tech in style issue 8

Ideas for everyone in the ASUS Christmas gift guide

The ASUS UL30 is the perfect portable partner

ISSUE 8 NOVEMBER 2009WWW.TECHINSTYLE.TV

INNOVATION IN TECHNOLOGY

Experience movies & games like never

before with the ASUS G51J 3D laptop

Our getting started guide tells you how to choose the best components for your own custom-made computer

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Contents

Hello and welcome to the Christmas issue of Tech in Style.

In this issue, we start by taking a look at some technology that’s set to get everyone excited over the next few months.

First is ASUS’ plans for its online software and storage service, Access, which is now bundled with its laptops

and netbooks. Next is the G51J gaming laptop with its amazing 3D display — photos, movies and games look like they’re jumping right out at you!

If you’re stuck for something to do over the holidays, how about building your own PC? Our four-page guide to getting started explains the key considerations — and it’s much simpler than you think.

Finally, we haven’t ignored the festive season for this issue, and you’ll find six pages of great gift ideas starting on page 14. There’s something for all the family, no matter what they use a computer for — there should even be something for your own Christmas stocking...

We hope you enjoy the issue!

Helen Ling, Editor

04 ASUS’ new online service, Access, makes it easier than ever to work, play and share

06 We introduce the ASUS G51J gaming laptop with a full-resolution 3D display that brings images to life

08 Combine the sleek ASUS UL30 and Microsoft Windows® 7 and you have a match made in mobile heaven

About ASUSASUS is a leading company in the new digital era, with an extensive product portfolio that includes laptops, netbooks, motherboards, graphics cards, desktop PCs, mobile phones and networking devices. Driven by innovation and committed to quality, ASUS designs and manufactures products that perfectly meet today’s digital needs. ASUS won 3,056 awards in 2008, and is widely credited with revolutionising the PC industry with the Eee PC™. With a global staff of more than 10,000 and a world-class R&D team, the company’s revenue for 2008 was US$8.1 billion. ASUS ranks among BusinessWeek’s InfoTech 100 and has been on the listing for 12 consecutive years.

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Find out more at www.techinstyle.tv

TECH IN STYLEISSUE 8

Credits

10 Assembling your own custom-made computer is easier than you think — particularly with ASUS on hand to help

14 If you want to find something special under the tree this year, ask Santa for this winter wonder — the snow-white ASUS N61V is packed with cool features

16 From netbooks for the kids to graphics cards for the gamers, here’s the ultimate gift guide to make every technology fan in your life happy on Christmas Day

20 We select the ideal components for a cost-effective computer that's ideal for overclocking

22 Professor Speed explains everything you ever wanted to know about ASUS TurboV and its importance to overclockers

23 Meet Samuel Anger, graphic designer with ASUS UK

EDITORIALEditor Helen LingCreative Director Quawn HsuGroup Art Director Bill BagnallProduction Kate Faulkner

MANAGEMENTManaging Editor James Kidder

PRODUCTIONProduction Manager Mark YoungProduction Co-ordinator Liz Moores

Copyright: ASUSTek (UK) Limited, 2009. All editorial content in this magazine has been sponsored by ASUS. While every care was taken preparing this magazine, ASUStek Limited cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of the information nor any consequences arising from it.

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Technology is constantly evolving. Now, ASUS’ new online “Access” service makes it easier than ever to work, play and share, wherever you are

ver the last 20 years, ASUS has grown from a modest startup company into a global technology leader with revenue of over $8 billion. This remarkable growth

is the result of two constants — the desire to create new user experiences and an unwavering commitment to quality.

Innovation is the lifeblood of ASUS and it flows through every level of its operations. Its intimate understanding of today’s digital needs and the constant quest for exciting new solutions means that ASUS can deliver truly groundbreaking products that inspire users to new heights of productivity — and creativity.

Just as few could have foreseen the massive growth of the internet and the popularity of such concepts as social networking two decades ago, it’s almost impossible to predict how technology will develop over the next 20 years.

One thing, however, is certain. The days of localised data storage and multiple devices to meet different digital needs are numbered — tomorrow’s technology will focus on providing access to information everywhere, using any device we choose.

Thanks to its efforts with the Eee PC™, ASUS is already at the forefront of this information revolution, and the launch of ASUS Access takes the world one step closer to ASUS’ user-centric ideal. Launched in December 2009, this enhanced online service portal provides instant access to thousands of applications to complete the needs of the digital life, from games to productivity to PC utilities, with free trials and discounted titles.

Online storage lets you access your data no matter where you are, or what computer you’re using. Free software will automatically back up your most important files, while the web-based drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to create photo slideshows, complete with music and animated effects, to share files with friends.

The internet is central to ASUS Access, and so a flat fee also provides access to over 100,000 hotspots around the world, from airports to hotels to cafes. The software detects and connects to hotspots automatically, and a one-click logon means you can be online within seconds.

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Empower your PC with a selection of thousands of applications, all available for instant download. Utilities, productivity, learning, creativity — it’s all there, with trial versions and discounted prices.

apbank.asus.com

Get online world wide with over 100,000 Wi-Fi hotspots. A flat monthly fee provides unlimited internet access and you’re online with just a few clicks.

Expand your Eee PC™ storage with up to 500GB of online space that you can access with any internet connection, enabling you to share files with friends quickly and easily. A free trial gets you started and automatic incremental backup keeps your data safe.

www.asuswebstorage.com

Choose from thousands of games that are suitable for the whole family. Play alone or online with friends, with a 60-minute free trial, and quickly access your favourite games with the ASUS Game Park console.

gamepark.asus.com

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ith 3D movies currently taking the cinema box office by storm, isn’t it about time your home entertainment entered a new dimension, too?

The ASUS G51J 3D is the first NVIDIA® 3D Vision laptop to offer a full-resolution 3D display, and movies, games and photographs all burst from its screen with astonishing clarity. It’s all thanks to innovative new 3D technology that provides a fully immersive experience with eye-popping detail, giving a whole new meaning to the term ‘3D gaming’…

3D — or ‘stereoscopic’ — images have been around since the earliest days of photography, and the principles behind modern 3D displays are the same as those used 150 years ago.

All stereoscopic displays create an illusion of depth in a two-dimensional image by mimicking the way in which our eyesight works — by superimposing two photos of the same scene taken at slightly different angles. How successful the resulting 3D image is depends on how those two images are then separated — which is where the ASUS G51J 3D has the visual edge.

Rather than degrade a superimposed image by using such primitive stereoscopic techniques as red and cyan-coloured

ASUS G51J 3D laptop

tints, or polarised screen filters, NVIDIA® 3D Vision displays each pair of images alternately, in rapid succession. When viewed through glasses with LCD lenses that ‘blink’ in time with the display, the result is a crystal-clear, full-resolution 3D image that can be viewed from any angle.

NVIDIA® 3D Vision supports over 400 games, so where better to enjoy the benefits of this groundbreaking technology than in a cutting-edge gaming laptop? The ASUS G51J 3D combines a quad-core Intel® Core™ i7 processor with

ASUS’ new G51J 3D laptop offers a full-resolution 3D display which will make games leap right out of its screen

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Humans see in stereo because our eyes are spaced slightly apart, and so each sees images from a different angle. The two images are combined by the brain to give a perfect 3D image. Although 3D displays rely on the same two-image principle, the images are combined in different ways.

Simple 3D displays superimpose two differently coloured images, which are viewed using glasses with one red and one cyan lens. The image can be blurry, with poor colour separation.

Some 3D computer screens display an interlaced image behind a polarising filter. Glasses with polarising lenses then split the single image into the two originals, one for each eye. This creates a convincing 3D image, but interlacing means that the resolution is half that of the original image and the 3D effect disappears if the screen is viewed at an angle.

The ASUS G51J 3D displays each image alternately, in rapid succession on a custom 120Hz screen. Glasses with LCD lenses that ‘blink’ in time with the display mean that each eye only ever sees one of the stereoscopic images. The result is a full-resolution 3D display with high frame-rates that can be viewed from any angle.

incredible NVIDIA® GTX 260M graphics for unbelievable 3D gaming performance.

So, with the ASUS G51J 3D, you can sit back, slip on the special 3D glasses and experience a stunning new visual sensation that will bring your gaming to life.

Windows®. Life without Walls™. ASUS recommends Windows® 7.

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The slender ASUS UL Series of laptops and Genuine Windows® 7 combine to give users a seamless experience whether you’re at home or on the move

T he ASUS UL Series are among the thinnest, lightest laptops available, but the days when ‘ultraportable’ meant ‘underpowered’ are long gone.

The latest Core™ 2 Duo Ultra Low Voltage (ULV) processors from Intel® offer unprecedented levels of performance and energy efficiency. When teamed with a number of unique ASUS innovations and Genuine Windows® 7, the result is an unbeatable mobile combination.

Just 26mm thick and weighing a mere 2.3kg, the ASUS UL50 packs a full-size keyboard and multi-touch trackpad for uncompromised user comfort. The vibrant 15.6” LED-backlit screen has a 16:9 aspect ratio that’s a perfect match for widescreen movies, while Altec Lansing speakers provide crystal-clear stereo sound for top-notch entertainment.

Mobile magicDespite using a mere 10W of power under maximum load, the Intel® Core™ 2 Duo SU7300 ULV processor is both dual-core and 64-bit, and can exploit the full range of new features offered by Windows 7 to provide an incredible mobile experience.

UL Series laptops ship with 4GB of memory as standard and every last byte is available for use with the 64-bit edition of Windows 7, designed to make your PC faster, more secure, and more reliable. Switchable graphics also allow the user to easily change settings for extended battery life or extra performance for movies and gaming – without having to re-boot.

If speed is your thing, ASUS Turbo33 technology lets you boost system performance by up to 33%* at the push of a button. Up to 12 hours’ battery life* also means that the UL Series won’t tie you to a mains socket, so you can work — and play — whenever and wherever you want.

* Battery life and system performance may vary based on specifications and system configuration.

A partnership

ASUS UL50 laptop

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1SAVE TIME ON THE GO

With Windows® 7 64-bit and the ASUS UL30 you can experience up to 40% faster start-up and shut-down times. Overall system performance can be greatly increased too, thanks to access to up to 8GB of RAM.

5ENTERPRISE-LEVEL

SECURITYPatch Guard prevents unauthorised programs from accessing the Windows® kernel and system crashes are significantly reduced, compared to Windows® 7 32-bit.

4RUN YOUR OLD

APPLICATIONSWindows® 7 Professional’s XP Mode, together with the Intel® SU7300 processor’s 64-bit Virtualisation Technology, allows you to run old software with ease.

3DO MORE WITH YOUR

MEDIAEnjoy crystal-clear high-definition video on the UL Series’ brilliant LED-backlit 16:9 screen, and stream content from a multitude of sources with high-speed 802.11n Wi-Fi.

2FIND FILES FAST

Windows® Search lets you track down anything from emails to applications and documents by just typing a few characters of the name — perfect for when you need to find information in a hurry.

5 REASONS WHY ASUS AND WINDOWS® 7 ARE AN IDEAL MATCH

Windows®. Life without Walls™. ASUS recommends Windows 7.

ASUS UL50VT Intel® Core™ 2 Duo SU7300

processor Genuine Windows® 7 Prefessional (64bit)

Switchable Graphics: NV G210M, 512MB DDR3 VRAM + Intel GMA 4500MHD

4GB memory 15.6" (1366 x 768) screen 500GB HDD

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If you want a machine that meets your exact requirements, you can’t get better than making your own, but it’s vital to choose the right components for your needs. Get the basics right by following these simple steps

lthough ever-tighter margins mean that it’s difficult to build your own desktop PC using new components for less than the price of a ready-

made model direct from a manufacturer, there are still lots of reasons for going down the DIY route.

Building your computer means that you have complete control over every aspect of its specification, from the case right down to the individual components — so you can be sure to get a PC that meets your needs exactly. You can also save some money if you have components you can reuse, from a monitor, mouse and keyboard to memory modules and hard disks.

Finally, putting together your own PC from scratch is a great learning experience, and you’ll find it much easier to find faults

and perform your own upgrades if you’ve installed every part yourself.

Although it’s simple enough once you’ve started, building a PC does need a bit of forward planning. You need to settle upon a specification and then select compatible parts that work well together. To keep things simple, we’ve grouped this process into six key areas — read on to find out what we

recommend at each stage.

ASUS P7P55D Pro motherboard

ASUS EAH5850 graphics card

ASUS PCIE GEN2 SATA6G PCI-Express card

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The processor determines the overall performance of a PC and, while you can choose a cheap chip if you’re on a tight budget, it makes more sense to future-proof your project by buying a processor that packs plenty of power.

At the moment, the best options on the market are Intel®’s Core™ 2 Duo or Core™ i5/i7 processors. The former are dual-core chips that offer excellent all-round performance for pretty much any application, while the latter are affordable quad-core chips that are ideally suited for running multiple demanding applications at once.

Your choice of processor will influence your choice of motherboard, since different processor families require different motherboard sockets. Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processors require a motherboard with an LGA775 socket, while Core™ i5 and newer Core™ i7 processors both require an LGA1156 socket.

Although picking a case for your PC is principally a matter of just finding one that you like the look of, there is one

aspect which is worth bearing in mind when making your choice. PC cases come in different sizes and, while this mainly affects the

number of free drive bays (which is not an issue for everyone), it can also have a bearing on the kind of motherboard you’ll be able to use.

Most large tower cases can use both standard ATX and smaller microATX motherboards, but smaller PC cases tend to be limited to microATX.

MicroATX motherboards are ideal for compact, space-saving PCs, but they have few expansion slots. Bear this in mind if you’re building a gaming PC and want to use dual graphics cards, for example.

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo

Intel® Core™ i7

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Once you’ve chosen a processor, you can then choose a motherboard with the appropriate processor socket. At the moment, the smart money is on one of the new Intel® Core™ i5 or i7 LGA1156 processors and ASUS has an ATX motherboard that’s a perfect match for either chip.

The ASUS P7P55D Pro motherboard supports all Intel® LGA1156 processors and offers a range of innovative features that make building a smooth-running PC as simple as can be. ASUS Hybrid Phase technology controls the motherboard’s power supply to improve energy efficiency and prolong the lifespan of components, while MemOK improves system stability by automatically adjusting BIOS timings to eliminate boot problems caused by memory modules. Upgradeability is also an important consideration when choosing a motherboard to build your own PC around, and with three PCI-Express x16 slots, 14 USB and seven SATA ports, it’ll be a long time before you run out of expansion options here. Onboard eight-channel audio means that you can enjoy fully immersive surround sound for movies and games.

The ASUS P7P55D Pro motherboard has seven SATA and two eSATA ports, so you should never run out of places to plug in a new hard drive. But, if you want

to make sure your PC is well and truly future-proofed, here’s something that’s worth considering.

The current SATA 3G standard was recently joined by the faster SATA 6G, which offers a data transfer bandwidth of up to 6Gbit/s. This means that the next

Unless your chosen motherboard has built-in graphics, another key component of your DIY PC is the graphics card.

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generation of hard drives will not only offer 2TB or more of storage, but they’ll also be able to move data back and forth at incredible speeds.

If you don’t want to upgrade to a SATA 6G motherboard just yet,

ASUS has a solution. The ASUS PCIE GEN2 SATA6G PCI-Express card provides four SATA 6G ports — two internal and two external — that are also backwardly compatible with all SATA standards.

ASUS’ unique expansion bridge chip also means that the PCIE GEN2 SATA6G PCI-Express card can also deliver the full 6Gbit/s SATA 6G bandwidth — something that can’t be said of other SATA 6G solutions.

No PC is complete without an operating system and, if Windows® XP is still top of your shortlist, it’s time for a rethink. A modern PC with the latest components

will work best with an operating system that’s been designed to fully exploit them — and that’s Microsoft Windows® 7.

Available since the end of October, Windows® 7 is the most exciting version of Microsoft’s operating system to date and it contains a whole host of new features that simplify the way in which you use your PC.

From faster start-up and shut-down times, to a cleaner Desktop that makes it much easier to work with applications, Windows® 7 streamlines your everyday tasks so that you can spend less time worrying about what’s going on behind your screen — and more time getting things done.

Windows® 7 is available in Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate editions that are tailor-made to different needs. Each also ships with both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the operating system, allowing you to fully exploit the potential of your newly built PC.

Almost any card will suffice if you only want to run productivity applications, but you’ll soon see the limits of this approach when you want to run a program that’s more graphically demanding and your built-in graphics aren’t up to the challenge.

The ASUS EAH5850 graphics card is a good all-rounder and the perfect partner for the ASUS P7P55D Pro

motherboard. If you’re building a PC for gaming and need something more powerful, then the ASUS EAH5870 will be right up your street.

Both cards are the first in the world with Voltage Tweak technology that boost performance by up to 38%, and they can drive up to three displays thanks to the native DisplayPort and Eyefinity technology.

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Windows® 7 64-bit sets the Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor free and the ASUS N61V can use up

to 4GB of memory for the ultimate in performance.

If you want to find to be entertained this holiday season, ask Santa for this winter wonder that’s packed with cool features

A striking new design seamlessly combines a

high-gloss lid with a soft-touch wrist rest that won’t show fingerprints — and keeps hands cool during long gaming sessions.

reat yourself to a little luxury this Christmas with the stunning new N61V home-entertainment laptop from ASUS. Movies, music, games — this gorgeous snow-

white wonder handles them all with aplomb.Don’t settle for less when you’re looking for a laptop to keep

you entertained — choose a model that does everything a full-size desktop PC can. A big screen and beefy speakers will make all the difference when it comes to sitting back with a movie, while a fast processor and powerful 3D graphics will keep your favourite games running smoothly — and make light work of other, more serious software, of course…

So, take your checklist to the ASUS N61V and watch it tick all the right boxes. Its 16" widescreen display is LED-backlit for a bright, vibrant image, while ASUS SonicMaster improves sound quality via 20mm-wide paper-foam cones. Dedicated resonance space arrangement provides sound layering and enhanced

detail, while a 21cc amplifier with 2.5 watt TV standard sound output improves and balances audio reproduction across different sonic ranges, particularly for vocals and low-band bass.

The ASUS Video MagicASUS Video Magic enhances DVD quality from 740p to high definition 1080p, as well as colour and brightness naturalisation. Enjoy videos and movies with smoother transition, and increase frame rates from 24/30 fps to 60/72 fps.

Wrapped in an ultra-stylish all-white case with a full-size chiclet keyboard and wide, multi-touch trackpad, the ASUS N61V offers all the comforts of the very latest desktop PCs — let’s hope you find one in your stocking on Christmas Day.

NVIDIA® graphics with CUDA technology

accelerate everything from video editing to complex calculations, leaving the processor to concentrate

on other tasks.

There’s no compromise in comfort on the N61V

— the full-size keyboard has a numeric keypad and the multi-touch trackpad makes it much easier to

work with photos.

Nellie, 23Likes laptops with style

ASUS N61V laptop

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The glossy 16:9 screen is the perfect match for

widescreen movies, while Altec Lansing speakers put you smack in the middle of

the action.

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Gaming on the go has never been easier than with the ASUS G51 and G60 laptops. A choice of Intel® dual and quad-core processors deliver outstanding levels of performance, while NVIDIA® GeForce graphics provide high frame rates even with detail settings cranked up to the max. So why be stuck at your desk when you want to get your game on?

EAX HD audio lets you enjoy high-quality

virtual surround sound even when you’re using headphones.

ith Christmas just around the corner, what better way to reward yourself — and your family — than with some brand-new technology from ASUS? So forget wandering around the shops searching for gift inspiration, we have everything you need for a fun-filled

festive season over the next four pages!

Pepé, 32Mad about games

From netbooks for the kids to graphics cards for the gamers, here’s the ultimate gift guide for every

technology fan in your life

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From high-end dual-GPU monsters that blow the competition out of the water, to affordable mid-range offerings that offer more bang for fewer bucks, ASUS has a 3D graphics card to meet every need. The legendary Republic of Gamers range offers astounding levels of 3D performance for gamers who need the ultimate competitive edge, while the more modest FORMULA and Bravo cards will appeal to mainstream users.

The ROG MATRIX GTX285 lets you test

overclocking settings before committing them to the card.

With the Garmin-Asus nüvifone G60 in your pocket, you’ll not only have access to all the functions that only a world-class smartphone can provide, but you’ll also have the same great features that made Garmin a global leader in satellite navigation. The tri-band 3G handset works worldwide and a whole host of location-aware services mean that you’ll never be short of options, no matter where you are.

Flight times for the nearest airports, real-time traffic,

local petrol prices — the Garmin-Asus nüvifone G60 knows them all.

Why stand for an ugly flat screen for your computer when you could be gazing at a gorgeous new display from ASUS? Feast your eyes on this visual masterpiece — the Designo LS246H. Its ultra-slim design will add a dash of elegance to any desktop and full 1080p support means that you’ll see a crystal-clear image whether you’re at work or at play.

The Designo LS246H silver ring stand takes up no

more desk space than a coffee mug, yet offers full tilt adjustment for the display.


Stella, 26Interior designer

Agnes, 31World traveller

Ludovic, 19Counter Strike fan

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Built-in laptop speakers aren’t always the best quality, but not everyone wants to plug a full stereo set-up into their compact computer. That’s why ASUS developed the innovative uBoom system. Its high-quality stereo speakers and powerful subwoofer are

cleverly designed to sit behind a laptop, taking up little desk space, but putting you in the perfect sweet spot for rich stereo sound.

The uBoom doubles as a laptop stand that lifts the keyboard to a more comfortable angle, and its

aluminium design also helps dissipate heat.

Britt, 23Loves music

If your children spend more time on your Eee PC™ than you do, then why not treat them to their own netbook? ASUS has teamed up with Disney to develop the kid-friendly Disney Netbook. It has the same great features as ASUS’ best-

selling Eee PC™, but adds a fun Disney-

themed design, a spill-proof keyboard and exciting creative software that your children will love to use.

Kid-safe software and robust parental controls mean that you

can ensure your children stay safe online when they’re using the Disney Netbook.

Milla, 9Likes cartoons

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ASUS components offer unparalleled quality and reliability for anyone who’s building their own computer from scratch. Whether you’re a hardcore gamer looking for the ultimate in overclocking, or just putting a PC together on a budget, ASUS has a motherboard to suit. Innovative features like RG Connect and MemOK ensure rock-solid stability, while support for the latest Intel® processors means you can put together a PC with top-notch performance.

ROG motherboards monitor network traffic and prioritise game packets to ensure lag-free playing.

George, 22Hardcore gamer

With stunning streamlined cases and vibrant LED-backlit displays, ASUS’ Eee PC™ Seashell range of netbooks offers something for everyone. The sleek Eee PC™ 1008HA offers the ultimate in portability, while the 1005HA provides the same 10.1” screen with a range of replaceable batteries

for up to 10.5 hours’ use. Step up to the 1101HA and you

get a high-resolution 11.6” screen for

outstanding slimline comfort.

ASUS Eee PC™ Seashell netbooks come with an

extra 500GB of online ASUS WebStorage on a year’s trial, so

you can access your important files from any computer with an internet

connection.

Klaus, 21Movie blogger

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ifferent motherboards work with different types of processor, so it’s important

to choose one that matches your Intel® Core™ i5 chip. You’ll need a motherboard with an LGA1156 socket for this reasonably priced quad-core ‘Lynnfield’ processor, so we’d recommend ASUS’ new Maximus III Formula motherboard for your new gaming PC.

The ASUS Maximus III motherboard & EAH5800 Series graphics cards are an overclocker’s best friend

Pietro De Luca 20 Florence, Italy Student Pietro loves social networking, travelling and gaming

Pietro is studying computing at university, but he’s a keen gamer in his spare time and likes to tinker with his PC to get the best performance. He’s never really tried his

hand at overclocking, though, and now he’s keen to build a new high-performance PC that will allow him to experiment with different ways to get the best results for games. Pietro has settled on an Intel® Core™ i5 processor and plans to reuse some old components, but he wants some advice on the best motherboard and graphics card combination to suit his budget.

Better performance of your system often means higher possibilities to pwn your opponents down. However, is buying a more expensive processor the only way to achieve this? In the past that might have been the case, but the situation has now changed with the arrival of the Maximus III Formula motherboard. With its CPU Level Up

feature, a list of upgradable processors appears on a drop-down menu in

the BIOS. Simply choose the processor you want

to be upgraded to and the motherboard will tune the original processor to run at the appropriate speed. You can also adjust the overclocking settings within Windows using the CPU Level Up interface, removing the

need to reboot.ASUS MemOK

technology also helps ensure that memory

modules don’t cause

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It’s been a long time since I last built my own PC and, after reading motherboard reviews, I see that SATA seems to be taking over from IDE as the preferred way to connect hard drives — what are the advantages of this new (at least to me) interface?

SATA is short for Serial Advanced Technology Attachment and it’s a step up from the PATA (Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment) that all PC motherboards used at one time.

The advantage of SATA is that it provides much faster data-transfer rates than PATA — theoretically, up to 3Gbit/s. This figure is the maximum bandwidth of the interface, however, and the actual transfer speed that you’ll get from a SATA hard drive will be lower. This is only a limitation of current hard-drive technology, however —

and SATA drives are getting faster all the time.The other big benefit of SATA is that the cables are much more

manageable. They’re very narrow and can be up to 1m long, whereas PATA leads can’t stretch much beyond 45cm. Smaller sockets also mean that more SATA ports can fit onto a motherboard. Few motherboards have more than four PATA sockets, but the ASUS Maximus III Formula, for example, has six SATA sockets and an eSATA socket for connecting external SATA drives.

Send us your questions at the following address:

Designed for use with Intel® Core™ i5 and i7 processors, the Maximus III Formula motherboard is the gamer’s best choice due to the greater in-game immersion and smooth responsiveness it provides. It eliminates the lag that plagues online gaming through cutting-edge features such as GameFirst traffic-shaping technology for low ping times, and Speeding HDD, dual-channel technology that ensures stutter-free gameplay through doubled data-transfer rates.

The Maximus III Formula also features ROG Connect, a revolutionary overclocking technology that lets you make on-the-fly adjustments to your system via a laptop, and MemPerfect, a nifty memory-tuning tool that automatically tweaks memory settings based on the frequency you’ve selected, spotting, diagnosing and fixing errors along the way.

Equipped with Voltage Tweak technology and the SmartDoctor application for easy overclocking within Windows®, the ASUS EAH5850 is clocked at 725MHz and has 1GB of GDDR5 memory. The card fully supports Windows® 7 and DirectX 11, and has both dual-DVI and HDMI outputs for versatile display set-ups.

The ASUS EAH5870 has the same great overclocking features as the EAH5850 and can boost the 850MHz GPU speed by up to 17%. Voltage changes can be undone at the touch of a button for risk-free tweaking, and support for up to three displays allows users to enjoy the ultimate wrap-around gaming experience.

instability by automatically adjusting their timings to the most stable settings — perfect for getting the best out of old or mismatched DIMMs with a new motherboard.

As for a graphics card, we suggest something from the ASUS EAH5800 Series. Powered by Radeon HD 5800 Series graphics for incredible 3D performance at resolutions up to 2560 x 1600, these DirectX 11 cards offer their own easy overclocking options that can boost performance by up to 38% with exclusive Voltage Tweak Technology.

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Q How did you get started at ASUS?I’d been working in London for six months when I applied

for the position.

Q What’s your current role with the company? I work in the graphic design/marketing department. My job

is quite varied — I design promotional and sales materials such as catalogues, flyers, posters, advertisements and web banners; coordinate a diverse range of design projects from brief to print; construct and maintain ASUS websites; plus a host of other online projects.

QIf your department had a motto, what would it be? Probably something along the lines of “Keep it consistent”.

Q Which other departments do you work with the most? The marketing department and

components team. I have to create customised designs for their new products and communication plans, and adapt them to different areas — for resellers, backers, and so on.

Q What’s the most satisfying part of your job?

The process of creating a design from the initial brief to the final product, whether it’s in print or online.

Q What’s the most challenging part of your job?

To produce designs that match the ASUS brand.

QWhat’s the biggest change you’ve seen since you started working at ASUS?

The speed at which ASUS develops new technology — there have been so many innovative products launched this year.

QWhat inspires you?I’m inspired by reading books, movies, video games and all

kind of art in general.

Q How do you unwind after a hard week at work?I'm involved in few musical projects, I like painting and

enjoy seeing live music and art exhibitions. Being creative is my way to relax.

Q Are you a gadget fan? What one gadget could you not live without?

My Blackberry and Nikon camera.

Q If you could invent a product and have it made by ASUS, what

would it be?Some sort of hybrid netbook for musicians. Something light and easy to carry that’s geared towards music recording, producing and mixing. It would need to have a good sound card and specific audio inputs (XLR, USB and MIDI), and maybe have dedicated features that link with music software. I got the idea after seeing a gig where the band’s guitarist was using an ASUS Eee PC™ to control a MIDI instrument.

Samuel Anger, graphic designer with ASUS UK, explains what it’s like to spend his working life turning design concepts into reality

tech in style issue 8

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