tool, which gives you a clean install; the second lets you take a system
image, so you can restore your PC back to this point in time at any point in the future.
METHOD 1
Factory reset
Click the Start menu and type reset. Click
Reset this PC and the Reset window will
open. If youre encountering problems you
didnt have on Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 and you
upgraded to Windows 10 less than a month
ago, you can go back to your old OS. If you
want to stay on Windows 10, click Get
started under Reset this PC.
Keep my les
Remove everything
METHOD 2
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105
Can I upgrade?
If the RAM is on the bottom, turn off your laptop and ip it over. For
RAM under the keyboard, turn off your laptop and push a small
at-head screwdriver into the notches around the keyboard, using
the screwdriver as a lever to unfasten the clips attaching the
keyboard to the chassis. Remove carefully without stressing the
ribbon connecting the keyboard to the motherboard. A
Once youve removed the panel, youll see one or two modules.
Theyll either be facing each other or on top of one another, with each
stick held in place by two small clips. Pull the clips away from the
module by pushing them sideways one at a time. If the module
Ensure the module is the correct way up by checking that the notch
separating the two sections of electrical contacts is lined up with the
divider in the RAM slot. Insert the new module at a 30 angle. Youll
know its fully inserted when you can no longer see the electrical
contacts. Push the stick into a horizontal position until the holding
arms click back into place. Carefully reattach the panel and secure all
screws, or reattach the keyboard by matching the clips and notches.
106
JULY 2016
Switch off and unplug your PC. Remove the side of the case to gain access to the
motherboard. Locate the RAM on the motherboard and pull back the clips holding the
RAM in place. Firmly pull the RAM modules out with two ngers. Note that you wont
need to follow this step if your PC has free RAM slots.
Pull back one of the clips and insert the RAM stick starting on that side. Push one end
of the RAM until it clicks into place and the clip moves to hold the stick in place.
Repeat with the other end of the RAM. Repeat for each stick of RAM. Reattach the
case panel and turn your PC back on.
JULY 2016
107
Most laptops use 2in mechanical hard disks, and most SSDs are
the same size. This makes things very easy when installing an SSD in
place of the mechanical disk. If youre installing a new mechanical
disk, you should have already checked that it isnt thicker than the
bay into which youre placing it.
Turn your laptop off and ip it over. Unscrew the ap to reveal
the hard disk, then remove any screws holding it in place. Pull out
the disk; this may require you to slide it out from the SATA
Switch off and unplug your PC and detach both sides of the case.
Slide the SSD into a drive bay. Cases vary: some have mounting
points for small 2in drives but others do not. Most SSDs ship
with a 3in caddy, which you can attach to your PC case, and they
always come with screws, too.
Plug in the power and data connectors for your SSD. A If your
motherboard has SATA3 ports, make sure the SSD is plugged into
INSTALLING WINDOWS 10
Plug the Windows 10 install media
into your computer and restart your PC or
laptop. Follow the installation instructions to
install Windows 10 from scratch. When you
get to the desktop, youll need to re-install
your applications. You may need to re-install
108
JULY 2016
Heat and
dust
shopping list
To follow our simple instructions
for
cleaning up your computer, you
ll need
these products from www.maplin.co
.uk:
Its not just digital junk you need to bin all the dirt
that builds up inside the case also cuts efficiency
ITS COMMON TO give your house a
spring-clean, and you should devote the same
love and attention to your PC you may be
surprised by how much dust is dragged inside
by the case fans. Dirt you cant see may not
seem a problem, but it can build up and clog
the fans, making them less ecient at cooling.
Dust also acts as an insulator, so your PC will
run hotter and may even crash as a result.
So grab a pair of Marigolds, delve into
your case and follow these easy steps to clean
it out. By the time youve nished, your PC
will be sparkling and, more importantly,
running cooler and more eciently.
Case lift
Blown away
Fresh air
Paint job
5
4
3
3
Invisible wire
JULY 2016
109
3D P
PRINTING
RINT
RI
NTIN
ING
G
JULY 2016
3D PRI
PRINTING
3D
Sci- choice
JULY 2016
3D printing has
its origins in a
19th-century photo
studio in France
111
da Vinci AiO, will only set you back 600. And outside of
the home, cost is also the key to the future of 3D printing;
specically, the cost of robotics versus human sweat. For
example, debate still rages over allegations of child slave
labour by brand leaders who produce sports items. But
even compared with economies such as Pakistan, where
kids are paid 3 for a 14-hour working day in the brandname sweatshops, Nike can produce its Vapor Laser Talon
football boots more cheaply using 3D printers.
So, apart from ludicrously overpriced footwear and
Mesopotamian triumphal arches, lets take a look at what
else is currently being produced by 3D printing. And none
of this is science ction. It has already happened.
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016
| COM
COMPUTER SHOPPER | ISSUE 341
1984
1981
1991
3D TIMELINE
JULY 2016
1992
1994
1972
A macabre little
replica of a foetus is
becoming a must-have fashion
accessory in certain circles
be operated on in the womb, and immediately after birth
the risks are high. But now, exact copies of the defective
organ can be scanned and printed for the surgical team to
practise on as many times as they like, weeks before the
birth. Lives are being saved. Of course trash merchants
will exploit 3D printing of unborn babies, and morons will
pay them. A macabre little replica of your foetus is
becoming a must-have fashion accessory in certain circles.
Instead of a grainy ultrasound image for parents to coo
over, companies like 3D Baby will print your unborn foetus
in light, medium, or dark plastic for around 275, and
deliver it in something that looks like a tacky silk-lined
mini-con. And if youre not even pregnant, no problem.
A 3D print-on-demand copy of the foetus spawned by
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian is even cheaper.
A brief history of
PRINTING
1892
1947
Foetal
Foet
oetal first: you too can have a
3D-printed
3D-pri
printed model of your unborn baby
1859
3D
3D P
PRINTING
RINTING
113
3D PRINTING
114
JULY 2016
2009
JULY 2016
2015
2016
Give yourself a makeover with the Foreo Moda printed makeup app
2012
2011
2014
2008
need to know. It will set you back a cool 1,500, but if your
budget doesnt quite run to that you can print your own
ukulele from a free pattern at www.thingiverse.com.
3D TIMELINE
1999
2008
2000
3D P
PRINTING
PRI
G
Human organs are grown from donor
cells, using a 3D-printed scaffold to
support them
115
THEDIGITAL
ASSISTANT
DECIDER:
SIRI VS CORTANA
VS GOOGLENOW
ere all chief executives now at least, thats what the mobile
manufacturers would have us believe. Weve all been given our very own
personal assistants courtesy of Apple Siri, Google Now and Microsoft
Cortana for iOS, Android and Windows devices respectively.
But are any of these digital assistants really invaluable? Do they do anything
more than inform you where your next meeting is? Here, weve put all three of
them through a stern test, pushing their capabilities across seven categories and
seeing how they handle requests that are out of the ordinary. Can they put us in
touch with our local MP? Tell us when to look out for the International Space
Station ying overhead? Or advise us on the ingredients of a Bloody Mary?
For each query posed weve given the digital assistants a mark out of three, top
marks being awarded when the correct answer is given directly, without the need
to click on web links. Which is the smartest of them all? Youre about to nd out.
JULY 2016
DIGITAL ASSISTAN
ASSISTANTS
ANTS FACE-OFF
AN
JULY 2016
117
SPORTS
ROUND SCORES:
SIRI 1 POINT
CORTANA 1 POINT
SIRI 2 POINTS
CORTANA 2 POINTS
118
SIRI 1 POINT
CORTANA 1 POINT
CORTANA 1 POINT
FOOD DRINK
CORTANA 2 POINTS
SIRI 1 POINT
ROUND SCORES:
SIRI 1 POINT
CORTANA 1 POINT
JULY 2016
ENTERTAINMENT
Whats on at my nearest
cinema tonight?
SIRI 2 POINTS
CORTANA 0 POINTS
TRAVEL
Siri bats this one to the web, the top link being
thetrainline.com, which shows exactly when the
next departure is. As Apple Maps (supposedly)
provides public transport directions, its a little
disappointing Siri relies on the web, yet when
we look up Victoria on Apple Maps, it tells us
there are no upcoming departures. Hmm
SIRI 1 POINT
CORTANA 1 POINT
CORTANA 1 POINT
CORTANA 1 POINT
JULY 2016
ROUND SCORES:
ROUND SCORES:
CORTANA 1 POINT
CORTANA 0 POINTS
119
POLITICS
SIRI 2 POINTS
CORTANA 2 POINTS
FINANCE
ROUND SCORES:
CORTANA 1 POINT
SIRI 0 POINTS
SIRI 2 POINTS
CORTANA 2 POINTS
120
CORTANA 1 POINT
SIRI 3 POINTS
ROUND SCORES:
CORTANA 2 POINTS
SIRI 1 POINT
CORTANA 1 POINT
SIRI 0 POINTS
JULY 2016
GENERAL
ROUND SCORES:
SIRI 1 POINT
CORTANA 1 POINT
SIRI 0 POINTS
CORTANA
1 POINT
CORTANA 2 POINTS
RESULTS&VERDICT
A
JULY 2016
SPORT
FOOD &
DRINK
ENTERTAINMENT
TRAVEL
POLITICS
FINANCE
GENERAL
OVERALL
CORTANA
25
GOOGLE NOW
44
SIRI
29
121
Business Help
If you have database, ofce application or macro issues, Kay Ewbank can
help. Send your problems to businesshelp@computershopper.co.uk
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124
JULY 2016
BUSINESS HELP
Dont quote me
Q
()([dlmrstv])
Hyperlinks in Excel
Q
| JULY 2016
125
Helpfile
Whatever your general PC, hardware and software woes, Simon Handby
is here to help. Send your problems to help@computershopper.co.uk
126
JULY 2016
HELPFILE
Use Windows
AutoPlay settings
to control what
happens when you
plug in a device
| JULY 2016
127
SD CARDS EXPLAINED
How to...
Choose an SD card
Picking the right SD card can be a mineeld, with a confusing plethora of acronyms
and standards. Richard Easton explains what all those little markings mean
SINCE ITS LAUNCH in 1999, the humble Secure Digital (SD) card
has fought off competition from Sonys Memory Stick format
and CompactFlash cards to become the de facto standard for
expandable storage. Nowadays, that means youll nd SD cards
SD CARD TYPES
This stands for Ultra High Speed and refers to a minimum sustained
writing performance for recording video. According to the SD
Association, UHS Speed Class 1 supports a minimum 10MB/s write
speed, whereas UHS Speed Class 3 supports at least 30MB/s write
speed. The UHS Speed Class is denoted by either a 1 or 3 inside a
bucket U symbol. 4K-capable camcorders will usually require at least
a U3-rated SD card.
MiniSD cards are about half the height of a standard SD card. You
can also nd larger-capacity miniSDHC cards, though again, youll need
to make sure your device supports miniSDHC rather than just miniSD.
Since devices that use it are relatively uncommon, miniSD cards will
often come with an adaptor that can convert it into a full-size SD card.
MicroSD, microSDHC and microSDXC cards are the smallest
versions. They are, as the name implies, physically tiny and are
predominantly used in smartphones.. Again, SDXC-comp
SDXC-compatible devices
are backwards-compatible with microSDHC
roSDHC and microSD cards,
and microSD cards can be used in microSDHC
devices. Youll usually get a full-size SD card
adaptor in the packaging, too.
SPEED CLASSES
128
VERDICT
VERDIC
JULY 2016
Multimedia
EXPERT
Photographing
children
| JULY 2016
129
MULTIMEDIA EXPERT
130
JULY 2016
MULTIMEDIA EXPERT
| JULY 2016
131
MULTIMEDIA EXPERT
Most importantly,
take masses of
photos. I nd that
one in 10 photos
are worth keeping,
and one in 1,000 are
worth framing
132
TECHNICAL ADVANTAGE
JULY 2016
MULTIMEDIA EXPERT
BEFORE
AFTER
NEXT MONTH
PRODUCE THE PERFECT VOCAL
The vocal is the centrepiece of
virtually every pop music production.
Our workshop will help you make sure
that it hits the right note
| JULY 2016
133
Advanced
PROJECTS
Adopt
Linux
IF YOU CA
CANT
NT or just dont want
ant to upg
upgrad
rade
rad
e to
to
Window
Win
dowss 10,
dow
1 there is another option. Li
Linux
nux mi
might
ght
have
hav
e star
star
tarted as a command-line, uber-ge
-geeks
-ge
eks-on
eks
-only
-on
ly
operat
ope
rating
rat
ing sy
system, but its now more friend
endly,
ly, mo
more
re
featur
fea
ture-pack
tur
acked
ed and mo
more powerful than ever.. On
On
older
old
er har
hardwa
dware,
re, Li
Linux
nux could even be superior
or to
resour
res
ource-hungry
our
gry Wi
Windows 10, even if you do ha
have
ve
the op
optio
tion
tio
n to
t upgrade
ade.
ade
To tak
take
e just
j
one example
ple,, owners
ple
o
of Son
Sony
y lapt
lapt
aptops
ops
cant
can
t upg
upgrad
rade to Windows 10 be
rad
becau
cause
cau
se Son
Sony
y hasn
hasn
asnt
t
writte
wri
tten
tte
n a Wi
Windo
ndows
ndo
ws 10 gra
graphi
phics
phi
cs dri
driver
ver,, whic
ver
whic
hich
h cont
cont
ontrol
rolss
rol
those
tho
se lap
laptop
top-sp
-speci
ecic
eci
c Fn ke
keys.
ys. Th
This
is mig
might
ht be bec
becaus
ause
aus
e
Sony
Son
y no
no long
long
onger
er has a com
comput
puter
put
er div
divisi
ision,
isi
on, bu
butt wer
wer
ere
e not
not
going to let a trivia
viall reas
via
reas
eason
on lik
like
e that
that ho
hold
ld us bac
back
k with
with
an out
outdat
dated
dat
ed Win
Window
dowss 7 or 8 ins
instal
tall.
tal
l. Ent
Enter
er Lin
Linux
ux Min
Mint.
t.
134
JULY 2016
ADVANCED PROJECTS
SUDO INSTALL
(free forever)
WINDOWS 10
(free for one year, then 60)
Media software
Online storage
(5GB, free)
Virtual desktops
Start menu
Digital assistant
App store
Comprehensive
Limited
Hardware/software support
Strong
Comprehensive
Gaming support
Patchy
Comprehensive
Biometrics support
Touchscreen support
Limited
| JULY 2016
Install size
5.5GB
20GB
Price
Free
135
ADVANCED PROJECTS
136
Youll need
Chrome if you
want to watch
Netix on
Linux Mint
JULY 2016
ADVANCED PROJECTS
Half an hour of ddling and we have a desktop just as pretty and streamlined as any Windows install
| JULY 2016
NEXT MONTH
KEEP YOUR PC COOL
137
PARTING SHOTS
Zygote
You can print out anything these days, says Zygote, from fake ngerprints to 3D albums
made from your own ashes. Sadly, creating a more inclusive IT industry is a little harder
GIRL POWER
PRINTS CHARMING
CLEAR COMMAND
VINYL SOLUTION
TOUCHY FEELY
138
JULY 2016
3D rendering?
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Intel, the Intel Logo, Intel Inside, Intel Core, Core Inside,are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.
Prices are correct at time of going to press (25-04-16) E&OE