APC

APC is Australia’s oldest consumer technology magazine – having been consistently in print for forty years, since our first issue way back in May 1980 – and we take that heritage and responsibility very seriously. While our focus is obviously on the

It’s finally time – albeit with some caution in reserve – to declare the GPU crisis over. The team and I have been checking graphics card prices daily for many months, and at last it seems that sanity has returned to the market. You can now buy, as a

Provides PDF compression so you can optimise your PDF files so they don’t take up much storage space. Ascomp PDF-compress provides PDF compression so you can optimise your PDF files so that they don’t take up more storage space than necessary. Dep

With a new Top Gun: Maverick expansion released in late May, we’re now invited to perform ridiculous, high-skill manoeuvres in a specially decked-out F/A-18E Super Hornet, thus eliminating every trace of “chill” this game normally offers. The free up

The release of Intel’s Arc Alchemist desktop graphics cards could be postponed, according to a new report published by Igor Wallossek on his Igor’s Lab tech site. Multiple sources have contacted Wallossek, and all agree that these desktop GPUs will b

The image released in May showcasing the supermassive black hole in the centre of our galaxy, the Milky Way, owes its existence to human ingenuity – and to our old friend, the CPU. Achieved thanks to a five-year partnership and research between the E

Computex made a return in 2022. Though it wasn’t on a pre-pandemic scale, it still provided an opportunity for companies to show off some of their upcoming tech, much of which you can read about in our Computex special on the previous pages. From a P

Drones deployed to spot weaknesses in columns of tanks. Presidential addresses via Instagram, ministers asking favours via Twitter. A military using crowdfunding and cryptocurrency to buy equipment. The mismatched military might of Russia and Ukraine

We’ve known for ages that large caches can help improve performance, though larger caches can also increase latency and counteract those gains. It’s a balancing act, and L1 caches have been sitting in the 32KB to 96KB range for quite some time now. L

Microsoft announced that third party widgets will be enabled in Windows 11 beginning “later this year.” Widgets are a handy way to present bite-sized bits of information without hogging screen real estate. They’re easy to summon and dismiss, letting

Alongside its 16-inch sibling, this is simply the world’s best laptop for demanding users. The amount of power on tap via the M1 Pro or M1 Max processor is staggering, and it’s backed up by a terrific screen and stunning battery life. With all the po

Microsoft has announced new hardware at Build 2022! Given that Build is a developer conference, it should come as no surprise to hear that the hardware being announced today is a developer kit designed to help devs to build apps that take advantage o

Computex 2022 ran from May 23 - May 27 in Taipei, Taiwan, and it’s the biggest and most exciting computing event in the calendar. Unlike last year, which was online-only (with Computex 2020 being cancelled altogether), Computex 2022 happened in-perso

Something that feels distinctly 21st century is the way all mass market entertainment feels like it belongs to the same world. As a child of the 1990s, the prospect of say, Star Wars, DC Comics, and the Wu-Tang Clan all inhabiting the same cultural u

The news that Insteon, purveyors of IoT smart home products, has suddenly shut down will come as an unpleasant surprise to its erstwhile customers. The servers are gone, as are the website’s support pages. There is some hope that it will be possible

OBS STUDIO | Free | www.obsproject.comXSPLIT BROADCAST | XSplit Broadcast, free. XSplit Broadcaster Premium, $7/month, $84/annually or a one off payment of $280 | www.xsplit.com Live streaming is no longer just a niche corner of the internet, with t

These Logitech speakers look great and sound fantastic, thanks to serious volume levels and a bulky subwoofer that creates an immersive soundstage. The RGB lighting is based on Logitech’s Lightsync system and it also works with your phone over Blueto

$1,299 | lg.com Kitted your PC out with several monitors to up your multitasking game? Turns out you’ve actually been doing it all wrong – at least, that’s what the LG DualUp would have you believe. This unusual monitor is shaped like two 21.5-inc

$5,499 | au.msi.com SW11 Pro; Intel Core i7-12700H CPU; Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti GPU (95W); 32GB RAM; 2TB SSD; 88Wh battery (5h 8min 1080p movie playback); 38.2 x 26 x 2.6cm; 2.49kg. We love it when tech manufacturers attempt to break new ground

$1,059 | www.msi.com MSI Radeon RX 6750 XT Gaming X Trio. 2560 Shader Cores; 2554MHz Game Clock, 2623MHz Boost Clock; 12GB 18Gbps GDDR6 memory, 432GB/s Memory Bandwidth; 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x HDMI 2.1; 2x 8-pin Power Connector, 250W TDP. Much lik

$3,599 | msi.com W11 Home; 15.6-inch 165Hz display at 2560x1440 pixel resolution; Intel Core i7-12700H CPU; Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 GPU (140W) GPU; 32GB RAM; 1TB SSD; 86Wh battery (3h 7min PCMark 10 Home Office); 35.9x25.9x2.7cm; 2.25kg. The Crossh

$719 | www.msi.com MSI Radeon RX 6650 XT Gaming X. 2048 Shader Cores; 2,523MHz Game Clock, 2,694MHz Boost Clock; 8GB 17.5Gbps GDDR6 memory, 280GB/s Memory Bandwidth; 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x HDMI 2.1; 1x 8-pin Power Connector, 175W TDP. It wasn’t to

$289 | www.sapphiretech.com Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 6400; 768 Shader Units; 1,923MHz Base Clock, 2,321MHz Boost Clock; 4GB GDDR6 16Gbps memory, 128GB/s Memory Bandwidth; 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x HDMI 2.1; 53W TDP. The AMD Radeon RX 6400 is the most

$189 | www.deepcool.com Deepcool LS720 360mm AIO liquid CPU cooler; 410mm Tubes; AMD AM5, AM4, TR(X)4, Intel LGA 1700, 1200, 115x ,2066, 2011(-3) compatible; 3x 120mm fluid dynamic bearing PWM fans; max 32.9 dB(A) Noise Level; five year warranty. T

$399 | www.tp-link.com.au Wi-Fi: 802.11ax5400 WiFi 6; LAN: 4x Gigabit WAN/LAN; Modem: ADSL2+/VDSL2; VoIP: 2x FXS ports; Management: Deco App; Warranty: 3 years; Dimensions: 130 x 123 x 210.5mm. Aimed at higher end home users, the TP-Link Deco X73-D

$599 | www.synology.com Speed: AX 6,600Mbps | Connectivity: 3 x Gigabit Ethernet WAN/LAN, 1 x 2.5Gbps LAN, 1 x Gigabit 2.5Gbps WAN/LAN, 1 x USB-A 3.1 Gen 1 | Features: SRM OS 1.3, multi-SSID & network segmentation; enhanced QoS, Firewall, VPN, VLAN,

$TBA | www.gskill.com One of the weaknesses of DDR5 memory is its relatively high latency compared to DDR4. In most cases, a good set of either type will serve you well, but lower latency can give you an extra little boost, particularly in games tha

$129.95 | www.logitech.com/en-au Vertical mice have developed to keep repetitive strain injuries (RSI) in check, but when the mouse doesn’t fit your hand, even the best ergonomics aren’t going to help. Enter the Logitech Lift. It’s a smaller, more c

$TBA | razer.com What do controllers have over the reliable old keyboard-and-mouse combo? How can they hope to match the unerring precision of the mouse? How can they keep up with less than 20 buttons to press? Variable input force has long been an

Windows 7, 8.1, 10 or 11 | www.faststone.org FastStone Image Viewer is one of the most popular free programs for browsing photos stored on your computer. This latest version is its best yet, adding several welcome features and making the program spe

MacOS 10.15.7 or later | US$129 | dxo.com DxO PureRAW 2 uses DeepPRIME machine learning to counteract a range of artefacts that can spoil a Raw format photo. It will reduce noise, correct optical lens distortion and colour fringing, counteract vigne

Android | Free Google had plenty to share during its I/O 2022 Keynote, and that of course includes the world of Android. Unlike last year’s Android 12 announcement, there aren’t nearly as many drastic additions coming to Android 13. However, there a

Released after almost a year of development, the OpenMandriva developers didn’t plan to have a 4.3 release, but decided to create it to push the changes made behind the scenes without keeping users waiting a few more months for version 5.0. OpenMandr

Nailing down the exact launch date of the very first colour LCD monitor for the PC isn’t easy. But one of the earliest was certainly the NANAO F-1020 from Eizo. Launched way back in 1993, the F-1020 spanned a mighty 10.4 inches and rocked no fewer th

It’s the flat panel to rule them all, the ultimate display tech – we give you MicroLED. But it’s not coming to the PC anytime soon. It’s still years away, which is a pity because when it does hit the PC, it’s going to be awesome. Like OLED, MicroLED

The past two years of pandemic-induced scarcity and supply chain disruption, coupled with cryptocurrency mining mania, have for many dashed hopes of a new graphics card. Nearly 18 months after the launch of AMD’s Radeon RX 6000-series and Nvidia’s Ge

Arc, formerly DG2, aka Xe-HPG, has seen quite a few delays. We originally thought it would launch by the end of 2021, but now it’s looking like a mid-2022 launch for the desktop parts. It could be too little, too late for gamers, though the media asp

When your only goal is to get the fastest graphics card possible, the choice is simple. Nvidia’s latest and greatest might not be particularly efficient, and your wallet might go on strike, but there’s no question this represents the current pinnacle

Those running extreme GPUs, like the RTX 3090 or RX 6900 XT, can safely set phasers to vaporise and carry on. But if your GPU is long in the tooth, dropping the settings a notch or two can do wonders for performance – particularly if you’re using a g

However, for those that have the requisite display and want to know what sort of graphics card they should use, we tested a subset of the fastest 18 GPUs from the past five years. The RTX 3090 Ti naturally claimed top honours, with an even greater le

It allows us to test the various GPUs while keeping all other hardware constant, but there are also mobile variants of most graphics cards. As you can guess, packing something like a 450W RTX 3090 Ti into a laptop just isn’t going to happen, not with

Resist the temptation, at least until the games and applications you’re using warrant the expense. Even then, make sure that your ‘upgrade’ actually represents a true leveling up of performance. The oft-quoted rule of thumb is that a previous generat

Mark Williams Mark is an IT professional with a strong interest in voiding warranties. Intel’s 12th generation of Core CPUs was a big leap forward for the company, and was very much needed. After being on the back foot thanks to AMD’s fast-progressi

The cabinet-sized Alto may have stretched the definition of “personal computer” (only its portrait screen and keyboard are shown here), but it also defined many of the things we take for granted today. It ran the first GUI-based OS controlled by a mo

$2,999 – tinyurl.com/APC508COM This great-looking system uses a case that riffs on the iconic Lian LI O11 Dynamic. Peering inside you’ll see six RGB fans that keep the chassis well ventilated, two of which cool the AIO radiator to keep the beastly

A perfect balance between price and peformance. We’ve seen some price increases on components this issue. The Gigabyte B550 motherboard in the AMD build is listed at $149 in our parts table, but you may be able to pick one up for less. Meanwhile, t

Ever since Windows 11 was announced, I’ve started experiencing the notorious Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) at least once a day. I’m still running Windows 10 Pro 64-bit and have kept up to date with Windows Updates. In fact, that’s often when I get a BS

In this issue, we’ll take a deep dive into your Windows Registry, which has been a vital component of Windows since the days of Windows 95. Basically, it’s a glorified database stored across several files (known as ‘hives’) containing various configu

This recent addition to Registry Editor allows you to type or paste in Registry addresses to quickly jump to the specified subkey. Registry Editor allows you to store frequently accessed subkeys in its Favourites menu, giving you one-click access. Ma

Windows Update is surely the least loved part of Windows. Since automatic updates were introduced back in the XP days, they’ve doubtless been blamed for millions of postponed presentations and lost essays, as the OS has repeatedly chosen the worst po

IT WILL TAKE 10 minutes YOU WILL LEARN How to tweak notifications and widgets to suit the way you work YOU’LL NEED macOS 12 or later With so many apps loaded on to our devices, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with the sheer number of notifications fi

Previously we discussed the FFF file manager, which scoffs at traditional file managers in its appearance and functionality. Our tool of choice this issue, nnn, is cut from the same cloth. The project was originally forked from Noice, which is a smal

We’ve decided to see how viable a Raspberry Pi 400 is as a Linux-based ‘daily driver’ machine, and attempt to use it for day-to-day tasks in place of a standard desktop PC. The Pi 400 itself has similar specifications to a Raspberry Pi 4, but the who

Canonical offers a Raspberry Pi build of Ubuntu Linux, but what’s it like to run? In most respects, it’s the standard Ubuntu experience. Most differences between Raspberry Pi OS and Ubuntu stem from the fact that Canonical don’t seem to have made tha

It’s unlikely the Australian government knew at the time how important this factory would become, but it must have been at least relieved when the Amalgamated Wireless Australasia (AWA) and Radio Corporation of America (RCA) joint-venture to make rad

CPU: Intel 8086 @ 5MHz VRAM: 12KB & 256 KB RAM: 128KB, upgradeable to 640KB Launch price: ¥298,000 (approx. $1,600) Graphics: 2 x NEC µPD7220 graphical controllers, 8 colours @ 640x400 Sound: PC speaker Storage: 8-inch, 1.232MB external floppy drives

$74.99 | PC | galciv4.com This latest sequel in the long-running strategy series bills itself as the most accessible entry yet. This is true, in the same way that the tail is the most accessible part of a tiger. Stardock’s long running 4X series off

$31.90 | PC | teardowngame.com It would be so, so easy to write off Teardown as just a tech demo. A simple framework of maps, tools, and missions built to show off developer Dennis Gustaffson’s incredible voxel destruction technology. But over its 1

Free | PC, Mac | gate.itch.io/ghost Ghost doesn’t boast about its intricate puzzle boxes, but they’re some of the most original I’ve come across. There are often a lot of tools in play, but they’re introduced at a manageable rate, and come together

$35.95 | PC, XBN1/X/S | roguelegacy2.com In this sequel to the 2013 game, once again you step into the shoes of a randomised hero tasked with navigating the levels of a procedurally generated castle. Said castle is a gruelling gauntlet teeming with

Free | PC | wardius.itch.io/pebble I admire the unassuming nature of the protagonist in Pebble. You are literally a pebble, with only a pair of boots to add an element of anthropomorphism. Everything about Pebble is minimalist, and that’s refreshing

$34.95 | PC, PS4/5, XBX/S, Switch | stanleyparable.com I’ve never given much thought to the ‘skip dialogue’ button in a videogame, but after playing The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe I can’t stop thinking about it. The button is just one of several

Free | PC, Mac | bippinbits.itch.io/orbles In peculiar RTS Orbles, you’re not trying to beat another faction operating with the same tools as you. No, your enemy is a horde of giants, advancing upon you from every direction. As the giants constrict

Release: February 20, 2007 Developer: Gas Powered Games Publisher: THQ Link: bit.ly/3vfgWbJ There is no high quite like the emasculated agony of graphics envy. It was 2007, I was 16 years old, and still fully bound to the limitations of the Xbox 360

Four, maybe even five polygons of action! Say what you will, but that castle texture is still great. Never tell anyone under 20 that this used to scare you.

Alan Sugar made a startling confession when writing the opening text for the Amstrad NC100 Notepad’s manual: “I am embarrassed to say that, as the chairman of one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of computers, I have never been able to use one!” It

Activision Blizzard has faced severe backlash after announcing a tool its devs will use to balance diversity in game characters. The Diversity Space Tool was widely criticised online, with many pointing out the bureaucratic oddity of “creating a tool