WESTERN DO-IT-YOURSELF GIGABYTE DIGITAL BLACK2 STEAM BOX BRIX PRO SSD and HDD How to get SteamOS Full-on desktop together in one running on your PC power you can hold chassis! PG. 82 PG. 66 in your hand! PG. 53 minimum BS • mARCH 2014 • www.maximumpc.com THE CHEAPSKATE'S GUIDE TO POWER COMPUTING • Tips for saving on hardware • Pointers to the best deal sites • A guide to free and cheap digital content • Instructions for building a $600 PC • And so much more! GAMING KEYBOARDS We review six high- performance planks PG. 40 where we put stuff table of contents WESTERN DO IT YOURSELF GIGABYTE DIGITAL BLACK2 STEAM BOX BRIX PRO SSD and HDD How to get SteamOS Full-on desktop together in one running on your PC power you can hold chassis! PG. 82 PG. 66 in your hand! PG. 53 MINIMUM BS • MARCH 2014 • www.maximumpc.com THE inside CHEAPSKATE'S TO POWER COMPUTING On the Cover GUIDE Illustration by • Tips for saving on hardware Georg Zumbulev MARCH 2014 • Pointers to the best deal sites • A guide to free and cheap digital content QUICKSTART • Instructions for building a $600 PC • And so much more! GAMING KEYBOARDS We review six high- performance planks PG. 40 08 THE NEWS Hardware vendors commit to SteamOS; Windows XP death watch; Gigabit Internet over phone lines? FEATURES 14 THE LIST The 10 coolest things we saw 22 at CES. 16 HEAD TO HEAD Nvidia GeForce Experience vs. AMD Gaming Evolved beta. R&D Razer Project Christine 61 HOW TO What Windows could learn from smartphones; fine-tune your SSD; edit photos with Gimp. 66 BUILD IT Didn't score a Steam Machine in the beta? Neither did we, so we show you how get SteamOS up and running on your PC. 22 40 48 CHEAPSKATE'S PREMIUM PALm-oF-your- LETTERS FRIEND PLANKS HAND PCs We'll pinch your pennies until There's never been a better Tiny PCs (UFCCs) are growing 18 DOCTOR Abe screams! How to econo- time to update your keyboard. in power and popularity, but mize your rig and still love it. We put six through the paces. should you build one? 92 COMMENTS IN THE LAB + 72 80 84 86 AVADIRECT MINI ANTEC KUHLER ACER APSIRE S7 COOLER MASTER CUBE GAMING PC H20 950 COSMOS SE MORE maximumpc.com MAR 2014 MAXIMUMPC 5 a thing or two about a thing or two editorial MAXIMUMPC Gordon EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief: Katherine Stevenson Deputy Editor: Gordon Mah Ung Mah Ung Senior Editor: Josh Norem Online Managing Editor: Jimmy Thang Associate Editor: Tom McNamara Contributing Editors: Nathan Edwards, Alex Castle Contributing Writers: Ben Andrews, Tom Halfhill, Phil Iwanuik, Ben Kim, Paul Lilly, Thomas McDonald, David Murphy, Quinn Norton, Brittany Vincent Copy Editor: Mary Ricci Intern: Clark Crisp Editor Emeritus: Andrew Sanchez ART Art Director: Richard Koscher Photographer: Mark Madeo BUSINESS Vice President, Consumer Media: Kelley Corten, [email protected] Vice President, Sales & Business Development: Nate Hunt, [email protected] Associate Sales Director: Stacy Gaines, [email protected] Regional Sales Manager: Michael Plump, [email protected] Regional Sales Manager: Tad Perez, [email protected] Regional Sales Manager: Austin Park, [email protected] YOU REALLY Regional Sales Manager: Jessica Reinert, [email protected] Senior Manager Sales Ops & Monetization: Michael Grinde, mgrinde@ futureus.com Vice President, Marketing & Sales Development: Rhoda Bueno DO LIKE US Director of Consumer Marketing: Lisa Radler Newsstand Director: Bill Shewey THIS YEAR’S CES was an encouraging she claimed that’s changed, and Intel— PRODUCTION Production Director: Michael Hollister sign for any supporters of the PC. The the world’s largest chip company, I will Production Manager: Larry Briseno gadget and mainstream tech press, remind you—will do all it can to keep PC Project Manager: Jennifer Lim Production Coordinator: Linh Chau-Ward who usually dismiss the PC as being enthusiasts happy and, of course, buy- FUTURE US, INC. less useful and less desirable than a ing more hardware. 4000 Shoreline Court, Suite 400, South San Francisco, CA 94080 typewriter, packed a good-size room Yeah, I know. The cynics among you Tel: 650-872-1642, www.futureus.com just to see Gabe Newell of Valve intro- are rolling your eyes like a slot ma- President: Rachelle Considine Vice President, Finance & Business Management: Lulu Kong duce 13 PCs made for playing games chine because you’ve heard this all be- Vice President / General Manager, Digital: Charlie Speight with the upcoming SteamOS. I also fore. One jaded PC vendor I spoke with General Counsel: Anne Ortel Director, Human Resources: Eric Buksa met with more than a dozen PC and PC after my meeting pointed out that walk- SUBSCRIBER CUSTOMER SERVICE component vendors who all seemed ing Intel’s gigantic booth at CES you Maximum PC Customer Care, very upbeat about the PC’s future and wouldn’t even know that Intel makes P.O. Box 51592, Harlan, IA 51593-1352 Website: www.maximumpc.com/customerservice their ability make money off of it. CPUs that fit into that dinosaur known Tel: 800-274-3421 The PC’s Sally Field moment really as the desktop PC. Email: [email protected] came to me when I sat down with Intel That’s true, but acknowledgement BACK ISSUES Website: www.maximumpc.com/shop vice president Lisa Graff, who is now in is the first step in the right direction. Tel: 800-865-7240 charge of the Desktop Client Platforms Graff said that there are good things on REPRINTS Group. That means she’s the person the radar for enthusiasts that will be Future US, Inc., 4000 Shoreline Court, Suite 400, South San Francisco, CA 94080 calling a lot of the shots on the fate of made public once the time is right. Website: www.futureus.com Tel: 650-872-1642, Fax 650-872-2207 the desktop PC, which makes her a very As always, we will withhold judg- important person at Intel, and to us. So, ment until we see these good things, what did Graff say to make us think of but just hearing someone say that the Sally Field’s “You like me. You really PC enthusiast is important is enough to like me!” moment? keep hope alive. “PC enthusiasts are important to Intel.” That statement alone was enough to floor me because, frankly, we haven’t been feeling the love from Intel over Future produces carefully targeted maga- the last few quarters. The company zines, websites and events for people with a passion. We publish more than 180 maga- has seemingly been laser-focused zines, websites and events and we export or license our publications to 90 countries on mobile phones and tablets. And as across the world. much as I didn’t want to acknowledge Future plc is a public Non-executive Chairman: Peter Allen it, there has been a gnawing fear that company quoted on the Chief Executive: Mark Wood Intel would toss us aside without a mo- London Stock Exchange. Group Finance Director: Graham Harding Tel +44 (0)20 7042 4000 (London) ment’s notice. www.futureplc.com Tel +44 (0)1225 442244 (Bath) Graff even acknowledged that the Gordon Mah Ung is Maximum PC’s company hasn’t done everything it could deputy editor, senior hardware expert, ©2014 Future US, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine to keep enthusiasts happy of late, but and all-around muckraker. may be used or reproduced without the written permission of Future US, Inc. (owner). All information provided is, as far as Future (owner) is aware, based on information correct at the time of press. Readers are advised to contact manufacturers and retailers directly with regard to products/services referred to in this magazine. We welcome reader submissions, but cannot promise that they will ↘ submit your questions to: [email protected] be published or returned to you. By submitting materials to us you agree to give Future the royalty-free, perpetual, non-exclusive right to publish and reuse your submission in any form in any and all media and to use your name and other information in connection with the submission. maximumpc.com MAR 2014 MAXIMUMPC 7 quickstart the beginning of the magazine, where the articles are small Hardware Vendors Line Up Behind SteamOS Questions still linger about the viability of Steam Machines IF THERE WAS any doubt about “My favorite statistic [about going to be challenged—that and sway Valve has in the in- the excitement level around PC gaming] is that Dota 2 is there was success in propri- dustry today. Valve Software’s upcoming bigger than Monday Night etary platforms in the living Still, there are many ques- SteamOS, it was erased at Football,” Newell said. In fact, room and in mobile, and that tions that linger, such as when the Consumer Electronics there are more than 65 mil- that was going to cause our the OS will actually be ready, Show in early January, when lion Steam accounts, with 6 entire industry to step away when hardware will actually the company highlighted no million people using the plat- from the opportunity of open- be for sale, and how much fewer than 13 hardware ven- form at any moment. While ness. We started to think, Valve’s own revolutionary but dors who have pledged to of- Valve is but one developer, its ‘What can we do?’ There are incomplete gamepad control- fer Steam Machines based on online store is the number one lots of people who can take on ler will cost. Valve’s Linux-based operating choice for PC gaming, which this challenge, but what are Hardware partners we system for gaming.