PC Pro - Issue 325 November 2021

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Reviews

iMdTAgmhoeMcoSpisedoI2cnrc4Mottoma1pnonPepntdrae1cfecc1oarttMrvinamveliata-ytinsn,cb-aeoupntapenlydhas sRGB gamut
coverage is strong.
The best Delta E
figure I could obtain
for colour accuracy
was 2.33, but that
was after fiddling
about with the
unnecessarily large
number of colour
profiles that are
accessible via two
distinct menus. That
SCORE Delta E result isn’t

PRICE Core i7, £875 (£1,050 inc VAT) shockingly bad
from box.co.uk – the average user is
unlikely to notice
We’re used to seeing all-in- monitors into inaccuracies if the result score is
one PCs from the major all-in-ones less than three – but this screen won’t
manufacturers, but – managed 161 reproduce photos faithfully enough
for professionals.
Taiwan’s Micro-Star International, with its Core i5 mobile GPU. Unlike ABOVE Fromthe You can adjust the height of the
better known by the initials MSI, is a that Dell, though, the AM241P goes front,theAM241P display so that the bottom edge is
new name in town. The AM241 comes about its business almost silently. couldeasilypassasa anywhere between a minimum of
in two flavours: an Intel Core i7-based Even when the fans are running at standard24inmonitor 85mm and a maximum of 220mm
machine with 16GB of RAM at £875 full speed, you can barely hear them. from the surface it’s standing on.
exc VAT and a Core i5 model with 8GB The AM241P also wins for While adjusting the display height is
of RAM at a lower £666 exc VAT. We connectivity. Two USB-A 2 ports sit simplicity itself, our review unit sat
tested the former, marked by a “P” at on the rear alongside an HDMI in and slightly crooked. Since there’s no
the end of its model name. an HDMI 2.0 output – the former so way to adjust the left-right angle,
Pull the AM241P out of its box and you can use the unit as a dumb however, I just had to live with it. At
you could be forgiven for thinking monitor, bypassing the operating any height, the screen can be tilted
you’ve bought a monitor rather than system completely – and a Gigabit between 5 ° forward and
a PC. At 541 x 175 x 407mm and RJ-45 connector. On the left you’ll “itTshbeuAsiMne2s4s1aPlgmooesstasbiloeunttly. 15° back.
weighing just shy of 4.5kg with the find a 3.5mm combo jack along with
stand, it’s the same size and weight as two USB-A and two USB-C ports – MSI’s Modern AM241P
a typical 24in monitor. Aesthetically, all are USB 3.2 Gen 2 but the latter Ercuavnnennbiawnrgheaelytnfhtuehlaelrsfpatehneesdma,r”yeou is a competent all-in-one
the AM241P’s otherwise anonymous don’t support video output. This is a PC and the Core i5 model
looks are helped by the narrow 6mm waste when the Intel chipset can looks solid value for
money. At £875 exc VAT,
top and side bezels and the reasonably support four displays. however, the Core i7
slender 23mm chin below the screen. A final USB-A 2 port sits on the version is expensive for a 24in
There’s no way to access the back just above where the stand is all-in-one, and there isn’t enough
AM241P’s core components – the connected to the main unit; that here to lure businesses; the price
“factory sealed” sticker over one of port is reflected so truthfully on the includes Windows 10 Home and the
the screw heads means what it says glossy plastic that I actually tried to Core i7-1165G7 doesn’t support Intel’s
– but a hatch tucked away on the rear plug something into the reflection. vPro tech. If you’re buying for the
right-hand side of the unit conceals a Wireless communications are BELOW TheAM241Pis home, a machine such as the Lenovo
2.5in SATA3 drive bay for adding handled by an Intel AX201 card that flushwithports:five AiO on p46 is more attractive – and I
more capacity. supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1. USB-As,twoUSB-Cs would point people to Dell’s Inspiron
The supplied 512GB Western MSI builds a pair of 3W and HDMI 24 5000 All-in-One, which is £175
Digital SSD produced sequential read loudspeakers into the bottom of the cheaper with a similar specification.
and write speeds of 2,238MB/sec and unit, but they’re dismal with little There are plus points – the
1,721MB/sec respectively in our tests, volume and nothing in the way of near-silent operation, turn of pace,
which translates to speedy real- bass. There’s no built-in webcam, but storage expansion bay and plethora of
world performance. The quad-core MSI bundles a 1080p USB camera with connectivity options (video outputs
Core-i7 1165G7 processor inside our a privacy shutter that you can aside) – so if MSI brings the price of
test machine is a mobile chip, but in hook over the top of the screen. the Core i7 version closer to that of
tandem with that SSD and 16GB of The image quality is impressive, the i5, it will transform itself from an
dual-channel DDR4 RAM it powered the performance of the dual also-ran into a compelling purchase.
to 146 in the PC Pro benchmarks. microphones less so; they only ALUN TAYLOR
That’s fast for such a processor, picked up what I said when I
but the Dell OptiPlex 7090 Ultra shouted so loudly the other person SPECIFICATIONS
Desktop (see issue 321, p48) – a unit so could probably have heard me with 4-core 2.8GHz (4.7GHz burst) Intel Core
compact that it slides inside specially their naked ears. MSI also bundles i7-1165G7 IntelIrisXegraphics 16GBDDR4
made stands and can effectively turn a basic 2.4GHz wireless keyboard RAM 512GBSSD 2.5inSATAbay 23.8in
and mouse set, but the key word non-touch1,920x1,080IPSdisplay HDMI
PCPRO BENCHMARKS there is basic. 2.1input HDMI2output 2xUSB-A3.2
Unfortunately, the same can be 3xUSB-A2 2xUSB-C3.2 GigabitEthernet
OVERALL 146 said of the 23.8in IPS panel. It 3.5mmcombojack 2x3Wspeakers
started brightly: a peak brightness of Wi-Fi6 Bluetooth5.1 Windows10Home
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 348cd/m is more than adequate for 1yrlimitedwarranty 541x175x407mm
BREAKDOWNSCORES eImd1i5atig5neg eVd1idi3tie2nog taM1s4kuil4ntig an indoors-only machine and 94% (WDH) 4.5kg

51

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wiAMetvfpietSliohnpIwsabSefesourturtfmpuegerlmoruoblitdtsrcarpe luster –
they’re
SCORE till, the main
PRICE £1,041 (£1,249 inc VA nd well
from scan.co.uk touch typists
speeds, and
Think of premium of three
and it’s American gs. Plus,
brands that spring tle.
mind: the Apple all the power
MacBook, Dell XPS and within, it’s
HP Spectre series for ging how
instance. With the E13 Flip Evo
Summit E13 Flip Evo, Taiwanese ral use too. You
manufacturer MSI aims to break up know that it’s
that all-American dominance with a h a top-end Core
laptop that could have come right out or, and MSI
of a Californian design lab. This is a es this chip has
gorgeous laptop to hold and behold, necessary
finished in an all-metal chassis and upport with
measuring only 15mm thick. 32GB of RAM
and a speedy
Nor is it just a laptop, as the and the speakers have enough gravity ABOVE Theblackand 1TB NVMe SSD. Despite the thermal
Flip in its name indicates. The hinge and detail to pump out soundtracks goldfinishiscertainly limitations that such a slim chassis
not only lifts the rear of the chassis by and dialogue with quality. strikingandthelarge brings, the E13 Flip Evo thundered
a couple of millimetres to aid typing, keysarebacklit to 157 in our benchmarks and
but swivels 360° to turn the Summit One reason that films look so good returned a commendable 5,324
E13 into a tablet. MSI includes a stylus is the high contrast of the IPS panel, in Geekbench 5’s multicore test.
in the box, but as ever with such which edged towards 1,500:1 in our There is even gaming potential,
designs I would tests. A figure of 1,000:1 is more with 40fps in F1 2020, 49fps in
too excited: typical. Tuned for the sRGB colour Metro: Last Light and 80fps in Dirt:
weight for a l space and with a 6400K colour Showdown. All those results were
but it’s way too temperature that helps whites look at the panel’s native 1,920 x 1,200
heavy to hold in pure white, its colour accuracy is resolution at High settings. But the
one hand like a immaculate: an average Delta E of RECOMMENDED best inclusion is the 70Wh battery,
tablet. There’s 0.35 and maximum of 1.07 are right
nowhere to stow up there with the best panels. It only which kept this machine going for
the pen, either. covers 74% of the DCI-P3 colour 12hrs 19mins in our video-rundown
space, but I defy anyone to look at tests. That’s up there with
I suspect cP“EliDhvmCoaePiststrasphoitiust’isonebndbrtseehinrnteghectsdahh,tmtetosrhaum1erc5kEah7s1lai3”nsFlliimp the best Windows laptops,
people will find dull. with only Apple’s ARM-
the flexible desig pts for a wide toting MacBooks lasting
most useful d, measuring significantly longer.
watching films, 0mm, and this
tent mode particularly uses and With all the
effective for this. One curiosity is connectivity that most
that MSI opts for 16:10 aspect ratio One plus is people need – including
rather than the more common 16:9, ou can place two Thunderbolt 4 ports, Wi-Fi 6 and
and although this leads to a black an always-useful USB-A port – this is
border on Netflix shows, it won’t le fingers a brilliant ultraportable debut for
diminish your enjoyment: Russian by side for LEFT Despitethe MSI. Especially when you consider its
Doll’s rich colours looked superb, estures; one bordercreatedbythe price and the flexibility provided by
BATTERY Videorundown,12hrs19mins egative that you 16:10ratio,tentmode the 360° hinge. Look out Apple, Dell
to swipe isidealforNetflix and HP, there’s a new name in town.
PCPRO BENCHMARKS to move the TIM DANTON
m bottom to the
top of the screen unless you BELOW Yougettwo SPECIFICATIONS
whack up sensitivity. Still, you Thunderbolt 4 ports, 4-core 1.8GHz (4.8GHz burst) Core i7-1185G7
should adapt to it quickly. Head to the as well as a USB-A processor 32GBLPDDR44,266MHzRAM
right and you will stumble across an port and microSD slot IntelIrisXegraphics 13.4intouchscreen
almost hidden fingerprint sensor, IPSdisplay,1,920x1,200resolution 1TBM.2
only 12 x 12mm. It works, but you’ll PCIeSSD microSDcardslot 720pwebcam
need to be precise, and note there is 2x2Wi-Fi6 Bluetooth5 2xUSB-C4with
no IR camera for facial logins. Thunderbolt4 USB-C3.2 USB-A3.2
The keyboard is good rather than 3.5mmjack 70Whbattery Windows10
great. I prefer more resistance and Home MSIPen 300x222x15mm(WDH)
definition to keys than MSI’s design 1.4kg 1yrlimitedwarranty
provides, and I’m never a fan of
squeezing PgUp and PgDn keys into

OVERALL 157

0 100 200 300 400 500 600

BREAKDOWN SCORES eImd1i6atig5neg eVd1idi3tie2nog taMs1ku7i0lntig

54

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.CO Reviews

lABCStaoPaopboUmtoumo,dkpasaguGw4nenGytoit1gfmhl4aGiaownadSWselnamianxpdaydonrwdagasofenw plenty of volume and no distortion,
even at maximum volume. There’s
SCORE even a Dolby Access control panel to
PRICE 4GB, £333 (£399 inc VAT) fine-tune the sound for sources such
from samsung.com/uk as music, films and games. Above the
screen lies an equally solid 720p
The pitch for the Galaxy Book webcam, which produces muted
Go is straightforward: this is a colours but performs much better in
cheap, 4G, 14in laptop built low light than I expected, and the
around a Snapdragon chip that runs dual microphone array picked up my
Windows 10 on ARM. It has superb Zoom chatter without fuss.
battery life, lasting for 14hrs 17mins The Go’s sleek, silver design
in our video-rundown test – a feat makes it appear more
only matched by the latest MacBooks expensive than it
with their own ARM processors. And actually is. Despite
it really is cheap, with the 4GB the chassis
version costing £399. Its 8GB sibling being
costs £499, which is a mysterious made of
hike when they both have 128GB of plastic,
storage. No wonder it’s the cheaper continually the laptop passed
model that Samsung sent us to test. moving MIL-STD-810G tests that
between a quick covered high and low temperatures,
Windows 10 on ARM can run OS and leaden, vibration, low pressure and humidity.
32-bit x86 apps under emulation, but emulated software. It’s It feels solid, and I’m not going to
not 64-bit apps (although this is only when you stumble across ABOVE Unlikethedull complain about a 1.38kg weight or
possible in developer preview builds). ARM64 apps – which include VLC, display,thekeyboard 14.9mm depth on a 14in laptop.
As such, I couldn’t run Zoom, Adobe Photoshop, 7-Zip, andtouchpadare Another nice touch: the lid opens up
PC Pro’s usual speed test, Microsoft Teams, Netflix and Amazon pleasant to use to 180°, which is handy if you want to
but Geekbench 5 does Prime Video – that the Galaxy Book use it on your lap while on the sofa,
have a native app Go springs back to life. And you can though the absence of a touchscreen
and the results forget gaming: only Dirt: Showdown limits its versatility.
weren’t bad: 556 of our usual test suite would run The one design feature to reflect
for single-core under emulation and its 14fps score at the Go’s low price is the width of the
and 1,617 for 720p will win you no races. screen bezels. The amount of cheap
multicore black plastic you’re
processing. To Qualcomm also takes care of c“5o3lo%urcsopvaecreamgeeoafntthoeusrRtGesBt forced to look at – 13mm
put that into connectivity, with Wi-Fi 5 and at the top, 24mm at the
context, a Bluetooth 5.1, but the Go’s party piece lYRikoiceuaTSnukwbeegilHndelDisfResvilnoidoNekooevodefmmCoboresetra” bottom and 6mm at the
Microsoft sides– gives the game
Surface Go 2 is the 4G modem. Pop open away. There’s no whiff of
(see issue 311, p52) using the tray on the right side c eapness a ou e
a Core m3 8100Y chip scored of the body, slip a keyboard, though: it’s
874 and 1,637 in Geekbench 5 and 32 nano ns e an solid, spacious and the keys have
in our benchmarks. you’re good to go. a nicely damped action. The
There’s also a well-sized 120 x 75mm trackpad
But that doesn’t really tell you how microSD card works reliably too.
fast this laptop feels, which boils slot, 3.5mm What to make of the Go, then?
down to whether your favoured apps audio jack, a It delivers on its two promises of
run natively. Microsoft Edge and slow USB-A 2 LEFT TheGofeels great battery life and always-on
Mozilla Firefox both do so, but Google port and two robustandthesilver connectivity, but its awful display
Chrome doesn’t. If you use Firefox or USB-C 3.1 finishmakesitlook is impossible to overlook. That’s a
Edge, you’ll think the Galaxy Book Go ports, one on pricierthanitis shame, because the keyboard is
is pretty slick; use Chrome and it feels either side: you can great and Windows 10 runs
underpowered. For example, Edge charge via both, but only beautifully on the Qualcomm
scored 61 in the JetSteam2 test while chipset. However, until Microsoft
Chrome returned 29. e one on the right supports solves the inconsistent app
video ut. compatibility, it feels like a poor
It’s a strange experience because man’s MacBook Air.ALUNTAYLOR
Windows 10 runs smoothly, so you’re You y well decide to use it,
BATTERY Videorundown,14hrs17mins because t e Galaxy Book Go’s display BELOW Insertanano SPECIFICATIONS
is atroci s. A peak brightness of SIM into the slot on 8-core 2.55GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon
232cd/m² s just about acceptable the right to use the 7cGen2ARMSoC 4GBLPDDR4xRAM
when in ors, but the contrast ratio Go’s party trick: 4G AdrenoGPU 14innon-touchTNdisplay,
was a dis al 431:1 and the Delta E 1,920x1,080resolution 128GBeUFS
colour accuracy an apocalyptically storage 720pwebcam 2x2Wi-Fi5
terrible 7. Coverage of 53% of the Bluetooth5.1 4Gmodem microSD
sRGB colo r space meant our test cardslot 2xUSB-C3.1 USB-A2
YouTube DR video of Costa Rican 3.5mmjack 42.3Whbattery Windows
wildlife looked more like Skegness in 10Home(ARM) 324x225x14.9mm
Novem . It also has narrow viewing (WDH) 1.38kg 1yrlimitedwarranty
angles: ve your head a touch and
chrom shift becomes obvious.

At leas the Dolby Atmos sound
system forms credibly. There’s not
much
but

55

Reviews FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO

AHsathuwPderaepPlyalriagciitskhvsiltniubflguisuoltlydrnngleoo1etdw4teisbp(por2loia0ckye2fg:o1oivr)nealsy laptop outdoors or under
bright lights.
SCORE HP again impresses with a
PRICE £499 (£599 inc VAT) Bang & Olufsen speaker system,
from store.hp.com which sounds similar to the
setup in the more expensive
“Surprise and delight” is a Envy 13. There’s a stack of
phrase used by marketing volume available and the sound
types to describe the feeling is never less than composed and
a customer gets when they punchy. There’s even a decent
discover something unexpected in wallop of bass.
their purchase. It’s a phrase I loathe Nor can I complain about
with a passion, so I was disturbed to the core components for the
experience a degree of S&D when I price. A Core i5-1135G7
fired up the new HP Pavilion 14. with Iris Xe graphics and
First, it uses the same sandblasted, two sticks of 4GB DDR4
anodised finish on the cover and 3,200MHz RAM pushed
keyboard frame as more expensive it to a competent 107
HP machines such as the Envy 13 (see in the PC Pro
issue 319, p83). The “Serene Pink” lid Connectivity is another strength ABOVE Thekeyboard benchmarks, which is only a few
is lovely, too, and since it’s a largely for the price, with two USB-A 3.1 andtouchpadareboth points below the MateBook D15. For
metal construct it feels solid (there’s a ports and one 10Gbits/sec USB-C commendable –asare basic productivity, the Pavilion has
silver model too). There’s more flex to port; this also supports DisplayPort thevibrantspeakers more than enough potential and – at a
the lid than in the Envy 13, but it’s and USB Power Delivery. HP provides few seconds short of eight hours – the
nothing to worry about. an HDMI 2 port as well, alongside a battery life is fine too.
This laptop defies the rule of microSD card slot and 3.5mm audio Gaming and other graphics-
thumb that affordability equals girth. jack. As is typical of HP laptops, you intensive tasks will be beyond this
A 1.4kg weight and 17mm height can charge via either DC-in or USB-C. laptop’s reach. Our gaming
means it can hold its own in benchmarks, Metro: Last Light and
the company of Taking the Pavilion apart to check Dirt: Showdown, averaged 29fps and
thin-and-light internal upgrade options would have RECOMMENDED 59fps at 1,920 x 1,080 respectively.
14in notebooks involved ripping off the two rubber
costing far more. footing strips that cover four of the Run Doom 2016 at 1,280 x 720 and
The keyboard six screws securing the base. Luckily, you’ll find it’s just about playable at
is spacious and a search on YouTube shows that once an average of 40fps, but you will
sensibly you get inside, the 2280 M.2 SSD slot experience stuttering when things
organised, albeit and two SODIMM memory slots are get hectic onscreen. One final
not faultless easily accessible. limitation to note is the 256GB NVMe
with a flex SSD, which will quickly
that might Wireless comms are h“Aei1g.h4tkmgewaenisgihttcaanndh1o7lmdmits fill if you are a gamer. Nor
annoy heavy- handled by an Intel is it the quickest, with
handed typists. Note the AC-9461 module. This own in the company of sequential read and write
lack of a backlight as well, tchoisnt-ianngdf-alirgmhtonroet”ebooks speeds of 2,017MB/sec and
while the power button is bizarrely only supports Wi-Fi 5 675MB/sec close to the
placed between the print-screen and rather than Wi-Fi 6, slowest I’d expect from a
delete key. The fingerprint scanner drive with a PCI-E Gen3
was a more pleasant surprise and it’s but such are the x4 interface (see p42).
tucked nicely out of the way below compromises So it isn’t perfect, but for its price
the cursor keys. While the 115 x 73mm you must the HP Pavilion 14 still packs plenty of
trackpad lacks a glass coating, it’s LEFT Thesandblasted appeal. It looks and feels like it should
faultless in use. endure in this coverandkeyboard cost more and has some features that I
BATTERY Videorundown,7hrs59mins price range. framelookprettyin genuinely didn’t expect to find given
“Serene Pink” the price. ALUNTAYLOR
The Full
HD IPS display is SPECIFICATIONS
mediocre, but no 4-core 2.4GHz (4.2GHz burst) Core i5-1135G7
worse than the panel processor 4GBDDR43,200MHzRAM
in the Huawei MateBook IntelIrisXegraphics 14intouchscreenIPS
D15 (see issue 324, p49). display,1,920x1,080resolution 256GB
Brightness topped out at a reasonable M.2PCIeSSD microSDcardslot 720p
275cd/m, but colours are drab webcam 2x2Wi-Fi5 Bluetooth5 USB-C
compared to the best screens: sRGB BELOW You’respoiled 3.2 2xUSB-A3.1 3.5mmjack 45Wh
coverage of 55% and an average forconnections,with battery Windows 10Home 325x217x
Delta E of 5.9 both sit at the wrong twoUSB-Aports, 17mm(WDH) 1.4kg 1yrRTBwarranty
end of the screen-quality spectrum. USB-CandHDMI partcodeDV0007NA
One positive, however, is that this is a
touch-sensitive panel, which is a
rarity at this price. It also has a matte,
anti-reflection finish that will appeal
to anyone who plans on using their

PCPRO BENCHMARKS

OVERALL 107

0 100 200 300 400 500 600

BREAKDOWN SCORES eImd1i5atig3neg eVd1idi0tie3nog taMs9ku5ilntig

56

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Ofoprtnimceiozxendt-psgeorefloenrmgaancme ing

DESIGNED FOR

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SCORE
PRICE £352 (£422 inc VAT)
from uk.insight.com

If you’re looking for a lightweigh
alternative to Windows or
macOS machines, this might be
the Chromebox that ticks all the loaded browser tabs with Google sizemeansyoucould further USB-A 3.1 ports and a USB-C
boxes. There’s a version for every Docs files, email clients, social media sliptheChromebox4 connector that supports DisplayPort
budget: this Core i3-based machine tools and conventional web pages – into a bag and 15W of power delivery, as well as
here costs £352 exc VAT, but Celeron- the Chromebox handled them two HDMI ports. For networking,
based versions start at £209 exc VAT. simultaneously without slowdown. there’s dual-band Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth
If you need more power there are Core That makes the Asus a solid option 5.2 and Gigabit Ethernet.
i5 and Core i7 versions available too. for daily office tasks. The Chromebox The only notable
Its design is focused on function is never loud, either: there is a fan “wcToehnlenl-eCmchatridvoeimtayen,bdaonhxda4sCgihsorsoomdmaell, omission can be found by
rather than form. It weighs only 648g inside this machine, but it’s quiet OmSaiinssatsroelaidmatlatesrknsa”tive for looking in the box: Asus
and its square body is just 149mm during all tasks, and virtually silent hasn’t included a
wide and 40mm deep. That means it in many situations. keyboard or mouse
will take up minimal space on a desk, Benchmarks highlights this with this PC. While that’s
and you can even sling it into a bag specification’s limitations. In not mandatory, we’ve
and carry it around without issue Geekbench 5’s single and multicore come to expect basic
– perfect for hotdesking or jumping tests our dual-core Core i3 chip peripherals bundled with
between home and office. The returned middling scores of 1,002 mainstream PCs, and they would
Chromebox also supports VESA and 2,155; the £399 exc VAT Asus have been welcome here.
mounting, and with a mount in the Mini PC PN50 we tested included an The Chromebox 4 is small,
box it’s easy to attach to the back of a eight-core Ryzen 7 4800U, and well-made and has good
monitor. Neatly, once the Chromebox that raced to 1,164 and 6,421 connectivity, and Chrome OS
is installed using VESA, the power in Geekbench. is a solid alternative for
button faces upwards, so it’s still easy It’s possible to run Linux mainstream tasks. Unless
to access. The system has four rubber software on the Chromebox, you’re on the tightest of
feet, with screws beneath – remove too, and this rig handled budgets, we would avoid
those, and the base panel lifts free. mainstream Linux tools the lightweight Celeron
It’s then simple to reach the SSD and smoothly. However, while version, while the Core i7
memory slots for quick upgrading. Chrome OS can also run specifications are tempting
All that said, the Asus is a fraction Android apps, photo-editing but also expensive. Instead,
bigger than other small form-factor tools, games and Office focus your attention on the
systems. For example, Asus’s own software were sluggish. Core i3 version – as we have
Mini PC PN50 (see issue 315, p47) is a If you want to tackle seen here, it has enough grunt to
barebones machine that’s narrower demanding tasks then more cores handle everyday workloads – and the
than the Chromebox if a fraction will deliver a big boost, and the ABOVE Therearetwo Core i5 option if your work will
taller. It only costs £225 exc VAT with four-core Core i5-10210U version of USB-A3.1portsanda benefit from four cores.
a Ryzen 3 4300U, but that price the Chromebox (£460 exc VAT) microSDcardreader The Core i3-based Chromebox is
doesn’t include RAM, an SSD or an makes sense if you want to run on the front… the best value, though, with solid
operating system. The PN50 also feels Chrome OS’s Linux VM options. The performance inside a versatile,
better made than the Chromebox 4. most expensive configuration compact case. If you’re happy with
The latter is covered in cheap-feeling partners a Core i7-10510U processor Chrome OS, which has matured into
plastic and has a bland gunmetal with 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, a smart and effective operating
finish that doesn’t draw the eye. but that costs a lofty £628 exc VAT. BELOW …whilethe system, the Chromebox 4 is a compact
This Chromebox 4 uses an Intel Whichever version you choose, rearhasthreemore and effective mainstream choice.
Core i3-10110U processor, which has the Chromebox 4 is well-equipped USB-Aports,USB-C MIKE JENNINGS
two multithreaded cores alongside with ports. On its front, you’ll find a and two HDMI outputs
base and boost speeds of SPECIFICATIONS
2.1GHz and 4.1GHz. In Dual-core 2.1GHz (4.1GHz burst) Intel Core
this rig it’s paired with i3-10110U 8GBRAM IntelUHD620
8GB of dual-channel graphics 128GBM.2SSD microSDcard
memory and a 128GB slot Wi-Fi6 Bluetooth5.1 2xHDMI 5x
SSD, and graphical USB-A3.1 USB-C3.1(15Wpowerdelivery)
power comes from GigabitEthernet ChromeOS 149x149x
an unimpressive Intel 40mm(WDH) 650g 1yrRTBwarranty
UHD 620 chip. part code G3032UN

59

ENDED

ET-8550 yporuinptreinrttihnavtoplurimntes

SCORE average inkjet. It measures 523 x 379 x ABOVE Thisisa Easy to use?
169mm (WDH) when folded up and behemothofaprinter Setting up the ET-8550 is very simple,
TPRICE £566 (£679 inc VAT) on standby, but you’ll need plenty of weighing a back- with Epson recommending that you
space behind and above it to open its wrenching 11.1kg use your phone. The step-by-step
from wexphotovideo.com rear feeder – where the A3 paper is instructions then appear on the
stored – and in front for the output screen, as if you’re being guided by a
he Epson EcoTank ET-8550 has tray, which pops out automatically knowledgeable support assistant.
so many features to talk about, when you send a job to the printer.
it’s hard to know where to start. Back pain sufferers be warned that it You also use the app to set up
The six ink tanks are as good a place as weighs a hefty 11.1kg. Wi-Fi printing. This isn’t as seamless
as the HP method I saw on the
any. With extra photo black and grey The printer has three paper trays, OfficeJet Pro 9022e (see issue 324,
inks, as well as the usual black, cyan, but they’re relatively low p52) as I had to manually tap in my
magenta and yellow, this printer capacity. The main A4 paper Wi-Fi password, but it’s still
promises photo printing on a par with tray can only take a maximum relatively smooth. If you don’t
six-colour cartridge-based inkjets. of 100 sheets, so if you print a want to connect with Wi-Fi,
However, its ink tanks can be refilled lot of documents it will need there’s an Ethernet port, or
with bottled ink, which is much regular refilling. The second you can hook it directly to a
cheaper than cartridges. paper tray is designed to PC via USB.
It’s a wide format printer, which hold photo paper but can Although there are two
means it can take paper up to A3+ in take only 20 sheets. The rear more colours than we’re
size, and it has two paper trays and a feed is where you’ll put A3 used to, filling the tanks is as
rear feed, so you can have three types paper, and that can take up to straightforward as with
of paper loaded and ready to print on. 50 sheets. This rear tray can also Epson’s other ink-tank printers.
Last but certainly not least, Epson has be used to feed in longer paper Each bottle has a unique key-
built in a scanner and copier, making types, such as banners up to 2m long. shaped pattern moulded into the
this a true multifunctional marvel. The printer is capable of automatic ABOVE The10.9in nozzle, so you can’t put it onto the
This is all good news and sets out duplex printing on both sides of a colourtouchscreenis wrong tank. The 700ml bottles don’t
the stall for a promising printer, but sheet but only from the A4 paper tray. intuitiveandcanbe start emptying until they’re upside
the asking price requires a triple take. To control the printer and use the tiltedforabetterview down and latched onto the tank
Can it possibly be worth almost £700? copier function, there’s a 10.9in nozzle, but then they empty quickly
colour touchscreen. This is large and without any squeezing required.
Big deal easy to use, and it can be tilted out Using the printer in Windows is
As you’d expect from an A3 printer, from the bottom edge so you can still typically straightforward, integrating
the ET-8550 is larger than your use it if you’re in front of the printer. nicely into Windows’ existing print

60

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Reviews

settings, with a breakout set of COST PER PAGE, MONO
options on a sub-menu if you want to
control the finer details. CanonPixmaG7050 0.2p 3p* RETTEB SI REWOL
EpsonEcoTankET-2750 0.2p
For printing from mobile devices, EpsonEcoTankET-8500 0.2p 13p
Epson provides its Smart Panel app. CanonPixmaG650 0.4p
This provides a choice of printing and HP OfficeJet Pro 9022e
scanning possibilities, from photo Canon Pixma Pro-200
printing to document capture. The
app even has a power button so you *Via HP+ Instant Ink subscription
can turn the printer on and off
remotely, and it also tells you how COST PER PAGE, COLOUR
much ink you have left.
CanonPixmaG7050 0.4p RETTEB SI REWOL
Print quality
the right, this matches the cost per EpsonEcoTankET-2750 0.4p
The extra inks really do their work page of the Epson ET-2750 and
when printing dark photos. I thought Canon’s four-colour MegaTank Pixma Canon Pixma G650 1p
the dark colour tones produced by G7050 printer, and is half the cost of
the Canon Pixma G650 (see issue 323, printing mono pages with the six- EpsonEcoTankET-8500 1p
p69) were impressive, but the colour A4 Canon G650.
ET-8550 took my test prints a step HP OfficeJet Pro 9022e 3p*
further, matching the depth of black I expected colour printing to cost
on the cartridge-based and A3 Canon more than the four-colour systems Canon Pixma Pro-200 13.4p
Pixma Pro-200 (see issue 320, p80). because there’s simply more ink
involved. This proved to be the case, *Via HP+ Instant Ink subscription
However, other colours weren’t with the price per page rising to 1p.
as vibrant, and I found subtler colours That’s still not bad, however, and it’s TOPLEFT Youcan tray in 13 seconds. The Pixma Pro-200,
oversaturated in some of my test hugely cheaper than the Canon Pixma evenpersonaliseyour on the other hand, only reaches
prints. It’s a vast improvement Pro-200, which has per-page costs of DVDsandCDsviaa 2.4ppm and takes 58 seconds to warm
over the results achieved by Epson’s around 13p for mono and 13.4p for special tray up and churn out the first page.
four-colour A4 EcoTank ET-2750 colour prints. This also beats Canon’s G650 and
(see issue 320, p82), but both the G7050 A4 ink-tank printers and beats
aforementioned Canon inkjets Epson also quotes yields in terms the speeds achieved by Epson’s
produced more balanced results. of 6 x 4in photos. A full set of colour four-colour ET-2750. Colour prints
inks will print 2,300 photos, which arrived fast, too, produced at 6.1ppm
The Epson didn’t print documents works out to 3.4p per print, based on – three times faster than Canon’s
as cleanly as the Canon Pixma the presumption that all the inks are six-colour G650.
Pro-200, either. On our mono text used up at the same rate. Canon’s Epson has also slightly
test, printed at standard settings, text Pixma Pro-200 inks yield an average “EITf-8yo5u5’0reasuisnintegntdheedE–ctooTank improved its duplex
characters looked rough around the of 550 photos for a set of inks, which printing speed, adding an
edges, which you can see even works out to around 27p per print. apnridnottahleort coof nlatregnet A– y3opuh’olltos extra 0.1ppm to the print
without getting the magnifying glass The ET-8550’s prints aren’t quite as soon break even” speed of the ET-2750.
out. You can refine this by switching good, but they’re much cheaper. This is much better than
to higher quality settings, but Canon’s duplex printing
standard settings ought to be good Mixed speeds speeds, whether it’s being
enough for a crisp letter. But whereas done automatically on the G7050 or
we don’t recommend the Pro-200 for When it comes to speed, it’s a mixed manually on the G650.
general printing tasks due to its high picture. Printing an A3 photo at its
cost per page, the Epson ET-8550’s best settings, the ET-8550 lags a long Should you buy it?
tank-based printing doesn’t have the way behind the Pixma Pro-200: while
same problem. Canon’s A3 printer can produce a The only question mark hanging over
photo in just over three minutes, the the ET-8550 is its price, especially
The copier on the Epson worked ET-8550 takes well over ten minutes. when the Canon Pixma Pro-200 is
well, producing an accurate It’s more competitive at a smaller available for around £450 and can
representation of the source material. scale, though, with six 6 x 4in photos produce even better-looking photos.
Equally, the scanner function was printing in 8mins 47secs – only two
great, with the resolution of 1,200 x seconds behind the Pixma Pro. If your needs are less intense,
4,800dpi providing as much detail as buying the Epson doesn’t make a lot
you could want. When it isn’t printing at best of financial sense and you’d be better
quality, the Epson ramps up the off choosing the Canon instead.
Cut-price running speed. When printing multiple copies
of the same letter, using only black If, however, you’re using the
Epson includes six full bottles of ink ink, the ET-8550 averages 15ppm, ET-8550 as intended – to print plenty
in the box, which should be enough with the first sheet landing on the out BELOW Youcansee of large A3 photos and other content
for thousands of pages. This isn’t howmuchinkisleftby – you’ll soon break even. And, once
quite as many as you’ll get from glancingatthelevels you have started saving money, you
replacement inks, because although atthebottomright won’t regret choosing it. ANDY SHAW
they’re the same size, a fair
amount of ink is used during SPECIFICATIONS
the initialisation process. 6-colour 5,760 x 1,440dpi A3+ inkjet MFP
1,200 x 4,800dpi colour flatbed A4 scanner
Once you need to replace 10.9cmcolourtouchscreen Wi-Fi5 USB
ink, each 70ml bottle costs £16, Ethernet SDcardslot duplex(A4only)
regardless of what colour it is. 100-sheetA4inputtray 20-sheetphoto
The black ink has a quoted paperinputtray 50-sheetA3rearfeeder
yield of 6,700 A4 pages, which 523x379x169mm(WDH,closed) 11.1kg
works out to 0.2p per print. As 1yr RTB warranty
you can see from our chart to

61

2fOVAmr.nsG1oueumgc2ohsa8tfmtThUtohUeiQnleipFgkLnreG1miecAhawoeemnrwietinoa–vrgaesp,oafrt You might
xpect
e

ghtness
the

28UQL1A
It hit

eak of
 in

ests,
ugh
ivating
means
SCORE an reach

PRICE £637 (£764 inc VAT) ser to
from uk.insight.com 0cd/m in
alised
It isn’t often that anyone gets Clearly
excited by a 0.1 jump in a spec, holds a
but it’s worth marking the but it’s

us doesn’t
increase from HDMI 2.0 to HDMI 2.1 t this –
with a shiny gold star. The new spec 1000
means that consoles such as the is the
Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 can 1ms grey-to-grey response times ABOVE Thisscreenis real prize for a monitor with strong
stream at 120 frames per second at 4K, certainly helped too. packedwithgaming HDR aspirations.
adding welcome flexibility to “PC” Head into the onscreen display features,butitcould What Asus does crow about is
gaming monitors. and you will find five options to aid dowithcurvature support for 4:4:4 chroma for consoles,
To take advantage, you will need gamers, including two crosshairs and this will occasionally be
to use the HDMI 2.1 cable that Asus (one normal, one for snipers) and an noticeable for areas of smaller text; it
includes in the box; this cable is FPS counter. Asus makes it similarly will be that fraction more readable as
described as Ultra High Speed, a easy to switch between colour modes, no colours are lost. Again, this ties in
reflection of the almost tripling of with seven to choose from – including with HDMI 2.1 and its
bandwidth from 16Gbits/sec to dedicated modes for racing, RTS/RPG “uKndeoeunbertegdalmy aeprpsrtehcainaItewill greater bandwidth.
48Gbits/sec. And, of course, you and first-person shooters. To avoid
will need one of the overt sharpening, I chose the The question for Asus
new consoles, sRGB mode for chthoigemhepexerttrrietaifvsrmeeasohdovtrahannteteassgsbeartinnhdga”t is whether all these
because all their day-to-day use. positives will be enough
predecessors This is also the to separate it from what
are limited to 4K fairest mode to will soon be a crowded
field of HDMI 2.1
at 60Hz at best. test the panel’s monitors. Whilst Asus can point to its
Without quality, even if it use of IPS technology rather than
wanting to sound looks subdued MVA, which gives whites a cleaner
like a heretic, the next to its more LEFT TheHDMI2.1 look, the flip side is that this is a flat
other question is vibrant brethren. portmeansnewer screen rather than curved (MVA is
how much you It covered 95.3% consolescanstream much more suited to curved designs).
will really notice; of the sRGB at 120fps at 4K This is a bigger problem with 32in
I hooked up a space out of a panels, which seem to stretch for
Nintendo Switch to 6.2% volume, eternity when they’re flat, but even
the Samsung Odys s a strong result. BELOW Thebigrear- on a 28in 16:9 aspect ratio panel such
Neo M9 opposite and it looked Its average Delta E of 0.63 is mountedbuttonsthat as this I longed for curvature to bring
amazing at 60Hz at 1080p. Still, similarly excellent. I would have controltheOSDfeel the edges closer to my field of vision.
keener gamers than I will liked the colour temperature to be old-fashioned There are lots of technical benefits
undoubtedly appreciate the extra closer to its target of 6500K, but to the VG28UQL1A compared to what
smoothness and competitive 6060K is close enough for most has come before, and it may appeal to
advantage that higher refresh rates people not to notice. console gamers looking for a
bring, and the TUF Gaming If you want warmth, head to the competitive edge, but the drawbacks
VG28UQL1A can hit 144Hz over the Cinema mode. This covers many more above are enough to prevent it from
single DisplayPort connection on colours in the DCI-P3 space, where I winning an award. It doesn’t help
offer. There’s no USB-C, but four measured 85% out of an 86% volume. that Asus is charging more than £700
HDMI ports (two HDMI 2.0, two The only drawback is that it lost for the privilege. TIMDANTON
HDMI 2.1) will surely meet most colour accuracy, slipping to an
people’s needs. average Delta E of 2.36. SPECIFICATIONS
This screen supports AMD’s You can tweak the colours 28in 3,840 x 2,160 IPS panel up to 144Hz
FreeSync Premium adaptive sync yourself, but this involves spending 10-bitpanel(1.07billioncolours) DisplayHDR
technology and is G-Sync Compatible time in Asus’s clumsy onscreen 400certification AMDFreeSyncPremium
too. Asus promises even more display. The rear-mounted buttons NvidiaG-SyncCompatible 1msresponse
anti-ghosting and anti-tearing are large and therefore easy to hit, time DisplayPort1.4 2xHDMI2.1 2x
measures via its own Extreme Low but the reliance on four buttons that HDMI2 2xUSB-A3.1 2x2Wspeakers
Motion Blur Sync (ELMB Sync) you can’t see and a joystick feels 120mmheightadjustment 30°swivel
technology, and I certainly didn’t old-school compared to recent and -5°/20°tilt 640x214x540-660mm(WDH)
spot any issues during games. The more intuitive OSDs. 6.9kg 3yrwarranty

62

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.CO

gbcASNlalaeeosmaumwonpinGsyeagour9wumnuaaglotynrnOdaitdwyoyoridustershbeMautyindwgiiLleEtD

SCORE
PRICE £1,541 (£1,849 inc VAT)
from samsung.com/uk

T the Blur Busters UFO t st confirmed ABOVE Th 5,120x unlikely to noti e any wayward or .
he Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 , reso u on
a monster. Measuring 49in from functioning as intended – although translatestoahuge watching films, gaming or using a
corner to corner, it arrives in you have to enable it in the, aspectratioof32:9 web browser, the panel’s SDR
box big enough to sleep in. With a . .
sweeping 1000R curvature, 1.15m For instance, it’s easy to pick A resolution of 5,120 x 1,440
width and 418mm depth, you’ll need between the Neo G9’s four response translates into an aspect ratio of 32:9.
a huge desk to accommodate it. time modes (once you figure out that That’s akin to two 1440p monitors
It also has one key industry-first adaptive sync must be disabled side by side, and I found it an
feature hidden beneath its space-age first), which produce increasingly astonishing productivity monitor:
white plastic exterior: Mini LED more ghosting as you cycle through the 1000R curve looks severe from
backlighting. This means its LEDs are them. The fastest, Extreme Motion behind but is perfect for keeping two
up to five times smaller than normal Response Boost, suffered from an RECOMMENDED full-sized windows side-by-side

(0.008in compared to 0.04in), which annoying amount of ghosting, but without hurting your neck.
reduces the amount of backlight on the whole the monitor feels This astonishing display is
bleed and improves responsive. mounted on a stand that
accuracy. Mini LED T to image quality. t“tNohTerhmooeGauSk9gaehimsmmtsehyueennxfgoihsrOaesdltaeymfsltosoeuenrdyiltyor can be raised and lowered
are becoming more Odyssey Neo G9 loading into a game” by 120mm, swivelled 15°
common, but this is erforms admirably left and right and tilted
the first time we’ve its default SDR backwards 13°. This makes
seen the technology configuration, but it easier to reach its ports,
in a monitor. you’ll need to which are precious few
There are 2,048 activate HDR in for such a behemoth of a
individual local Windows 10 to monitor. On the rear you’ll find two
dimming zones push the display to HDMI 2.1 ports, one DisplayPort 1.4,
beneath the Neo intended limits. LEFT Thedramatic two USB-A 3, one USB-B port and a
G9’s panel, a vast Straight out of the curveisidealfor 3.5mm headphone jack. Sadly, you
improvement over with dynamic addingimmersionto won’t find an HDMI 2.1 cable in the
ten zones on the ness switched off, racing games box, and it’s worth pointing out that
Odyssey G9. This allows the the Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 although HDMI 2.1 is the gateway to
Neo G9 to reach blisteringly high covered 99.6% of the sRGB colour next-gen gaming, the PlayStation 5
luminance levels in localised areas – I gamut, and 91% of the DCI-P3 gamut. and Xbox Series X offer no super
measured 2,200cd/m² on a 10% white With dynamic brightness engaged, ultrawide support. It does, however,
window – which is what’s behind this the Neo G9 hit a stunning contrast have a hollow portion to run cables
monitor’s HDR2000 certification. ratio of 6,491:1. Clear evidence of the through, and you can control the
Anything you choose to play in HDR Mini LED backlight at work. BELOW Youcanraise colours to make the rear glow.
looks stunning. Star Wars Battlefront The default picture mode was the thedisplayby120mm Minor moans aside, the Neo G9 is
II was a particularly great example, most accurate: an average Delta E of andswivelit15°to the best HDR gaming monitor to date.
with dark passageways streaked with around two means that you’re reachtheports It’s also the first monitor to make
sunlight giving way to neon blaster exhale loudly through my nose
fire and gleaming lightsabers. er loading into a game. If you can
You’ll need to keep the Neo G9 in ord the astronomical price, the
Dynamic HDR mode for the highest sung Odyssey Neo G9 offers an
peak brightness. Standard HDR lleled gaming experience.
mode drops the maximum to around GEORGIADIS
1,100cd/m, so is a better choice for
dark rooms and late night gaming. SPECIFICATIONS
There are plenty more treats for 5,120 x 1,440 VA panel up to 240Hz
gamers, with a maximum refresh rate
of 240Hz, a grey-to-grey response 2-bitpanel(1.07billioncolours) HDR2000
time of 1ms and input lag of 2ms. It certification NvidiaG-Sync AMDFreeSync
even supports both Nvidia G-Sync
and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro. Pro 1msresponsetime
Sadly, my PC was never going to DisplayPort1.4 2xHDMI2.1 2xUSB-A3
manage 240fps at 5,120 x 1,440, but 20mmheightadjustment 30°swivel
3°/13°tilt 1,150x418x537-657mm(WDH)
4.5kg 2yrwarranty

63

fTorTaafhPsfdie-tsireLovsrisennt–rhkosaatalAntothirntloehceueWhbgoeuih-trtFhotieAnw6reXor’s9o5ua0GtlHeorzt

SCORE The des ABOVE separate
PRICE £167 (£200 inc VAT) friendly, however. It features only a antennas,theAX90 these into t ree different SSIDs.
from pcpro.link/325tplink single multicoloured status LED, onlyhasafootprint One of the router’s big distinctive
which isn’t ideal for troubleshooting of 311 x 207mm features is HomeShield. Don’t confuse
We don’t see many tri-band or checking the router status at a this with TP-Link’s extensive
Wi-Fi 6 routers. Thanks to glance. And the buttons for turning HomeCare security platform, which
the technological the Wi-Fi, LED and WPS functions until recently was included as a
improvements introduced in the on and off are located beneath the perpetually free service with most of
802.11ax wireless standard, a single router’s angled front, meaning they the company’s routers and meshes.
5GHz radio can service dozens of can only be accessed from below. HomeShield is a much less generous
clients at once without clogging up proposition, covering only basic
the airwaves, so there’s not much Setup and software network scanning, parental controls
need to pay a premium for a router RECOMMENDED and QoS capabilities – unless you pay
with two. As usual with TP-Link, you can set up
the router using either a web portal or $55 a year for HomeShield Pro, which
Yet there are still benefits to a the Tether mobile app. The latter is unlocks the full set of security
tri-band design. The extra bandwidth the easier option: I tried it on Android features, including active
can be useful for large households or and it let me simply scan the QR code g“iawnCnrosedonpa,n’eitntneeensedcotvbttWeeitcrotieyw-tdFaheiane6eyyrnrudioigsitfuehaft,teneySrdroSesutnI”hDcee malware blocking and
small offices with lots of computers on the underside of the router to time limits for kids’
all wanting to exchange data connect, then walked me through a devices. It’s disappointing
concurrently. Or, you can dedicate brief process of picking my internet when you consider what
one radio to a gaming rig or server, so and Wi-Fi settings. The router came before for free.
it can enjoy a full-speed connection rebooted to apply these, and within
with no need to share bandwidth. five minutes of my opening the box The final feature of
the AX90 was up and running. note is OneMesh, which
With the Archer AX90, TP-Link lets you team up the AX90 with other
has come up with a clever way to keep You can continue to use the Tether compatible TP-Link routers to create
the cost down. Instead of using two app for simple admin tasks, such as a range-extending mesh. If you only
matching 5GHz radios, the Archer checking the status of your network, need a small boost to your coverage, it
AX90 combines one 4.8Gbits/sec turning guest networks on or off, and will almost certainly be cheaper to
transmitter with a more modest browsing, blocking or prioritising BELOW There’sa buy a regular wireless repeater, but
1.2Gbits/sec one – plus, as always, a connected clients. You can also quintetofEthernet the mesh approach lets you centrally
legacy 2.4GHz transceiver– giving you enable band splitting: by default, the portsontherear,as manage everything from one console.
the versatility of a tri-band router for AX90’s three networks all broadcast well as one USB 2
less than some dual-band rivals. Advanced features
Advanced configuration must be
Physical design carried out from the web portal. Here,
you can adjust your DHCP and DNS
To cater for all of these radios, the settings, set up reserved IP addresses
body of the router is set around with and port forwarding. You can also
eight antennas, supporting 4x4 MIMO enable a built-in VPN server and
on both 5GHz radios and MU-MIMO configure outbound VPN connections
on the faster one. On the back, you’ll on a per-client basis. If you’ve signed
find five Ethernet ports – including, up with a third-party VPN service,
unusually, one that supports you can use this feature to send all
2.5Gbits/sec connections. More traffic from (say) your smart TV via a
accessible is the USB 3 socket on the US-based server, while everything
left-hand side, which else goes at full speed via your ISP. It’s
allows you to conveniently a great convenience I haven’t
hook up a storage device previously seen on a router.
and share files over the
network. A USB 2 port sits
at the rear.

Despite this, the
TP-Link Archer AX90 is
one of the smallest
tri-band routers I’ve
tested. Including the
aerials, its footprint
measures 311 x 207mm. It’s
a striking thing, with an
upturned snout and a
fanned pattern on the top.

64

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Reviews

Lastly, if you’ve plugged in a USB STUDY DOWNLOAD (MB/SEC) STUDY UPLOAD (MB/SEC)
storage device, here’s where you
can enable sharing: the AX90 can NNeigthgtehaarwk RAX120 63 RETTEB SI REHGIH ARTs-uAsX88U 41 RETTEB SI REHGIH
present the disk’s contents as an SMB RATs-uAsX88U 62 NNeigthgtehaarwk RAX120 39
network share, serve them up over TAPX-9L0in5kGAHrzc1h.e2rGb 61 ARTs-uAsX82U 33
FTP or make media files available for TAPX-9L0in5kGAHrzc4h.e8rGb 59 ATPX-9L0in5kGAHrzc1h.e2rGb 30
streaming over DLNA. Mac users can HRoountoerr 3 58 ATPX-9L0in5kGAHrzc4h.e8rGb 29
also use attached storage as a Time ARTs-uAsX82U 53 HRoountoerr 3 22
Machine backup destination. Neither
USB port supports printer sharing, LIVING ROOM DOWNLOAD (MB/SEC) LIVING ROOM UPLOAD (MB/SEC)
though, nor can you use a USB mobile
broadband adapter as a failover NNeigthgtehaarwk RAX120 63 RETTEB SI REHGIH ARTs-uAsX88U 41 RETTEB SI REHGIH
service in case your main internet RATs-uAsX88U 56 NNiegthgtehaarwk RAX120 36
connection goes down. ATPX-9L0in5kGAHrzc4h.e8rGb 52 ATPX-9L0in5kGAHrzc4h.e8rGb 27
ATPX-9L0in5kGAHrzc1h.e2rGb 52 ARTs-uAsX82U 26
Speed time RHRAToos-uunAstoeXrr832U 51 RHTAPooX-un9Lto0ienr5rkG3AHrzc1h.e2rGb 25
41 23
Not only do the AX90’s two 5GHz
radios claim different top speeds, BEDROOM DOWNLOAD (MB/SEC) BEDROOM UPLOAD (MB/SEC)
they use different frequency sub-
bands: the 4.8Gbits/sec radio operates TAARPTXs--u9LAs0iXn5k8G2AHUrzc4h.e8rGb 48RETTEB SI REHGIH NNARTsieg-utAhgstXeha8ar8wUk RAX120 25RETTEB SI REHGIH
in the 110-116 DFS channel range, NNiegthgtehaarwk RAX120 47 RATs-uAsX82U 23
while the 1.2Gbits/sec radio uses the ARTs-uAsX88U 47 TAPX-9L0in5kGAHrzc4h.e8rGb 23
standard 36-48 channel set. TAPX-9L0in5kGAHrzc1h.e2rGb 44 RHoountoerr 3
HRoountoerr 3 24 TAPX-9L0in5kGAHrzc1h.e2rGb 18
This means the slower radio will 18 13
probably experience more 11
interference from neighbouring
networks, and it doesn’t help that it’s KITCHEN DOWNLOAD (MB/SEC) KITCHEN UPLOAD (MB/SEC)
limited to an 80MHz channel width.
The 4.8Gbits/sec radio, by contrast, TAPX-9L0in5kGAHrzc4h.e8rGh 44RETTEB SI REHGIH NNiegthgtehaarwk RAX120 23RETTEB SI REHGIH
supports the wider 160MHz width, ARNNTsieg-utAhgstXeha8ar8wUk RAX120 42 RAARTTss--uuAAssXX8828UU 21
which often copes better with ARTs-uAsX82U 38 ATPX-9L0in5kGAHrzc4h.e8rGb
obstacles and interference. TAPX-9L0in5kGAHrzc1h.e2rGb 38 HRoountoerr 3 17
RHoountoerr 3 23 ATPX-9L0in5kGAHrzc1h.e2rGb 16
The effect of this was visible in my 19 16
real-world performance tests. As 11
usual, I set up the router in the study
of my home, and connected to it over The TP-Link also held its own LEFT Withitsblue What saves the AX90 is its
Wi-Fi 6 from my standard test laptop alongside Netgear’s tri-band “nose” and Art Deco performance. Just make sure you
– a 2020 HP Elite Dragonfly, with an Nighthawk RAX120 (see issue 318, esque fan, the AX90 connect to the right SSID and, in
integrated Intel AX200 2x2 MIMO p89), but it’s worth reiterating that certainly stands out everyday use, you won’t notice any
network 160MHz card. I then ambled the Netgear offers these speeds across difference in speed between it and the
around to various locations in my greatest, priciest Wi-Fi 6 routers.
home, and tested upload and radios.
download rates to a network share on You can say something similar for
a NAS appliance connected to the on time the £173 Asus RT-AX82U (see issue
router via Gigabit Ethernet. 318, p80). But for only £27 more the
AX90’s lopsided TP-Link Archer AX90 adds 2.5GbE
As you can see from the graphs, provision expandability, flexible per-client
the Archer AX90’s two radios both VPN routing and a whole extra radio,
performed excellently at short range means it isn’t as allowing you to be picky about which
(the living room is directly beneath versatile as other clients get into the wireless fast lane,
the study). Once I moved further tri-band routers without having to relegate low-
away, the difference between the two we’ve seen, but priority traffic to 2.4GHz speeds.
became very clear. that’s reflected in DARIEN GRAHAM-SMITH
radio kept up a solid SPECIFICATIONS
signal all around the price: the Tri-band 2.4GHz/5GHz/5GHz Wi-Fi 6 router
house, but transfer etgear Nighthawk 4.8Gbits/seconfirst5GHzradio 1.2Gbits/
speeds were only in seconsecond5GHzradio 574Mbits/secon
line with what I’d 20, for example, 2.4GHzradio quad-core1.5GHzprocessor
expect from a 90. Still, no 8xexternalantennae 2.5GbEport 4x
sub-£100 router. matter how you divide up the GigabitEthernetports USB-A3 USB-A2
bandwidth of the AX90, one device 311x207x174mm(WDH) 3yrwarranty
On the faster (or set of devices) is going to get a
band, however, the slower service. It’s disappointing too
Archer AX90 that you’ll have to pay a considerable
acquitted itself fee for TP-Link’s previously free
superbly. Upload network security offering.
speeds weren’t quite
swift as those from our
long-term favourite, the dual-band
Asus RT-AX88U (see issue 318, p86),
but download speeds compared very
favourably indeed. Considering the
AX90 is £75 cheaper, these are
excellent results.

65

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Reviews

TOrOveohnnrueeeynPfPidrlruelesusartssitnsohNoananoatf-abrcQnloduetmaa2plserc5tsioicGcmaeatmla- expansion, no This is accompanied by an 8MP (f/2.2)
dust and water ultrawide unit with a 120° field of
resistance rating view and a 2MP (f/2.5) mono camera
and no wireless that’s used solely for enhancing black
charging. and white shots. Both the main
Fortunately, cameras deliver pixel-binned 12MP
fast charging is images, as does the 32MP (f/2.45)
available via selfie camera.
OnePlus’ Warp Disappointingly, the Nord
Charge 65T, 2 misses out on the macro
which delivers a camera included with the
SCORE full charge in 29 original model, and I’m not at

PRICE8GB/128GB,£333(£399incVAT) minutes, and all convinced how much the
from oneplus.com/uk even comes with mono camera adds in its place.
T achargerinthe However, the two other
box. You also cameras (and in particular the
he OnePlus Nord 2 isn’t actually benefit from main camera) deliver detail-
the second Nord phone in the fingerprint login packed and well-judged shots. Most
OnePlus range, nor is it even via an in-screen impressively, I found that the Nord
the third or fourth. Following the reader on the 2’s camera was just as good as that of
success of the original, OnePlus went front of the the Google Pixel 4a (see issue 313,
to town, releasing the cheaper N100 phone, plus face p60) across many of my tests and, in
and N10 models and then the CE “Core unlock and Wi-Fi some circumstances, better. For
Edition” variant (see overleaf), 6 connectivity. instance, in both close-up and
making this the fifth Nord phone to be The Nord 2 is wide-angle shots of flowers, the Nord
released since the beginning of 2020. also able to boast 2 produced a more accurately focused
However, to dismiss it as just a feature many of its rivals cannot: ABOVE Itmightnot picture that was packed with details
another mid-range OnePlus would be dual 5G SIM card slots. How many matchtheverybest – two areas where the Pixel 4a’s
doing the Nord 2 a disservice, since people have two 5G SIMs they could phones, but the image misses out.
it’s a superb phone in its own right. put in it is a different matter. displayisajoytouse I’m not as keen on the “AI scene
The price is attractive, the specs solid optimiser”, as it tends to oversaturate
and it’s a far more interesting phone Punchy display and give colours a pastel hue. But, if
than you might expect. I can’t fault the Nord 2’s display. It’s you turn off AI and disable HDR, the
large at 6.43in across the diagonal, results look much more natural, and
Striking design utilises AMOLED for superior images are still packed full of details
The most noticeable thing about the contrast and colour vibrancy, and it and burst with colour.
design of the Nord 2 is its similarity to has a 90Hz refresh rate, so scrolling io1“Nt2Tvso0herp0redr-eMi2AcvheIeeadirbssiyrasaaoTochtegkhukoeegDotred”ipmathdheovannatsneitttihynaege Using Nightscape
the £829 OnePlus 9 Pro (see issue 321, and swiping around the OxygenOS
p68). Admittedly, from the front it 11.3 UI feels super smooth. mode, the Nord 2 even
looks like any other phone with its It can’t match the very best in the manages to pull off decent
all-flat, frame-filling display and business technically – sit it next to an low-light night shots,
hole-punch selfie camera in the top- iPhone 12 Pro and you’ll see the successfully enhancing
left corner, but flip it over and difference when watching Netflix or the stars even in tricky
street scenes. Sometimes
everything changes. The glossy Amazon Prime Video content – but you’ll find ghosting if you haven’t
Gorilla Glass rear is curved in all the it’s a superb screen for the price. held the camera still for long enough,
right places and, surprisingly, Peak brightness in auto mode but this is the first time on any
doesn’t pick up fingerprints reaches a readable level of 556cd/m² OnePlus phone that I’ve been able to
readily – although this in daylight conditions and, while say anything positive about
might be a consequence of playing back HDR content, I Nightscape, so we’re on the
the bright blue colour recorded highs of around right track.
distracting the eye in my 510cd/m². That beats last Where the Nord 2’s
“Blue Haze” sample. year’s Nord (see issue 313, camera falls short is its
A cursory glance p62) hands down. portrait mode. Although
around the edges of the OnePlus has finally it successfully identifies
Nord 2 reveals a few calmed down when it and isolates subjects, the
talking points. First, this comes to colour modes. amount of bokeh applied
phone brings back the So, instead of giving you to the background is far too
three-position alert slider four or even five modes to weak, and I couldn’t find a
switch, where the Nord CE select from, on this phone way to adjust it.
abandons it. This allows you only get two: Gentle Video is disappointing as
you to quickly swap (sRGB) and Vivid (Display P3). well. There’s no high frame rate
between “silent”, “vibrate” Colour accuracy in each mode is recording here and, bafflingly, no 4K
and “ring” modes without respectable, with the average Delta E ABOVE Photosare capability, either. All you get is 1080p
having to touch the screen colour variance coming in at 1.79 for packedwithdetail– at 30fps and, although stabilisation is
or even unlock the phone. Gentle and 2.19 for Vivid. eveninlowlightvia effective, the results are
Perfect for those moments OnePlus’Nightscape understandably soft when compared
when you need to quickly Versatile cameras with the Pixel 4a.
silence your phone. The main camera is a 50MP (f/1.88)
The second is less effort, using the same sensor found LEFT Thesidescurve Surprising speed
positive; there’s no 3.5mm on the OnePlus 9 Pro’s ultrawide
headphone jack. There’s camera but with a regular non- beautifullyandthe If the cameras are a mixed bag, the
also no microSD card ultrawide lens slapped on the front. GorillaGlassdoesn’t performance and battery life are
pickupmanysmudges anything but. Indeed, the MediaTek

68

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In benchmarks, too, the Nord 2
impresses. Only the iPhone SE and
the £340 Xiaomi Poco F3 (see issue
322, p68) are faster in this price range. GFXBENCH MANHATTAN 3 (offscreen, fps)

Its graphics performance is QOunaelcPolmums S9nPaprdoragon 888 159 RETTEB SI REHGIH
particularly eye-opening, as shown in AApppplelAe1i3PBhioonnice SE (2020) 155
the GFXBench Manhattan offscreen XQuiaalocommimPSoncaopdFr3agon870 132
test result to the right.
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Overall, the Nord 2 delivers a QOunaelcPolmums SNnoarpddrCagEon 750G
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might add – but it also should ensure
the phone stays responsive for many
years to come. BATTERY LIFE (video-rundown test)

Even our battery life test, which QOunaelcPolmums SNnoarpddrCagEon 750G 24hrs 43minsRETTEB SI REHGIH
in the past we’ve seen MediaTek- OMendeiaPTleuksDNimoerndsit2y1200-AI 22hrs 26mins
driven phones fail miserably at, was QXuiaalocommimPSoncaopdFr3agon870 21hrs 19mins
dispatched with nonchalant ease. The
Nord 2’s 4,500mAh battery helped it GQuoaolcgolmemPSixnaepld4raagon730G
last 22hrs 26mins. That’s not as long OQunaelcPolmums S9nPaprdoragon 888 18hrs 43mins
as the Nord CE 5G, which reached AApppplelAe1i3PBhioonnice SE(2020) 17hrs 18mins
24hrs 43mins, but it outlasted the 11hrs 35mins
Pixel 4a by nearly four hours and
almost doubled the iPhone SE’s
woeful 11hrs 35mins result.
all-rounder for its price - whether
Clear verdict you buy the £399 version with 8GB of
All of which contributes to what is a RAM and 128GB of storage, or opt for
highly positive overall picture for the the 16GB/256GB version for £469. If
OnePlus Nord 2. It isn’t perfect, of you’re not too bothered about 4K
course: there’s no wireless charging, video or bokeh portraits, then you
microSD card slot or IP rating, and can’t go wrong with this phone.
video capture is restricted to a JONATHAN BRAY
disappointing 1080p at 30fps, but the
Nord 2 easily hits back in other ways. SPECIFICATIONS
Crucially, it’s quicker than most 8-core3GHz/2.6GHz/2GHzMediaTek
other Android phones at this price, Dimensity1200-AI5Gchipset 8GB/12GB
battery life is also very good and its RAM Mali-G77MC9graphics 6.43in
stills photography capabilities are AMOLEDscreen,1,080x2,400resolution
excellent. The AMOLED screen also 128GB/256GBstorage triple50MP/8MP/
delivers sumptuous imagery, whether 2MPrearcameras 32MPfrontcamera
you’re browsing the web or binge- Wi-Fi6 Bluetooth5.2 NFC USB-C
watching Loki on Disney+. 4,500mAhbattery Android11/OxygenOS11.3
On balance, that makes the 73x8.3x159mm(WDH) 189g 2yrRTB
OnePlus Nord 2 5G a fantastic warranty via oneplus.com

Reviews FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO

iOcgAtarnmbemeraaiePtlrribrlaauianeaststtnNbegdruooayyorlldfoidofvleroCe,otlaEyhkcesd5aipwGsprpaiitlcbhaelye, ) ultrawide camera with a 119°
of view, and a 2MP mono camera
SCORE elp out with black-and-white
PRICE 8GB/128GB, £249 (£299 inc VAT) es. It lacks the macro camera of
from oneplus.com/uk original Nord, doesn’t have
ptical image stabilisation and the
Nord is OnePlus’ budget brand, ront camera is half the resolution,
and whilst the Nord 2 (see but I’d argue that the 16MP
p68) sits at the top end of the on offer here is plenty.
range, the CE “Core Edition” targets I’m not complaining. Even
those with less to spend. That doesn’t placed side by side against
mean it lacks appealing features. the Google Pixel 4a (see issue
313, p60), it mostly holds
Top of the list is its 90Hz 6.43in its own, especially in good
AMOLED screen, which delivers light conditions. The main
vibrant images that are a match for camera captures detailed
any phone in its price bracket. nd colour-packed images, and the
Brightness peaks at a solid 400cd/m², awide camera is useful for taking
and colour accuracy in Natural os of large groups of people or
(sRGB) mode is excellent. You can’t atic landscapes. As with the
expect such accuracy in its most lurid rd 2, it lags behind the Pixel 4a for
mode, AMOLED Wide Gamut, where t shots, blurring the
the panel covers 114% of the DCI-P3 ound only a little and
colour space. It’s an excellent display. to a wide angle view that
kes it tricky to fill the frame with
The Nord CE looks pretty good subject.
with the screen off, too. You have a Oddly, even without the
choice of “void blue” or “charcoal ssistance of the depth camera, the
ink” (black) for the base model with 6MP front camera makes a far better
8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, of portraits, competing manfully
while the £369 12GB/256GB variant with the Pixel 4a’s selfie
coming in “silver ray”. I was sent the amera. Google’s phone is still better,
blue model for review and it’s only by a fraction, and the sole
surprisingly attractive for a phone intment was the Nord CE’s
built entirely from plastic. The rear That will also buy you a faster ABOVE The6.43in low-light Nightscape mode. This is a
of the phone is subtly curved at the processor, with OnePlus opting for a AMOLEDisbright poor relation to the Pixel’s excellent
edges, and the blue colouring fades Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G chip andvibrant–asisthe Night Sight mode, producing
off to a metallic purple as the here. On paper, it’s clocked slower metallic-effectrear photographs that look overprocessed
rear panel meets the than the Snapdragon 765G in the and oversaturated.
chrome-effect frame. original Nord (2.2GHz vs 2.4GHz) but, At least the Nord CE’s video
With a matte finish in practice, the two proved neck and recording mode is decent, using
that successfully neck in Geekbench 5. When it comes electronic image stabilisation to
keeps fingerprints at to graphics performance, however, capture stable 4K footage
bay, this is a very the Nord CE takes a 10fps hit in “mboTuyohtmrleaeoNsertofeifnrtidgchiCtaehnEnefptoorhuroairvnghedinodsauetlrhtN,seoinrd at 30fps. Overall, the
nice-looking thing. GFXBench’s onscreen Manhattan 3 our video-rundown test” cameras are what you
would expect at this price:
It’s slim, test compared to the Nord. not exceptional, but
measuring 74 x 159 x That’s because the 750G perfectly acceptable.
7.9mm, and weighs a has Adreno 619 graphics
mere 170g; that’s 0.3mm in tow where the 765G And that is the theme
thinner and 15g lighter includes an Adreno of my verdict on the Nord
than the first Nord (see issue 620 chip. CE. For the money, it’s perfectly good.
313, p62). There’s dual-SIM support, On the plus side, Performance is solid, the display is
too, although there’s no microSD the Nord CE proved excellent, the camera delivers crisp,
expansion. The under-screen the more efficient well-exposed photos in most
fingerprint reader works well and it handset, outlasting LEFT Thenumber circumstances and the battery life is
also comes with a 3.5mm headphone the original Nord by ofcamerashasbeen superb. The Nord CE may not have the
jack – a feature the first Nord phone more than four hours reducedtothree,but star quality of its more expensive
ditched. There are missing featu in our video-rundown test thequalityisstillhigh siblings, but it’s a fine handset in its
no rating for dust or water ingress own right. JONATHANBRAY
protection, no Gorilla Glass and no with an outstanding time of
sign of the OnePlus three-position 24hrs 43mins. That’s the twelfth SPECIFICATIONS
do-not-disturb switch. You have best result we have ever seen from 8-core 2.2GHz/1.8GHz Qualcomm
move up to the Nord 2 if you’re any smartphone. BELOW Thematte Snapdragon750G5Gchipset 8GB/12GB
desperate for that convenience. finishprovedeffective RAM Adreno 619graphics 6.43in90Hz
Another area OnePlus cuts back is atkeepinggreasy AMOLEDscreen,1,080x2,400resolution
the camera lineup. Instead of four
cameras on the rear, we have three: a storage triple64MP/8MP/
ameras 16MPfrontcamera
ack Wi-Fi5 Bluetooth5.1
USB-C 4,500mAhbattery

11/OxygenOS11.3 74x
7.9x159mm(WDH) 170g 2yr
RTB warranty via oneplus.com

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from vive.com/uk

Virtual reality is a Peter Pan
technology: it never seems
grow up. While the first
generations of VR headsets were
initially impressive, the “wow”
quickly faded and wider adoption
been hampered by several key
These include awkward setup, a hygiene. Both they and the battery headsetyet–andit’s Those are impressive numbers
limited number of apps, and the need packs are magnetically attached, and comfortabletoo and, in practice, the screen looks
to be tethered to a bulky PC – unless removing them is simplicity itself. So noticeably sharper than previous
you’re willing to accept a significant much so, in fact, that I often iterations. In-app text is easier to
drop in performance and quality. accidentally knocked them loose read, smaller details are easier to pick
HTC has been doing its level best when handling the Focus 3 – although out and the overall visuals are
to change that, however. Unlike since they clip straight back on again, smoother and more expansive. For
Facebook’s Oculus Quest headsets, this isn’t really an issue. practical purposes, this will be a
which have taken a more consumer- The headset itself is easy to get on differentiator for anyone wanting to
friendly approach, HTC’s Vive family and off, with a quick-release catch at RECOMMENDED use VR for design or prototyping
has its sights set on the high-end the back to loosen the fit, and an work, but it also makes using
“prosumer” and business market. We adjustment knob to tighten it, both the Focus 3 more pleasant across
gave the Vive Pro 2 (see issue 324, p46) of which are easy to operate with the the board.
a cautious welcome last month, but headset on. As with all of HTC’s
this time it’s the turn of the Vive Focus recent headsets, it can be used with The specs’ specs
3: a standalone enterprise VR headset. glasses, but I found it easy to over- Built on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon
tighten the fit, which made my XR2 platform, the Focus 3 promises
Third-gen improvements spectacles dig uncomfortably into the impressive performance – and it
The most significant improvements bridge of my nose. delivers. The headset can
from previous iterations of the Focus “bAusniontehsesrekseisytphoastiwtivheefnotrhe run graphically complex
come in the form of its design. VR Sight to see VR apps with no trouble,
headsets – particularly standalone One more point of importance, albeit cibthaotautretgrfeoydrdbaiaentsot,teyhroeyurocfnauntllhysewfalyp” and I saw no stuttering,
units that require onboard compute purely aesthetic, is that it looks a lot lag or slowdown. That’s
hardware – have typically been bulky less silly than HTC’s previous partly due to the Focus 3’s
and uncomfortable affairs, but the headsets. The black colour scheme is active cooling system,
Focus 3 bucks this trend. The visor is not only much more sophisticated which uses a combination
noticeably more compact than its than the white Focus Plus, it helps of heatpipes and fans to keep the
predecessor, the Vive Focus Plus, and hide the lenses that stud the visor to silicon from overheating.
it’s more comfortable to wear for support its inside-out tracking. While These fans kick in during most
extended periods without getting units such as the Vive Pro 2 have a operations, but they’re not loud
physically tiring. vaguely insectile air about them – or, enough to be distracting and work
This is in spite of the fact that, at in the case of the Focus Plus, the look admirably well for maintaining
785g, it’s around 100g heavier than of a pair of googly eyes stuck to the stable performance across the board.
the HTC Vive Focus Plus; the trick is front of your visor – the Focus 3 looks Even the PC-streaming feature –
that the weight has been distributed appealingly sleek and futuristic. which I will cover in more detail
more evenly between the front The screen has also seen big BELOW Aswiththe shortly – managed to keep a solid and
and back of the headset, via a battery improvements. It uses a pair headset,chargingthe consistent frame rate.
pack at the rear, which provides of 2.88in LCD panels, controllers via Of course, all of this performance
a counterweight. each with a USB-Ciseasy has to take its toll somewhere, and
Another key positive for resolution of 2,448 the battery life isn’t lengthy. After
businesses is that when the battery x 2,448. That roughly an hour of use, the
dies, you can swap it out for another translates to a 5K Focus 3 lost a third of its
fully charged battery on the fly. If resolution across charge; if you started
you’re doing a long day of demos or both eyes, and HTC using it at 9am, I’d be
workshops, the last thing you want to has also bumped up the surprised if it lasted
do is set aside hours to periodically field of view to 120° and past lunchtime. Each
recharge the entire headset. boosted the refresh rate to battery includes a handy
The gaskets around the edge of the 90Hz. That’s up from 110° and indicator so you can see how
visor are also removable, allowing 75Hz on the Focus Plus and much charge is left.

72

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On the other hand, this isn’t a selection available on the Vive
headset that’s designed for all-day Business App Store is extremely
use, and outside of demo experiences limited, with a few too many
you’re unlikely to need that much gimmicky “experiences” that are
continual use. Besides, this is where more akin to theme park simulator
the swappable batteries come into rides than useful business tools. That
play. You’ll have to buy additional said, there has been improvement. I
batteries and charging cradles (prices found a handful of genuinely useful
are yet to be confirmed). enterprise apps, including conflict
Charging the headset itself is nice resolution simulations, hazard
and convenient, with a single cable awareness training, a handful of
going into the device and it takes less desktop virtualisation programmes
than two hours to fully power the and HTC’s excellent Vive Sync app for
unit. Even better, the Focus 3’s two virtual conference calls.
rechargeable controllers don’t These improvements don’t extend
require a separate power socket. The to the store user interface, which is
headset comes bundled with a still clunky and awful, and only
double-headed USB-C cable; one end allows you to browse available apps
goes into the USB-C port on the rather than install them. To do that,
headset’s right-hand side, and the you have to head to the web store on a
two split ends go into the controllers smartphone or PC, find the app you
– both of which also feature LED want (and pay for it, in many cases)
battery indicators. It’s a clever and then put the headset back on, head
convenient solution. to your library and download it ABOVE Stepoutside hardware – particularly with remote
from there. oftheboundaryand working now firmly entrenched – it’s
Features galore It’s an arcane and obtuse process, you’llautomatically just not relevant to a large proportion
The Focus 3 is packed with similar but fortunately many business users entertherealworld of organisations.
quality-of-life improvements, one of can bypass it thanks to the For those that do need it, however,
which is the boundary system. If you management tools that HTC provides. HTC’s Vive Focus 3 is a generational
start to stray outside the defined These allow IT admins to manage a leap forward. The specs and
usage area, a wireframe boundary fleet of headsets, including tracking performance are powerful enough
appears; once you cross the threshold, and locating devices, and updating to keep up with demanding apps, the
it uses the passthrough feature their firmware. It’s also compatible display looks breathtaking and for
(which feeds footage from the with third-party Android Enterprise when you need extra
external tracking cameras to the MDM solutions. These “VWivehaFtorceuasl3lyaspeatrsttihsethe grunt, the PC-streaming
screen) to effectively management tools can be used feature is genuinely
create a portal into the to remotely load apps cainhrirotaiscyceoosfntsshmtartauHrctTtdiCoehnsa”igsnmade astonishing.
real world. onto the headset. What really sets this
Alternatively, you
Elsewhere, the can use the device apart, however,
audio deserves microSD card is the array of smart
special mention. design choices that HTC
The Focus 3 uses slot to install has made in its construction. The
open-backed them, as well removable battery packs and gaskets
dual-driver as expanding are a stroke of genius, and it’s the
speakers built the Focus 3’s most comfortable VR headset I’ve
into the storage beyond worn by a country mile. Add neat
headband, as its 128GB charging options and intelligent noise
opposed to capacity. cancelling, and you’ve got a
headphones, If the apps LEFT Yougeta5K transformative package.
and they’re clear you need to use resolutionacrossboth At £1,060 before tax, this isn’t an
and high-quality. are PC-based, eyesandthere’snowa investment that you’ll be making
They’re also great at however, there’s 120°fieldofview lightly. That’s before you factor in the
delivering 3D spatial sound another option, which is the PC cost of additional battery packs. And I
for added immersion. Where they Streaming app. This essentially uses a still can’t believe how unintuitive the
really excel, though, is the “Audio PC on your network to host a VR app, app store is when compared with the
privacy” feature. and then streams it to your headset, polish of the actual headset. Despite
This is designed to help stop people either wirelessly or via a USB-C cable. the cost and the niggles, however, this
around you from listening in to This works very well, streaming headset is a must-have for any
whatever may be happening in your demanding VR content from my PC to organisation that’s considering VR.
virtual environment – a sensitive my headset wirelessly with a minimal The technology might not have fully
meeting, perhaps, or confidential amount of stuttering and dropped grown up yet, but the Vive Focus 3
training. It uses the same principle as frames. It’s not ideal for anything shows that it’s no longer a childish
active noise cancelling on high-end requiring absolute precision, but as a novelty. ADAMSHEPHERD
headphones, but turned outwards, method for increasing the Focus 3’s
and works very well; it’s genuinely versatility, it’s superb. SPECIFICATIONS
difficult to hear what’s happening 90Hz4,896x2,448LCD Qualcomm
within the headset, even when you’re Tap to buy? SnapdragonXR2processor 8GBRAM
right next to whoever’s using it. There’s no question that virtual 128GBstorage microSDcardslot 4x
reality remains a long way away trackingcameras G-sensor gyroscope
App limitations from being a universally applicable proximitysensor Wi-Fi6 Bluetooth5.2
The biggest issue is still the app store; technology. While there are an 26.6Whbattery 2x6DoFhandheld
as with almost all VR platforms, the increasing number of use cases for the controllers 785g 1yrwarranty

73

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WDwsnAueehipteelihpdglbohWUtcrh-laiqtten,murdbeaaoxulWSwitttryhdsaBo4aHp7Kyrei0xoplweu2ole2srlboe?cgaailnmy sharpness, contrast and saturation.
Handily, once you’ve arrived at your
ideal setup – I found all the default
presets to be oversaturated – you can
save your preferences as a preset.

That’s not all, though. Via the
app, you can also apply HDR to the
image, which balances out areas of
light and dark nicely, and adjust the
field of view. For the latter, you can
select between 65°, 78° and 90°,
adjust the zoom by hand using a
slider, or choose “AI Auto Framing”,
SCORE which detects your face and then

PRICE £150 (£180 inc VAT) keeps it centred automatically.
from dell.co.uk In testing, the tracking worked
well, following my face smoothly and
4K webcams such as the Dell reliably. There’s a small delay of
UltraSharp aren’t common, and around a second before the frame
there’s a good reason why. For moves, but no sign of distracting
hunting back and forth as I saw
most people, a 1080p webcam is good occasionally with the Anker
enough; although it sounds attractive PowerConf C300.
on paper, the vast majority of us don’t Obviously, I’d like to see an
need 4K. Still, the extra pixels give integrated microphone (how much
you flexibility to crop more closely would it have cost Dell to stick one
into the frame without losing quality in?), but there are a couple of other
and, if you harbour ambitions to irritations. The first is that the
become a YouTube celebrity, the monitor clip doesn’t offer much in
more pixels you have at your disposal, the cable you’ll have difficulty ABOVE Themetaland the way of positional flexibility. You
the better. finding another that fits. Among the glassconstructionis can tweak the vertical angle by tilting
The other reason you might want webcam’s other key features is classy–asyouwould the webcam back and forth but
to pause before investing in a 4K support for Windows Hello facial expectforthisprice there’s no horizontal tilt or swivel
webcam such as the UltraSharp is the recognition login, which is quick adjustment, which seems
price, because cameras like these and reliable. “raTenahslwelybenirge,qefoudre4smKti?oosTnthipsee:sodhpoolyero,tuis bizarre on a webcam
tend to be much more expensive than There is one major feature missing, nfoor. Avi4dKeowceabllcsa”m is overkill this pricey.
their 1080p counterparts. The however: the UltraSharp has
UltraSharp will set you no built-in microphone. The second is the
back £180, and its We would always privacy cover, which
main rival, the recommend that instead of being integrated
Logitech Brio (see you use a into the unit is a separate,
issue 273, p71), is dedicated USB magnetically attachable
disc. Let’s face it, you’re
similarly microphone or LEFT Themonitor going to put this down at some point
expensive. The a headset for standissolid,but and forget where you had it last, at
best 1080p your calls, there’snotiltor which point your webcam loses its
webcams but it’s always swiveladjustment… privacy shutter. Not great.
we’ve tested, nice to have a The Dell UltraSharp delivers
on the other built-in high levels of image quality for a
hand – such as microphone for BELOW …although webcam and it’s one of the few that
the Anker emergency use. switchingbetweenit also supports Windows Hello facial
PowerConf C300 With a Sony andthesupplied recognition. The big question is: do
(see issue 324, p70) Starvis CMOS sensor tripodisacinch you really need 4K? The short answer,
and the AVerMedia sitting behind the for most pe ple, is no. A 4K webcam
PW315 (see issue 321, p72) UltraSharp’s autofo lens, is overkill f r video calls – in fact,
– tend to cost £100 or less. picture quality is, as you might most services don’t currently support
The UltraSharp includes a few expect, excellent. Video is cap red at 4K – and a ecent 1080p camera such
more extras, however. Aside from 3,840 x 2,160 at up to 30fps wit a as the Anker PowerConf C300 or
being incredibly solidly made – the default field of view of 90°, and he mid-range ogitechs will serve you
barrel is constructed from metal and image looks crisp and detailed. t’s perfectly w ll.
both the lens and its protective good in low light, too, and altho gh The onl reason you might want to
element are made from glass – it noise creeps in when the lights re splash out i if you like the idea of
comes supplied with a monitor dimmed it’s not particularly being able to digitally zoom in to keep
mount and a separate tripod adapter. distracting, even when the e the frame c ear of messy clutter;
Each of these is also made of metal is cropped. otherwise, ust stick with 1080p.
and docks neatly into a rectangular, The default colour balance i ’t JONATHAN BRAY
magnetic cavity on the webcam’s great, lending skin tones an ove ly
underside, making it easy to swap pink hue, but the accompany Dell SPECIFICATIONS
between the two. The webcam itself Peripheral Manager app gives u the 4KSonySta visCMOSsensor 4K
comes with a 2m cable. This isn’t option to tweak things. There’s streamingat30fps 1,920x1,080
captive but, since the port on the selection of presets to choose m streami gat60fps 65°/78°/90°fieldof
camera is inset, it might as well (Default, Smooth, Vibrant or rm), view 2x70x42mm(WDH) 112g
be – take note because if you lose plus the ability to adjust bri ess, (cam raonly) 3yrlimitedwarranty

74

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iqtTDnhureeoacutTlesihtrnteyutrTfsiomrtareTxastagohpxeneeoacmnQntQsoHdnHDaeDuydi,sibobuatsic For a £70 webcam, I’d expect
some kind of added software,
which would allow for a
reasonable degree of customisation,
Image altering the field of view, sharpness,
quality is contrast or colour. However, the
pretty good. Taxon is as basic as webcams get and
The Taxon there’s no way of adjusting the image
delivers an other than tweaks you may be able to
obvious make via your video-calling
advantage over most cheap platform of choice.
SCORE 1080p webcams, with detailed It’s also frustrating that, when

PRICE £58 (£70 inc VAT) video for calls and colours that the privacy shutter is in place, the
from pcpro.link/325trust are well balanced and natural. I LED doesn’t change colour and
like its 80° field of view as well: the microphone isn’t muted. In
The Taxon QHD sits at the top of it’s just wide enough to allow fact, it’s quite difficult to tell if the
Trust’s range of basic webcams one or two others to join a privacy shutter is in place or not,
and offers 2K streaming for video call without being other than the fact there’s no video
so wide you look tiny in being streamed from the camera.
£70. Whilst Trust doesn’t match the the frame. Overall, it’s a decent offering for
bundled tripod stand of the Dell The microphones £70 and not many other webcams
opposite, I’m not complaining about pick up your voice offer 2K resolution capture for such
the captive 1.8m USB cable or the clearly, with a slightly little money. If you have more cash to
versatile hinged stand. This can be darker tone than most burn, however, consider the Anker
mounted to the top of your monitor or cheap webcams. For the best PowerConf C300 (see issue 324, p70)
laptop screen, placed flat on a desk or quality, I would always recommend ABOVE There’sa or the AVerMedia PW315 (see issue
screwed directly onto a tripod. a dedicated microphone, but you privacyshutterandan 321, p72), both of which boast more
The camera captures video at won’t have any problems being LEDglowsgreenwhen advanced features and better image
2,560 x 1,440 at 30fps, so it’s more heard if you choose to stick to the you’re filming quality. JONATHANBRAY
advanced than the cheapest 720p and integrated mic. The privacy shield
1080p cameras. Add a pair of stereo also works well: you simply slide a SPECIFICATIONS
microphones and a built-in privacy switch across to block the lens. A 2,560x1,440streamingat30fps 80°fieldof
shield and you have a strong selection small LED glows green when the view 90x65x50mm(WDH) 127g(camera
of physical features for the price. camera is active. only) 1yrlimitedwarranty

75

WORRIKPPSINTAGTYIAORNNSSTWPSCHOEOERRNYPFOTOUEEUUCTNGCTTTHAEFRCNNORIRODGEFYEOACOTRTHIUOIDOERUENMSDWSEETHYMAESITSACITTNEHEISNDMITSGSS

76

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Labs Workstations

Intel must be worried. Every year that we only has quad-channel, and Ryzen merely CONTENTS
pull together a selection of professional dual-channel. The Threadripper Pro also
workstations for group testing, more of borrows security features from AMD’s ArmariMagnetarM64TP-AW1200G3 ......84
them have AMD’s processors and fewer server-focused EPYC processor. InterProIPW-R9 .............................................85
Intel’s. This time round, not one of the Scan3XSGWP-MEA1-48T ......................86
systems sent for review has an Intel CPU However, while AMD has a monopoly on Workstation Specialists WS-1640A-G4....... 87
onboard. We’re sure that Intel will fight back workstation CPUs, the company still can’t ArmariGravistarR-AD750EX .......................88
soon – see “When will Intel make a comeback?” break Nvidia’s hold on workstation GPUs. All RCThXillbAl4a0st0F0u..s..i.o..n...R...y.z..e...n...R..e..n...d..e..r.......................88
on p89 – but, for now, AMD has the professional but one of this month’s systems use a flavour of RCThXillbAl5a0st0F0u.s..i.o..n...R..i.p...p..e..r...R..e...n..d..e...r.................... 90
workstation market sewn up. Nvidia’s latest Ampere generation of Quadro PCSpecialistOnyx3000................................ 90
RTX cards. The one outlier has the very latest PCSpecialist Onyx 8000.................................92
That doesn’t mean that this month’s labs AMD Radeon Pro, the W6800. Our tests reveal Scan 3XS GWP-ME A1-24R .............................92
test consists of ten identical systems. In fact, whether it can show stiffer competition than iBnuayewro’srkgsutiadtei:oSnix...t.h...i.n..g..s...t..o...lo...o..k...f.o...r...............78
the variety is still huge. We set two price points previous Radeon Pro generations. Howwetest:Theresultsin14graphs......... 80
– £3,000 and £8,000 inc VAT – and have Feature table ....................................................82
machines boasting from 12 to 64 cores, taken Amazingly, you can now buy a 24-core When will Intel make a comeback? ..............89
from AMD’s Ryzen and Ryzen Threadripper workstation for £3,000 inc VAT, and £8,000 Graphs...............................................................92
ranges. This Labs offers us our first taste of will furnish you with more power than we can View from the Labs..........................................93
AMD’s new Ryzen Threadripper Pro, which is put into words. Whichever of our two budgets
designed to go head-to-head with Intel Xeon you aim for, you’ll enjoy incredible performance
workstation processors. One of the main for every content creation, engineering or
features of this new range is eight-channel design task. Read on to find your perfect
memory, where the non-Pro Threadripper creative computing companion.
CONTRIBUTOR: James Morris

77

tBoulyoeork’sfogruiidnea:wsioxrthkisntgastion
It’s tempting to shout for more, more, more when specifying a workstation, but if you’re
on a budget then you need to focus your cash where it makes the most difference

Aworkstation aimed at content ABOVE Consumer- rendering that will take advantage of RAM means you can have more tasks
creation and other high-end gradegraphicscards lots of cores, you don’t need to spend operating at once – such as a
3D-focused activities is the canhandletaskssuch the extra money for a processor with background render whilst you carry
pinnacle of PC performance. It as game design a high core density, but if you do, you on with design work. All but one
warrants the very best components at won’t lose anything for single- system this month has opted for more
every level – fast CPU with as many threaded applications than 32GB for this reason. We would
cores as possible, lots of RAM, 4ml“haWiKreggmhvhei-eodr3nreeDyyosoo,mrhlueuoa’artdvlieleoiynldnshge,pelaohollproitnssetg”odoswiftaiinntghd that prefer faster clock recommend 64GB.
high-end professional graphics, and frequencies by opting for
speedy, capacious storage. But few a processor with more The speed of the memory is
buyers can afford the best possible cores. Even the 64-core important, but the frequency of an
components in every category, so Threadripper 3990x has a individual DIMM will be massively
here are the main six features to 4.3GHz turbo mode. outweighed by the number of
consider when specifying your Unfortunately for Intel, channels, and all the current AMD
perfect workstation. right now you will get a lot more for processor contenders support
BELOW AMD’sRyzen your money with an AMD processor. 3,200MHz memory as standard. The
1.Processor 9 processors mean AMD Ryzen 9 offers dual-channel
you don’t have to fork 2.Memory memory, but the Ryzen Threadripper
Whatever kind of content creation outforaThreadripper These days, a bare minimum of 32GB ups this to quad-channel, while the
work you do, you will benefit from as of memory should be specified for a Ryzen Threadripper Pro offers eight-
many cores as you can afford. workstation. But all channel memory. For applications
Luckily, these days more cores don’t content-creation that really need fast memory, you will
mean taking a hit on single-core applications love get a benefit here. For example, video
frequency, thanks to turbo modes memory, so the more encoding will receive a notable boost.
bumping up individual cores when you have, the better.
the rest aren’t being highly utilised. When you’re dealing 3.Graphicsacceleration
With the arrival of the AMD Ryzen 9, with large 3D models, or
you also don’t need the expense of the editing high-resolution You might be tempted to opt for
AMD Ryzen Threadripper platform photos and 4K video, consumer-grade graphics, looking at
for 12 or 16 cores: the Ryzen 9 5900X having lots of memory the difference in price compared to
and 5950X provide these core counts really helps. More of the professional-grade GPUs. For some
respectively. The Ryzen 9 lacks some content you’re working content-creation tasks, such as game
of the features of the Threadripper, on can be held in main design, this might make sense. Both
primarily because it only offers RAM, so your workflow 3ds Max and Maya run well with
dual-channel memory. But with the will be faster. With a consumer-grade graphics too.
5900X delivering a base 3.7GHz clock system sporting lots of However, there are certain
and 4.8GHz boost, while the 5950X cores, a large amount of applications where this is a false
provides 3.4GHz and 4.9GHz, these economy. Engineering software,
are potent and flexible processors. particularly Siemens NX, runs much

If you want more than 16 cores,
meet the Ryzen Threadripper. The 16-
core version has been discontinued in
favour of the Ryzen 9 5950X, but with
24, 32, and 64-core versions, there are
Threadripper core
counts for every budget.
AMD has yet another
option, two examples of
which we see this
month: the Threadripper
Pro. This provides
higher memory
bandwidth and a higher
maximum allocation
alongside hardware
security, making it the
platform of choice for
the high end of content
creation or scientific
visualisation workloads.

If you don’t plan on
doing frequent

78

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Labs Workstations

RIGHT Thedaysofharddisksinworkstations
are coming to an end

more smoothly with professional o see a boot SSD and throughput, faster random access and
graphics acceleration. You will also ard disk lower power consumption, as well as
miss out on professional levels of iguration from produce less noise.
support if you encounter a problem. most workstations,
but times have 5.Chassis
Although AMD keeps improving changed (see “View
the performance of its professional from the Labs” on Another benefit of the rise of SSDs
graphics, it isn’t having as much p93). It helps that the is that there’s now less need for large
success here as it has been in the cost of SSDs is chassis with lots of drive bays, but
consumer-grade gaming market. All dropping faster than you’re still better off having a few
but one manufacturer this month has hard disks: at the time of the latter in case you need to
opted for Nvidia’s latest Ampere- our last workstation expand storage.
based Quadros. These are hugely a 4TB SATA SSD was
powerful cards that raise the bar still now it’s more like Another reason to specify a
further in performance and memory TB hard disk is reasonably sized chassis is processor
capacity. The Quadro RTX A4000 ABOVE High-end barely any cheaper. cooling. The AMD Ryzen
doubles memory from 8GB of GDDR6 components eat up If you don’t need to work with Threadripper has a feature called
in the RTX 4000 to 16GB, and more power–you’llneedat really huge assets such as video, a Precision Boost Overdrive, which
than doubles CUDA cores from 2,304 leasta650WPSU 1TB of 2TB NVMe-based drive for means that you can have more cores
to 6,144. Memory bandwidth has operating system, applications and running at a higher frequency at the
increased slightly from 416GB/sec to assets could be enough. Also, in our same time with better cooling.
448GB/sec. last Labs, AMD had Although one or two manufacturers
ww“pcAhriioaltwlhscgseateishtstesrbtorehir-egec–1eom2yno0oooliusmuntgngmohesuefyftadosonrtafsetymhoisu”r introduced support for this month have opted for powerful
The Nvidia PCI Express 4, including air cooling in their workstations, a
A5000 is a simil NVMe drives, and water-cooling system with three
huge upgrade although these cost more 120mm fans will get the most out of
over the they are currently twice your processor – and you need a
RTX 5000, with as quick as their PCI chassis big enough for this.
24GB of GDDR6 Express 3 alternatives (see
memory instead our guide to PCI Express on p42). If 6.Powersupply
of 16GB, BELOW Nvidia’s you need more capacity, it’s still just
improving QuadroRTXA6000 about viable to consider a High-performance components also
bandwidth from GPUhasavast48GB conventional hard disk, but a SATA draw lots of watts, which is why you
448GB/sec to ofGDDR6memory SSD will provide twice the sustained need a top-quality supply with a
768GB/sec. The workstation. A 650W PSU is a bare
number of CUDA c minimum, and most manufacturers
has burgeoned in this month’s Labs have gone for
to 8,192. Finally, t 750W, 850W or even more.
Quadro RTX A600
been supplied by one manufacturer Although a nominal power budget
this month, sports a whopping 48GB for a set of components might fit into
of GDDR6 memory, where the a supply’s rating, you need to
previous RTX 6000 “only” had 24GB. remember that no supply is 100%
Bandwidth is the same 768GB/sec as efficient, and there may also be spikes
the A5000, up from 672GB/sec. in consumption. That means you
There’s a huge leap in CUDA cores will want plenty of headroom to cope
again, though, with 10,752 for the with this, because otherwise your
Quadro RTX A6000 versus 4,608 for computer could become unstable.
its predecessor, and the higher-end Choosing a supply with at least 80
RTX 8000. Plus Gold efficiency will also ensure
minimal power wastage from the
Every single one of these cards PSU itself.
will deliver smooth everyday
professional 3D performance. Your
main reasons to go beyond the Nvidia
Quadro RTX A4000 is if you need
even more than 16GB of frame buffer
or will be making extensive use of
GPU-accelerated rendering.

79

Howwetest
Powerful machines demand powerful tests. We put each of the workstations through
a demanding suite of benchmarks to find the best option in each task

W e wanted to give the broadest Creo, Siemens NX, plus Dassault Systèmes lengthy render that really taxes cooling and
possible workstation advice, so CATIA and SolidWorks. can cause core throttling.
we used a wide variety of software
for testing – as the huge number of graphs on Maxon Cinebench R20 contains a highly To assess professional-grade video
these pages shows! multithreaded 3D rendering test, which encoding, we rendered the Blender Tears of
benefits from multiple processor cores. But Steel movie from UHD (3,840 x 2,160) to a
To start with, we ran our standard PC Pro GPU rendering is slowly becoming used in YouTube-compatible 4K file using H.264
benchmark suite to assess image processing live production, particularly since AMD compression. For this test, we used Adobe
and video encoding abilities, and then introduced its ProRender system. We tested Media Encoder CC 2021, and ran the encode
multitasking (see results on p93). Each of GPU-accelerated 3D rendering with the with GPU acceleration enabled and disabled.
these categories has an individual score, OpenCL-powered Luxmark 3.1, IndigoBench We also tested the raw performance of
which indicates relative speed compared to a 4 and a real-world test frame created in workstations’ SSDs and hard disks with the
Core i7-4760K desktop PC with 8GB of RAM. Blender for the Cosmos Laundromat CrystalDiskMark 7.0.0g benchmark.
If a machine scores 150 in a test, it’s 50% animated movie, codenamed Project
faster than the reference PC. All these results Gooseberry. Blender now supports CPU and The consequence is a set of results
are combined into an overall score, giving GPU rendering, and we tested both using the showing which type of content-creation
an indication of ability in these content- latest 2.93.1 version. This is a gruelling, software and activity each workstation is
creation tasks as well as general activities. best suited for.

On top of our regular benchmark suite, CinebenchR20CPU (Cb) 3dsMax (SPECviewperf 20)
we added tests specifically aimed at a range
of higher-end workstation tasks. To test 3D Workstation LabsWinner 25,017 Scan 3XS 192
modelling in all the main content types, we Specialists A1-48T 168
used SPECviewperf 2020, which runs 167
OpenGL viewsets (and one uses Direct3D) Chillblast 24,817 Armari Recommended 162
based on popular 3D content creation, FusionRipper Magnetar 142
engineering and medical applications. These 142
include Autodesk 3ds Max and Maya, PTC’s PCSpecialist 23,401 Chillblast 139
Onyx 8000 Fusion Ripper 139
ABOVE WeuseMaxonCinebenchR20toappraiseeach 139
workstation’s multithreaded 3D rendering Armari Recommended 16,507 Workstation LabsWinner
Magnetar Specialists 100 150 200

Scan 3XS 13,412 Armari
A1-48T Gravistar

PCSpecialist 12,826 Chillblast
Onyx 3000 Fusion Ryzen

InterPro Recommended 11,039 InterPro Recommended
IPW-R9 IPW-R9

Armari 10,273 PCSpecialist
Gravistar Onyx 3000

FusiCohnilRlbylzaesnt 9,788 Scan 3XS
A1-24R

Scan 3XS 7,838 PCSpecialist N/A
A1-24R Onyx 8000 N/A

0 7,500 15,000 22,500 30,000 0 50

Catia (SPECviewperf20) Maya (SPECviewperf20) Creo (SPECviewperf20)

Workstation LabsWinner 127 Scan 3XS 494 Chillblast 167
Specialists 126 A1-48T 450 Fusion Ryzen 152
124 446 151
Scan 3XS 122 Chillblast 439 Workstation LabsWinner 150
A1-48T 120 Fusion Ripper 435 Specialists 148
110 433 143
Chillblast 109 Workstation LabsWinner 417 Armari 126
Fusion Ripper 97 Specialists 408 Gravistar 116
77 346 91
Chillblast Chillblast Chillblast
Fusion Ryzen 70 105 140 Fusion Ryzen 250 375 500 Fusion Ripper 90 135 180

Armari Scan 3XS InterPro Recommended
Gravistar A1-24R IPW-R9

Scan 3XS InterPro Recommended Scan 3XS
A1-24R IPW-R9 A1-24R

InterPro Recommended Armari Scan 3XS
IPW-R9 Gravistar A1-48T

PCSpecialist PCSpecialist PCSpecialist
Onyx 3000 Onyx 3000 Onyx 3000

Armari Recommended Armari Recommended Armari Recommended
Magnetar Magnetar Magnetar

PCSpecialist N/A PCSpecialist N/A PCSpecialist N/A
Onyx 8000 Onyx 8000 Onyx 8000

0 35 0 125 0 45

80

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Labs Workstations

SolidWorks (SPECviewperf 20) SiemensNX (SPECviewperf 20) LuxMark 3.1 (OpenCL)

Scan 3XS 355 Scan 3XS 609 Scan 3XS 18,138
A1-48T 314 A1-48T 507 A1-48T
307 503
Workstation LabsWinner 270 Chillblast 463 Chillblast 15,724
Specialists 268 Fusion Ripper 460 Fusion Ripper
266 456
Chillblast 265 Workstation LabsWinner 453 Workstation LabsWinner 15,570
Fusion Ripper 265 Specialists 452 Specialists
264 435
Chillblast Chillblast Armari 10,461
Fusion Ryzen 180 270 360 Fusion Ryzen 360 540 720 Gravistar

PCSpecialist PCSpecialist PCSpecialist 10,443
Onyx 3000 Onyx 3000 Onyx 3000

Armari Scan 3XS Chillblast 10,364
Gravistar A1-24R Fusion Ryzen

Armari Recommended InterPro Recommended Scan 3XS 10,276
Magnetar IPW-R9 A1-24R

Scan 3XS Armari Armari Recommended 10,198
A1-24R Gravistar Magnetar

IInPtWer-PRr9o Recommended MaAgrnmetaarri Recommended IInPtWer-PRr9o Recommended 10,185

PCSpecialist N/A PCSpecialist N/A PCSpecialist N/A
Onyx 8000 N/A Onyx 8000 Onyx 8000

0 90 0 180 0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000

BlenderGooseberryCPU (seconds) BlenderGooseberryGPU (seconds) Tears of Steel (UHD to YouTube 4K, software, seconds)

Workstation 186 LabsWinner Scan 3XS 167 Armari Recommended 149
Specialists A1-48T Magnetar

PCSpecialist 189 Chillblast 202 PCSpecialist 172
Onyx 8000 Fusion Ripper Onyx 8000

Chillblast 191 Workstation LabsWinner 203 Chillblast 179
Fusion Ripper Specialists Fusion Ripper

Armari Recommended 283 Armari 254 Workstation LabsWinner 179
Magnetar Gravistar Specialists
rettebsirewoL
Scan 3XS 350 rettebsirewoLChillblast 254 Scan 3XS 183
A1-48T rettebsirewoL Fusion Ryzen A1-48T

PCSpecialist 376 InterPro Recommended 255 PCSpecialist 201
Onyx 3000 IPW-R9 Onyx 3000

InterPro Recommended 403 Scan 3XS 257 InterPro Recommended 234
IPW-R9 A1-24R IPW-R9

Armari 438 PCSpecialist 264 Armari 245
Gravistar Onyx 3000 Gravistar

Chillblast 452 Armari Recommended 335 Scan 3XS 249
Fusion Ryzen Magnetar A1-24R
340
Scan 3XS 559 PCSpecialist N/A Chillblast 260
A1-24R Onyx 8000 Fusion Ryzen

0 150 300 450 600 0 85 170 255 0 75 150 225 300

Tears of Steel (UHD to YouTube 4K, CUDA/OpenCL, seconds) CrystalDiskMark7SSD (sequential read/write) CrystalDiskMark7SSD (4KB random read/write)

Armari Recommended 155 Armari 13,024 InterPro Recommended 4,017
Magnetar Magnetar 9,920 Recommended IPW-R9 3,463

Chillblast 161 Scan 3XS 6,797 Scan 3XS 3,776
Fusion Ripper A1-24R 4,950 A1-24R 3,183

Scan 3XS 161 Armari 6,756 Chillblast 3,280
A1-48T Gravistar 4,968 Fusion Ryzen 3,122

Armari 162 Scan 3XS 6,749 Chillblast 3,071
Gravistar A1-48T 4,949 Fusion Ripper 2,536

Workstation LabsWinner 162 rettebsirewoL InterPro 6,725 Recommended Scan 3XS 2,781
Specialists IPW-R9 4,956 A1-48T 2,264

Chillblast 163 Workstation 6,719 LabsWinner PCSpecialist 2,720
Fusion Ryzen Specialists 4,948 Onyx 8000 2,370

InterPro Recommended 163 PCSpecialist 6,366 Workstation 2,380 LabsWinner
IPW-R9 Onyx 8000 4,950 Specialists 2,167

Scan 3XS 166 Chillblast 5,007 Armari 1,494 Recommended
A1-24R Fusion Ryzen 4,285 Magnetar 1,125

PCSpecialist 167 Chillblast 5,004 Armari 890
Onyx 3000 Fusion Ripper 4,288 Gravistar 803

PCSpecialist N/A PCSpecialist 3,570 PCSpecialist 604 1,330
Onyx 8000 Onyx 3000 2,374 Onyx 3000

0 50 100 150 200 0 3,500 7,000 10,500 14,000 0 1,100 2,200 3,300 4,400

Read Write Read Write

81

Armari Gravistar RECOMMENDED RECOMMENDED
R-AD750EX Armari Magnetar Chillblast Fusion Ripper Chillblast Fusion Ryzen InterPro IPW-R9
M64TP-AW1200G3 Render RTX A5000 Render RTX A4000

Overall rating

Information £2,499 (£2,998 inc VAT) £6,650 (£7,980 inc VAT) £6,667 (£8,000 inc VAT) £2,500 (£3,000 inc VAT) £2,500 (£3,000 inc VAT)
armari.com armari.com chillblast.com chillblast.com ipworkstations.com
Price 3yr RTB (2yr parts, 3yr labour), first 3yr RTB (2yr parts, 3yr labour), first 2yr C&R plus 3yr RTB labour-only 2yr C&R plus 3yr RTB labour-only 3yr RTB
Supplier month C&R month C&R
Warranty 1
AMD Ryzen 9 5950X AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X AMD Ryzen 9 5950X AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
Processor and RAM 3975WX
16 (32) 32 (64) 64 (128) 16 (32) 16 (32)
Processor 3.4GHz/4.9GHz 3.5GHz/4.2GHz 2.9GHz/4.3GHz 3.4GHz/4.9GHz 3.4GHz/4.9GHz
(max clock speed)
Cores (threads) 64GB (3,600MHz DDR4) 128GB (3,200MHz DDR4) 128GB (3,200MHz DDR4) 64GB (3,200MHz DDR4) 64GB (3,600MHz DDR4)
Processor speed
(base/turbo) Asus ROG Strix B550-XE Gaming AsusProWSWRX80E-SageSEWiFi AsusROGStrixTRX40-XEGaming AsusROGStrixB550-FGamingWiFi AsusCrosshairVIIIDarkHero
RAM fied (speed)
)ces/stibG02( 2x2 neG 2.3 BSU rof 2.3 BSU dna ECC RAM 4 (2 free) 8 (0 free) 8 (0 free) 4 (2 free) 4 (2 free)
.stsoc lla srevoc rerutcafunam eht erehw ,nruter 3 (2 free) 7 (5 free) 3 (2 free) 2 (1 free) 3 (2 free)
Motherboard 1 (1 free)
2 (2 free) 3 (3 free) 3 (3 free) 1 (1 free)
Motherboard 2 (1 free) 8 (8 free) 3 (2 free) 2 (1 free) 2 (1 free)
(make and model) 6 (6 free) 8 (7 free) 6 (6 free) 8 (8 free)
RAM slots
PCI-E x16 PNY Quadro RTX A4000 AMD Radeon Pro W6800 PNY Quadro RTX A5000 PNY Quadro RTX A4000 PNY Quadro RTX A4000
PCI-E x4 16GB GDDR6 32GB GDDR6 24GB GDDR6 16GB GDDR6 16GB GDDR6
PCI-E x1 4 x DisplayPort 1.4 6 x mini-DisplayPort 1.4 4 x DisplayPort 1.4 4 x DisplayPort 1.4 4 x DisplayPort 1.4
M.2 sockets
)dcneas/tscteiblloGc0s1i(R1x&2Cne.tGsodcnrae2irxu1onceeGh2t.s3rBeSvoUcrroefs1u.3eBhStUer,e)chews/,sretivboGc5e(s1ax1bn-oetG-n2r.3utBeSrUsirBoTfRdn.daehttartoshsssesaln3uBruSoUbeasludneaws,ytrtiacpilpsmedisulrconFI21 SATA 600 connectors Samsung 980 Pro Samsung 980 Pro Seagate Firecuda 520 Seagate Firecuda 520 Samsung 980 Pro
1TB 2TB 1TB 1TB 2TB
Graphics M.2 PCI Express 4 M.2 PCI Express 4 M.2 PCI Express 4 M.2 PCI Express 4 M.2 PCI Express 4
N/A Samsung 980 Pro Samsung 870 QVO N/A N/A
Make and model N/A 2TB 4TB N/A N/A
RAM amount N/A NVMe M.2 PCI Express 4 SATA 600 N/A N/A
Outputs N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Drives N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Primary SSD
Nominal capacity Corsair 4000D Airflow Armari Magnetar M60G3 P01 Pro Fractal Design Meshify 2 Fractal Design Meshify 2 Fractal Design Define 7 Compact
Interface 230 x 466 x 453mm 220 x 565 x 465mm 240 x 542 x 474mm 240 x 542 x 474mm 210 x 427 x 474mm
Secondary SSD Corsair RM750 Modular 80 Plus Asus ROG Thor 1200W 80+ Platinum Corsair RM850 80 Plus Gold (850W) Corsair RMX750 v2 Modular 80 Plus Corsair RM750 Modular 80 Plus
Nominal capacity Gold (750W) (1,200W) Gold (750W) Gold (750W)
Interface Armari SPX-A681P Water Cooler CoolerMaster MasterLiquid ML360 Noctua NH-U14S Air Cooler Noctua NH-D15S Chromax Air Corsair H150i RGB PRO Water
Hard disk (280mm) 360mm Water Cooler Cooler Cooler (360mm)
Nominal capacity
Spindle speed 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet, 5 x 3.5mm 2 x 10 Gigabit Ethernet, 5 x 3.5mm 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet, Gigabit 2.5GigabitEthernet,5x3.5mm 2xGigabitEthernet,5x3.5mmaudio
Optical drives audio jacks, 5 x USB-A 2, 2 x USB-A audio jacks, optical S/PDIF, 9 x USB-A Ethernet, 5 x 3.5mm audio jacks, audiojacks,opticalS/PDIF,USB-A3.1, jacks,opticalS/PDIF,7xUSB-A3.1,
3.1, USB-C3.2 3.1, USB-C 3.2 optical S/PDIF, 7 x USB-A 3.1, USB-C USB-C3.2,4xUSB-A3.1,2xUSB-A2 2xUSB-A3,USB-C3.1
Chassis and PSU 3.5mm audio jack, 3.5mm mic jack, 3.2, 4 x USB 2
2 x USB-A 3, USB-C 3.2 3.5mmaudiojack, 3.5mmmicjack,
Model (dimensions WDH) 2 x USB-A 3, USB-C 3.2
Dimensions (WDH)
PSU (power output)

CPU cooler

Interfaces

Rear ports 2

Front/top ports 2 3.5mm combo audio jack, USB-A 3.1, 3.5mmaudiojack, 3.5mmmicjack, 3.5mmaudiojack, 3.5mmmicjack,
USB-C 3.1 2 x USB-A 3, USB-C 3.2 2 x USB-A 3, 2 x USB-A 2, USB-C 3.2
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit Windows 10 Pro 64-bit Windows 10 Pro 64-bit Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Operating system

82

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PCSpecialist Onyx 3000 PCSpecialist Onyx 8000 Scan 3XS GWP-ME A1-24R Scan 3XS GWP-ME A1-48T LABS WINNER
Workstation Specialists
£2,500 (£3,000 inc VAT) PREVIEW WS-1640A-G4
pcspecialist.co.uk/reviews
1yr C&R plus 2yr RTB £6,667 (£8,000 inc VAT) £2,500 (£3,000 inc VAT) £6,667 (£8,000 inc VAT) £6,667 (£8,000 inc VAT)
pcspecialist.co.uk/reviews scan.co.uk/3xs scan.co.uk/3xs workstationspecialists.com
1yr C&R plus 2yr RTB 1yr on-site plus 2yr RTB 1yr on-site plus 2yr RTB 3yr RTB next business day

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3995WX 3.7GHz AMD Ryzen 9 5900X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X

24 (48) 64 (128) 12 (24) 24 (48) 64 (128)
3.8GHz/4.5GHz 2.7GHz/4.2GHz 3.7GHz (4.8GHz) 3.8GHz/4.5GHz 2.9GHz/4.3GHz

32GB (3,200MHz DDR4) 128GB (3,200MHz DDR4) 64GB (3,600MHz DDR4) 128GB (3,600MHz DDR4) 128GB (3,200MHz DDR4)

Asus Prime TRX40-Pro S Asus Pro WS WRX80E-Sage SE WiFi Asus ProArt B550 Creator ASRock TRX40 Creator ASRock TRX40 Creator
8 (0 free) 8 (4 free) 8 (0 free)
8 (4 free) 7 (5 free) 4 (2 free) 4 (3 free) 4 (3 free)
3 (2 free) 3 (2 free)
1 (1 free) 3 (3 free) 3 (2 free) 3 (2 free)
8 (8 free) 2 (2 free) 8 (7 free) 8 (8 free)
3 (2 free) 2 (1 free)
8 (6 free) 4 (4 free)

PNY Quadro RTX A4000 PNY Quadro RTX A4000 PNY Quadro RTX A4000 PNY Quadro RTX A6000 PNY Quadro RTX A5000
16GB GDDR6 16GB GDDR6 16GB GDDR6 48GB GDDR6 24GB GDDR6
4 x DisplayPort 1.4 4 x DisplayPort 1.4 4 x DisplayPort 1.4 4 x DisplayPort 1.4 4 x DisplayPort 1.4

Samsung 970 Evo Plush Samsung 980 Pro Samsung 980 Pro Samsung 980 Pro Samsung 980 Pro
250GB 2TB 2TB 2TB 2TB
M.2 PCI Express 3 M.2 PCI Express 4 M.2 PCI Express 4 M.2 PCI Express 4 M.2 PCI Express 4
N/A Samsung 870 QVO N/A Samsung 870 EVO N/A
N/A 2TB N/A 4TB N/A
N/A SATA 600 N/A SATA N/A
Seagate BarraCuda 2 x Seagate IronWolf Pro N/A N/A Western Digital Red Pro
2TB 2 x 6TB N/A N/A 6TB
7,200rpm 7,200rpm N/A N/A 7,200rpm
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Corsair 5000D Airflow Fractal Design Define 7 XL Fractal Design Meshify 2 Fractal Design Meshify 2 Fractal Design Define S
245 x 466 x 453mm 240 x 604 x 566mm 240 x 542 x 474mm 240 x 542 x 474mm 233 x 451 x 520mm
Corsair RMX750 Modular 80 Plus Gold Corsair RMX850 80 Plus Gold (850W) Corsair RMX650 80 Plus Gold (650W) Corsair RMX850 80 Plus Gold (850W) 80-Plus Platinum (1,000W)
(750W)
CoolerMaster MasterLiquid ML360 CoolerMaster MasterLiquid ML360 Corsair Hydro H100x Water Cooler Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro TR4 Air Cooler Enermax Liqtech 360 TR4 Water Cooler
360mm Water Cooler 360mm Water Cooler

Gigabit Ethernet, 5 x 3.5mm audio jacks, 2 x 10 Gigabit Ethernet, 5 x 3.5mm audio 2 x 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet, 2 x Thunderbolt 4 10 Gigabit Ethernet, 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet, 10GigabitEthernet, 2.5GigabitEthernet,
optical S/PDIF, 3 x USB-A 3.1, USB-C 3.1, jacks, optical S/PDIF, 9 x USB-A 3.2 Gen2, (USB-C ), 5 x 3.5mm audio jacks, optical S/ 5 x 3.5mm audio jacks, optical S/PDIF, 4 x 5 x 3.5mm audio jacks, optical S/PDIF, 4 x
6 x USB-A 3 USB-C 3.2 Gen2, Wi-Fi PDIF, 4 x USB-A 3.1, 2 x USB-A 2, PS/2 USB-A 3, 2 x USB-A 3.1, USB-C 3.2, PS/2 USB-A 3, 2 x USB-A 3.1, USB-C 3.2, PS/2
3.5mm combo audio jack, 2 x USB-A 3.1, 3.5mm audio jack, 3.5mm mic jack, 2 x combo combo, Wi-Fi combo, Wi-Fi
USB-C 3.1 USB-A 3, USB-C 3.2, 2 x USB-A 2 3.5mm audio jack, 3.5mm mic jack, 3.5mm audio jack, 3.5mm mic jack, 3.5mmaudiojack, 3.5mmmicjack,
2 x USB-A 3, USB-C 3.2 2 x USB-A 3, USB-C 3.2 2 x USB-A 3

Windows 10 Pro 64-bit Windows 10 Pro 64-bit Windows 10 Pro 64-bit Windows 10 Pro 64-bit Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

83

MAAAaAlMMrtp6hmrDDo4o’uagsmTgrrTPiahish-piMwrAnhegWeiaac’dgddse1rnsf2biowepu0rptat0NaepfGovrrtirP3hdrieao’,s

SCORE with 32GB of GDDR6. It also boasts RECOMMENDED The overall PC Pro benchmark score
PRICE £6,650 (£7,980 inc VAT) 3,840 stream processors, compared to of 690 is exception, not far off what
from armari.com the Radeon Pro W5700’s 2,304, but ABOVE Armari’sneat 64-core processors deliver, and well
case includes a swing- beyond the 32-core non-Pro. But the
Armari always likesto the Radeon Pro WX9100 still out, triple-fan water- Maxon Cinebench R20 score of 16,507
experiment with bleeding- beats it with 4,096. cooling radiator is behind a 32-core non-Pro, showing
edge technology, and this The storage provision that raw CPU grunt is a little lower.
month’s system reveals a number of is also unique this LEFT AMD’sRadeon The fast memory provides some
components we haven’t seen before month. Despite the Pro W6800 GPU benefits with video encoding, with
at PC Pro. The headline act is that this motherboard offers a cool 32GB of the Adobe Media Encoder CC 2021
is our first look at the new AMD Ryzen sporting three M.2 GDDR6 memory results outperforming anything else
Threadripper Pro processor, but it slots, Armari doesn’t BELOW Bluelines this month.
also features the latest AMD graphics. use any of them, and a large logo add
instead employing visual interest to an The Blender Gooseberry render
The Ryzen Threadripper Pro in an NVMe RAID card otherwise black box took 283 seconds on CPU, which is
question is the 32-core 3975WX, installed into one of the good, but 64-core processors execute
which is the Pro equivalent of the PCI Express x16 slots. This this faster. Curiously, this was one
Ryzen Threadripper 3970X. Aside system where the GPU was actually
from the Pro offering eight-channel has been populated with a pair slower for Blender, and this was
memory with support for up to 2TB of 2TB Samsung 980 Pro NVMe M.2 replicated in the LuxMark 3.1 result of
of RAM rather than 256GB, as well as PCI Express 4 drives, striped as 10,198, which is around the same as a
additional hardware security RAID0. The result is a 4TB block of Quadro RTX A4000. SPECviewperf
features, the clock speeds are subtly storage delivering an unbelievable 2020 results were also mostly behind
different between the two 13,024MB/sec sustained reading and
CPUs. The non-Pro has a 9,920MB/sec writing – almost twice the A4000, with only a strong
3.7GHz base clock and as fast as any other primary storage 3ds Max result of 168 bucking
4.5GHz turbo mode, on test this month. the trend, which actually beats a
but the Pro has a base Quadro RTX A5000.
3.5GHz and 4.2GHz The Armari chassis is also
turbo, and isn’t unique, because the company Overall, Armari has put
unlocked, so designs its own cases and this is together a compelling
performance the latest version of its Magnetar showcase of the latest that AMD
tweaking options M60G3 P01 Pro Workstation has to offer. It’s well worth
are limited. product. It includes neat considering if you want a
features such as a custom triple- platform that can go to 2TB of
Armari has backed fan water-cooling radiator on a memory and needs as much
the processor with a 128GB swing-out bracket and four memory and storage bandwidth
complement of DDR4 ECC cold-swap bays for 3.5in drives. as humanly possible. We would
Registered memory. This is supplied swap the AMD graphics for
as eight 16GB modules, leaving no Compared to a regular Ryzen Nvidia’s Quadro RTX A5000,
DIMM slots free for upgrade on the Threadripper, the Pro version however, unless you mostly
Asus Pro WS WRX80E-Sage SE WiFi wins in some areas and loses in run Autodesk 3ds Max.
motherboard. However, you need to others when it comes to performance.
populate all eight slots to gain the
eight-channel memory performance,
which is a key feature of this platform
and what you pay the extra money
for. So it’s a necessary configuration.

The graphics acceleration is
unique this month too. An AMD
Radeon Pro W6800 has been
supplied, which is so new that at the
time of writing no vendor was listing
it for sale yet. However, the quoted
US recommended price of $2,249 is
around the same as the RRP for the
Nvidia Quadro RTX A5000. On the
plus side, where the latter offers a
commendable 24GB of GDDR6 frame
buffer, the W6800 goes even further

84

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IIptTrhnPoheeoretWmfembor-erofRPsomntrr9eawoeyn,xocwpreakiytnshostuapiotlceniaonnntygoeftfor

SCORE performance favourite, with seven of RECOMMENDED highest at this price, as is the
PRICE £2,500 (£3,000 inc VAT) this month’s machines using versions Cinebench R20 result of 11,039. The
from ipworkstations.com of the same drive. It’s not hard to see ABOVE Thereare CPU scores in IndigoBench are only
why when you consider the Samsung enough mounts inside surpassed by the PC Specialist Onyx
InterPro is one of a small group of delivered 6,725MB/sec sustained to add a few speedy 3000’s 24-core processor in the
UK PC manufacturers that focus reading alongside 4,956MB/sec SATA-based SSDs £3,000 category. The Blender
on computers for professional writing. Plus, unusually, the second Gooseberry CPU render time of 403
applications. In every PC Pro LEFT TheNvidia seconds is similarly only 7% slower
workstation Labs test, it shows its M.2 slot also supports PCI-E Quadro RTX A4000’s than the Onyx 3000.
ability in this area, and the IPW-R9 is 4.0 so you’re well set up 6,144 CUDA cores
a particularly good example. for the future. offer decent grunt With GPU-powered workloads,
If you need to add BELOW TheFractal the InterPro isn’t quite so dominant,
This is one of three systems this even more storage, Design Define 7’s with a few frames per second lost in
month to be based on AMD’s punchy for example to work brushed metal finish some SPECviewperf 2020 tests, and
Ryzen 9 5950X, which sports 16 cores on capacity- gives it a subtle style the Catia result being surprising. But
with a base 3.4GHz clock and 4.9GHz intensive video in most viewsets it was in the same
turbo mode. For the £3,000 inc VAT production, then the ballpark as other systems with the
price, it hits the sweet spot, costing a motherboard has Nvidia Quadro RTX A4000, as was the
little over half the 24-core Ryzen eight SATA ports Blender Gooseberry GPU render. The
Threadripper 3960X, for example, yet sitting empty. This is LuxMark 3.1 score of 10,185 was a
delivering much more than half the where the Fractal Design little behind, but by less than 3%.
performance. The downside is that
the memory configuration is merely Define 7 chassis will ll, we’d argue that a few
dual-channel rather than quad- handy: it offers two 3.5/2 s per second when
channel, so you lose on bandwidth. mounts, alongside four
InterPro has wisely supplied 64GB of 2.5in-only mounts, even if odelling and designing is
DDR4 memory in the form of two only two trays are inclu to have less of a
32GB modules, leaving two for the latter. That should ive effect on your
DIMM slots free for still be plenty to add a
upgrade on the Asus few SATA-based SSDs for orkflow than slower
Crosshair VIII Dark fast secondary storage (see ral productivity and
Hero motherboard. “View from the Labs”
on p93). ndering. There are three
Unsurprisingly at e similar systems at
this price, graphics Although the InterPro price, including this
acceleration is 16-core Ryzen 9 5950X can the Armari’s Gravistar
provided by the compete with the more
Nvidia Quadro RTX expensive systems off -AD750EX, and the
A4000, which takes more cores, it still acquits lblast Fusion Ryzen
over as the mainstream itself extremely well. The r RTX A4000. All are
high-end workstation 3D overall score of 598 in the ellent workstations for
workhorse from its RTX 4000 PC Pro benchmarks is the money, and Armari runs
predecessor. It’s a significant system very close, but
upgrade, with 6,144 CUDA cores and Pro just squeaks past on
16GB of GDDR6 memory delivering rall performance.
448GB/sec bandwidth. Far from being
just a great real-time 3D viewport
card, the A4000 also offers serious
GPU compute ability.

If there’s one area where you
might want to consider an upgrade at
some point with this workstation, it’s
storage. InterPro has chosen to go
with a single drive, although only one
manufacturer this month has stuck
with the traditional two-drive
configuration at this price.
Thankfully, it’s a large, 2TB Samsung
980 Pro NVMe PC Express 4 M.2
device, which appears to be the

85

SApmOobovc1awve-akir4onee1u8rt30sehTX,dic0shSr0woe0GinocCWdreUkefrsPDoitrA-naMGgtciPooErUne-tshe

SCORE and application device alongside ABOVE Therearefive by its meagre memory allocation.
PRICE £6,667 (£8,000 inc VAT) slower but larger secondary storage. free drive bays for But other £8,000 systems here were
from scan.co.uk But when we say slower, don’t start storage upgrades – considerably faster. The Cinebench
thinking 5,400rpm hard disks: the plenty for most needs R20 render results also showed where
The Scan 3XS GWP-ME A1-48T is 24 cores fall behind 32 or 64.
based around one class-leading secondary storage is still an LEFT Thephenomenal
feature: its graphics card. This SSD. The primary device is Nvidia Quadro RTX However, anything bringing that
is the only workstation this month a PCI Express 4 NVMe A6000’s power lives GPU to bear really flew. The Blender
with the monster Nvidia Quadro RTX M.2 Samsung 980 Pro up to the bling Gooseberry frame render took 350
A6000, which alone costs over £4,500 with 2TB capacity, BELOW TheFractal seconds with the CPU, but less than
inc VAT. Inevitably, this has meant delivering extremely Design Meshify 2 half as much with the GPU – 167
that Scan has had to make a reduction quick sustained case’s honeycomb seconds, the quickest we’ve seen, and
in another important part of the reading of 6,749MB/ catches the eye faster than a 64-core processor too.
specification. sec and writing of The IndigoBench 4 GPU tests are head
4,949MB/sec. The and shoulders above other systems
The primary area where Scan has secondary storage is a this month, as is the LuxMark 3.1
compensated for the price of the SATA-connected 2.5in score of 18,138, showing that this GPU
graphics is in the CPU. Where other 4TB Samsung 870 Evo, has almost twice the real-world grunt
manufacturers submitting a of the already potent Nvidia Quadro
workstation in the £8,000 inc VAT which achieves 570MB/sec RTX A4000. As you would expect, for
category have opted for 32 or 64-core reading and 506MB/sec writing. real-time 3D viewports as tested by
processors, Scan has chosen the 24- SPECviewperf 2020, scores are
core AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X If you ever need more storage than generally phenomenal, with 192 in
– which PCSpecialist managed to fit this, the motherboard has two more
into a machine costing £3,000 PCI Express 4 M.2 slots free and there 3ds Max, 494 in Maya, 609 in
inc VAT. This is a capable are seven SATA ports lying emp Siemens NX and 355 in
processor, with a However, the Fractal Design SolidWorks, although Catia
3.8GHz base clock and Meshify 2 chassis only has six and Creo results were behind
boost up to 4.5GHz, drive bays available as some other systems.
but it will fall behind standard and one of these
systems with more houses the SATA SSD in this Overall, if your workloads
cores when configuration already. Still, involve GPU-powered
performing heavily that will be plenty for most rendering or working with
multithreaded tasks storage upgrade needs. huge visualisation datasets,
like 3D rendering. this workstation will be
The performance results for superb. However, if you
Scan has at least the Scan system show the GPU perform tasks that require
partnered the processor focus of the spec. The overall more multithreaded CPU
with a generous 128GB of DDR4 PC Pro benchmark result of processing, a lesser graphics
memory, supplied as four 32GB 639 is great, and clearly ahead card and processor with
modules, leaving four DIMM slots free of the other system with the more cores might be the more
for upgrade on the ASRock TRX40 AMD Ryzen Threadripper cost-effective option.
Creator motherboard. 3960X, which was held back

The star of the show, though, is
that graphics card. The Nvidia
Quadro RTX A6000 boasts an almost
unfeasible 10,752 CUDA cores, more
than twice the previous RTX 6000’s
4,608 cores, and four times that of
the Quadro RTX 4000 that was the
workhorse workstation GPU until
Nvidia’s latest Ampere generation
arrived. The A6000 also has a huge
48GB of GDDR6 memory, the same as
the Quadro RTX 8000 that costs
£1,000 more, but with 768GB/sec
bandwidth instead of 672GB/sec. So
this is an astonishing graphics card.

Scan hasn’t skimped on storage
either, delivering both a fast SSD boot

86

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Labs Workstations

WWwAwdipsiotSoprhhrk-aee1kstnac6tossah4mtetaai0eontAnnyioa-twGlhnlyoa4Srtpkpwolewoilcaleidrafluisl ts

SCORE sized 2TB Samsung 980 Pro NVMe PCI ABOVE Thereareno of our tests. The PC Pro benchmarks
PRICE £6,667 (£8,000 inc VAT) Express 4 M.2 SSD taking the central false steps here – the result of 705 is the fastest we’ve ever
from workstationspecialists.com role. This provides sustained reading WS-1640A-G4 can seen. The Maxon Cinebench score of
rate of 6,719MB/sec and writing at handle anything 25,017 is also the highest ever, as are
Workstation Specialists has 4,948MB/sec. The secondary storage the IndigoBench 4 CPU results. The
spared almost no expense is the only area we might consider LEFT Thereareplenty Blender Gooseberry CPU render time
with the WS-1640A-G4. changing with this system. This of slots free on the of 186 seconds comes top too, and the
Powerful processor, powerful takes the traditional format of a ASRock motherboard CPU-only Adobe Media Encoder
graphics, plenty of storage, loads of for adding storage… video-encoding time of 179 is only
memory – there isn’t a weak spot conventional mechanical hard BELOW …whilethe beaten by PCSpecialist’s Onyx 8000.
with this system. It’s been configured disk, in this case a 6TB chassis has three
to deliver the best possible content- Western Digital Red Pro 3.5in/2.5in drive bays The Quadro RTX A5000 delivers a
creation experience in every area. 7,200rpm SATA drive, and two 2.5in bays result of 15,570 in LuxMark 3.1,
offering relatively showing how much GPU rendering
The centrepiece of the WS- rapid 250MB/sec grunt is available. Similarly,
1640A-G4 is its 64-core AMD Ryzen sustained reading rendering the Blender Gooseberry
Threadripper 3990X. This runs at a and 243MB/sec frame with GPU took 203 seconds,
nominal 2.9GHz with a 4.3GHz turbo writing. However, one more second than the other
mode, so will deliver excellent the hard disk’s days A5000-equipped system here and
performance with single-threaded are clearly numbered only beaten by the A6000 in Scan’s
applications alongside its all- at last (see p93), and a £8,000 system. SPECviewperf 2020
encompassing multithreaded 4TB Samsung 870 QVO results were similarly impressive,
abilities. Sensibly, Workstation with a solid 162 in 3ds Max and an
Specialists has partnered this SATA SSD would only set you excellent 446 in Maya showing great
processor with 128GB of DDR4 back £100 more whilst providing
memory supplied as four modules to noticeably quicker performance. 3D animation abilities. The results
take advantage of the quad-channel of 503 in Siemens NX and 314
Ryzen Threadripper memory Should you need more storage, the for SolidWorks mean superb
architecture. This leaves four ASRock motherboard still has two abilities with product design
DIMM slots free on the M.2 slots free, and the Fractal and engineering workloads.
ASRock TRX40 Creator Define S chassis has three There is no weak area in
motherboard, should 3.5in/2.5in drive bays plus performance for this system,
you ever feel the need two for 2.5in drives only. With which is what you’d hope after
to upgrade to this eight SATA ports on the spending £8,000. Both
system’s 256GB motherboard, there will be rendering and modelling are
maximum. ample options to upgrade to a supreme. Whatever workload
greater capacity if needed. you throw at this system and
The graphics But with 2TB for OS and type of content creation work
acceleration is applications and 6TB for data, you perform, the Workstation
fittingly powerful to you probably won’t need to. Specialists WS-1640A-G4 will
go with this processor. take it in its stride.
Nvidia’s Quadro RTX Apart from the hard disk,
A5000 delivers a phenomenal this system dominated in most
8,192 CUDA cores and huge 24GB of
GDDR6 memory with 768GB/sec
bandwidth. This makes it more
powerful than the near-£6,000 inc
VAT Nvidia Quadro RTX 8000, albeit
with half the memory. This card will
be able to handle huge texture sets
and models, while also providing
immense GPU compute capabilities.
It can also support monitors up to
7,680 x 4,320 at 60Hz via its four
DisplayPort 1.4 connections, as well
as 4K up to 120Hz. With all these
capabilities, a 230W maximum power
draw doesn’t seem unreasonable.

Primary storage continues the
performance theme, with a healthily

87

RAaowAlf-rthowAemrigrokDnhars7alktry5atliciot0vGaiaeoEpdrntXaatofbyvotplhrieeseet–vIanaertrgeyrrtePyarptoe large media files. It’s a superfast
Samsung 980 Pro PCI Express 4 NVMe
SCORE M.2 drive, delivering 6,756MB/sec
PRICE £2,499 (£2,998 inc VAT) sustained reading alongside
from armari.com 4,968MB/sec writing. If you ever need
more storage, there’s another M.2 slot
Although Armari designs its but leaving two DIMM slots on the ABOVE TheGravistar free on the motherboard and six SATA
own cases, for more budget- Asus ROG Strix B550-XE Gaming R-AD750EX gets the connectors. The Corsair 4000D
conscious models it sticks free for upgrade. most from the AMD Airflow chassis includes two 2.5in
with generic chassis. But this is no Graphics acceleration is as Ryzen 9 5950X and two 3.5in bays to add drives.
run-of-the-mill workstation. expected at this price: Nvidia’s
The system is based around AMD’s Quadro RTX A4000. This monster The Gravistar showcases the
Ryzen 9 5950X, which is the best 3D card boasts 6,144 CUDA cores prowess of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
processor currently on the market for and 16GB GDDR6 memory with processor, with a great overall score
a workstation at this price. Combining 448GB/sec of bandwidth. It also of 582 in the PC Pro benchmarks. The
16 cores with a 3.4GHz base clock and supports resolutions up to 7,680 x Maxon Cinebench R20 result of 10,273
4.9GHz boost, this CPU will be great 4,320 at 60Hz, for a truly huge is excellent, too, with the system also
with both single and multithreaded workspace. Yet it’s a single-slot card taking just 438 seconds to complete
workloads. Armari also partners the with a 140W power consumption. the Blender Gooseberry render on
Ryzen 9 with 64GB of DDR4 memory. Armari has chosen to provide CPU. This dropped to 254 seconds
This is supplied as two 32GB modules, just a main storage device, but it’s a using the Nvidia GPU, showing just
taking advantage of the processor’s 1TB unit, which should be enough how powerful this accelerator is. The
dual-channel memory architecture unless you need to work with lots of SPECviewperf 2020 results reveal this

card is also supremely good with
every visualisation workload from
CAD, engineering and product
design to 3D animation.

It was extremely difficult to
choose between this system and
the InterPro this month. They both
offer a very similar specification
for the money. In the end, InterPro
just edged it on general workload
performance, but this is still a
brilliant £3,000 workstation that
is well worth considering.

RCAaawnnhehodanirulwakgdlbseceatlllrroaaydstspRietotoThncwFiXosufenomAsrrtfie5outonnh0lndte0heRm0riopfonpreeyr, leaving four DIMM slots free on the ABOVE Itlivesupto are undoubtedly quick, the Samsung
Asus ROG Strix TRX40-XE Gaming its grand name, while 980 Pro SSDs supplied elsewhere are
SCORE motherboard for upgrade. the “crumpled” front a third faster. Chillblast’s choice of
PRICE £6,667 (£8,000 inc VAT) of the case is striking secondary storage is commendable,
from chillblast.com The Nvidia Quadro RTX A5000 is however, with a 4TB SATA-connected
the perfect partner for this processor. Samsung 870 QVO supplied. This
Chillblast’s abilities to put With 8,192 CUDA processors and delivers 548MB/sec reading and
together a capable workstation 24GB of GDDR6 RAM, offering 482MB/sec writing, which is twice as
are in full evidence with the 768GB/sec of bandwidth, there’ll fast as any conventional hard disk.
Fusion Ripper Render RTX A5000. be few visualisation workloads
With barely any weaknesses, this is a this GPU can’t cope with. This system’s PC Pro benchmark
system that will cope with everything score of 703 is the second fastest we
your content-creation workflow If there’s one weak area, it’s have ever seen. The Maxon Cinebench
might throw at it. the choice of primary storage. R20 result of 24,817 is also the second
This is a PCI Express 4 NVMe SSD, highest, with similarly impressive
Central to the Chillblast system is but the Seagate Firecuda 520 IndigoBench 4 scores. It despatched
its 64-core AMD Ryzen Threadripper only has 1TB capacity. While this the Blender Gooseberry CPU render
3990X processor. Despite its huge drive’s 5,004MB/sec sustained in just 191 seconds and the GPU
number of cores, this still operates reading and 4,288MB/sec writing rendering took a mere 202 seconds,
with a base frequency of 2.9GHz and a only surpassed by Scan’s Nvidia
4.3GHz boost. Sensibly, Chillblast has Quadro RTX A6000. The Chillblast’s
partnered this omnipotent CPU with A5000 also delivers an impressive
a whopping 128GB of DDR4 memory, 15,724 in LuxMark 3.1. Real-time
supplied as four modules and thereby modelling will be excellent with any

application type, from engineering
and product design to 3D
animation. The SPECviewperf 2020
scores are some of the best we have
seen, with 167 in 3ds Max, 507 in
Siemens NX and 450 in Maya.

The Chillblast Fusion Ripper
Render RTX A5000 is as competent
as its name is long. It ran the Labs
Winner very close, but just misses
out due to the storage and slightly
lower overall performance.

88

aWchoemnewbiallcIkn?telmake
AMD’s dominance this month looks ominous for Intel, but we’ve been
here before. Never count out the venerable chip giant

We had been expecting this ABOVE Youcanbuy 64-core AMD Ryzen Threadripper Intel fights back
moment for years, ever 64coresinAMD 3990X seems like a bargain in
since AMD launched the RyzenThreadrippers comparison. Even the 64-core third- It seems like AMD has Intel
Ryzen Threadripper. Still, it’s a shock forunder£4,000… generation AMD EPYC CPUs start at in a fatal headlock and
to run a workstation Labs test that under £6,000. won’t let go. But in April
doesn’t feature any processors from The one thing AMD Ryzen Intel announced the third
Intel. It seems like a terminal Threadripper didn’t have, though, generation of Xeon Scalable,
situation. But anyone who has been was the same level of enterprise- which (with the Platinum
in the computing business for a grade features as Intel Xeon in the 8380) ups the maximum
decade or two will know that workstation space, unless you went cores to 40, enables PCI
processor company roadmaps stretch for the server-oriented Express 4, increases the
out for years, and although Intel is A“nIthnToMithwseDemlc-’rsbloeealnaeastsarehod”d’nsiwnwLcaohobryrskewsistdeabehteniacosvainteusysniienso EPYC. The Ryzen maximum memory to 4TB
currently down, it’s very far from out. Threadripper has quad- and the number of PCI
channel memory, and Express lanes to 64. This
We’ve been here before, after all. although the supported still isn’t up there with 64-
In 2003, AMD launched the Opteron, clock speeds are generally core AMD EPYCs and Ryzen
and in the consumer space the Athlon higher than Intel Threadrippers, but it’s a
64 soon followed. The company had processors, Xeons from step in the right direction.
beaten Intel to a mainstream 64-bit Bronze upwards enable six-channel
architecture, which was ahead of its memory, so support 1TB compared to Rumours have also
time but is now standard. For a while, the Threadripper’s 256GB. started to appear regarding the 12th-
business customers wanted Opterons This is where the AMD Ryzen generation Intel “Alder Lake” Core
and gamers wanted Athlon 64 and Threadripper Pro comes in. The new i9-12900K, alleging it will be a
FX processors in their machines too. CPUs have eight-channel memory 16-core processor with a 3.9GHz base
The Pentium 4 was history. Then BELOW …whileIntel support and a maximum capacity of clock and 5.3GHz turbo mode. This
Intel dumped its NetBurst isstuckon56cores 2TB. They have 128 PCI Express lanes processor generation will also
microarchitecture that had turned initseye-wateringly compared to the basic Threadripper’s allegedly support PCI Express 5 and
into a dead end, switched to Core, and expensiveXeons 88 (although both are considerably DDR5 memory. These features would
started to produce multicore CPUs second-generation give it the edge over the AMD Ryzen 9
that won the market back from AMD. ble’s 48). They also have 5950X that has been supplied by
the security features of several manufacturers this month.
Business buyers particularly AMD EPYC, including The 12th-gen Core family is expected
remember how Opteron came and memory encryption and to arrive this autumn.
went. So naturally some were cure booting. The
sceptical when AMD launched EPYC readripper Pro CPUs However, Intel needs to do more
back into the same server market. more expensive than than just catch up. As AMD’s
Platform duration isn’t so important quivalent non-Pro experience in the professional GPU
for workstation purchasers, but if eadippers, but not market has shown, merely matching
you buy a fleet of data centre systems, ously so if you need these the performance and features of the
you want a serious progression of res – the 64-core version incumbent while hoping that a keen
long-lasting products to rely on. But £1,300 more than its price will win over sales is not
this time the AMD roadmap extends equivalent. enough. The reason why we have no
further into the future and it has hit Intel-based workstations in this
all of its milestones and delivered on month’s Labs is because AMD’s lead
its promises. In short, AMD has in core density is now clear, and that’s
learned from its previous mistakes. a key feature for content-creation
workstations and data centre servers.
Performance win
The 12th generation of the Core
The Ryzen Threadripper architecture should give Intel back
have the clear performanc some potential in the sub-£3,000
over Xeon – there’s no X workstation market. But when you
64 cores, and not even go above this price, the Ryzen
cores unless you get into t Threadripper looks unassailable for
OEM-only Cascade Lake- content creation for the time being,
range, which still maxes with the Pro version mopping up
at 56 cores. Considering further areas where massive amounts
the 28-core Intel Xeon of high-bandwidth memory are
Platinum 8280L retails f beneficial and extra security
nearly £18,000, one can essential. We may have to wait until
only imagine how much the 13th generation “Raptor Lake”, or
the 56-core 9280 costs. even 14th generation “Meteor Lake”
The £3,500 price of the before Intel starts to attack the top of
the workstation market again.

89

Labs Workstations @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO

CRtAabhsuhebetoniasnltldlhaaobementlrrcaaeewssRcdtfoToacFrrXsokuetns4sicfntioi0agosmt0unoiorp0mRnaoetsyniaoezwrnneie,ttnashs while the 1TB capacity of the Seagate
Firecuda 520 is adequate, it’s not the
SCORE fastest in its class. Sustained reading
PRICE £2,500 (£3,000 inc VAT) of 5,007MB/sec alongside writing at
from chillblast.com 4,285MB/sec are quick by overall SSD
standards, but there are NVMe drives
This Chillblast system is one of B550-F Gaming WiFi. This enables ABOVE TheRyzen9 here that are a third quicker still.
three that hit the apparent dual-channel memory bandwidth. 5950X joins forces
sweet spot for a £3,000 inc VAT with 64GB of memory Chillblast opts for a Fractal Design
The graphics acceleration is the to good effect Meshify 2 chassis, which gives plenty
workstation. All three have the same third common element: Nvidia’s of room for drive upgrades if you
combination of processor, memory Quadro RTX A4000 is now the need them. There’s a second NVMe
quantity and graphics acceleration. go-to professional 3D M.2 slot on the motherboard, plus six
Even the chassis is a popular choice. workhouse, as were previous 2.5in/3.5in drive bays on the chassis
The processor is the AMD Ryzen 9 generations of the 4000 series. for use with the six SATA ports on the
5950X. This 16-core CPU has a base This is a huge leap forward over Asus motherboard.
3.4GHz clock but a boost all the way the last model, however, with
up to 4.9GHz, giving it strong ability 6,144 CUDA cores, 16GB of The PC Pro benchmark score of
whether your workload is single or GDDR6 memory and faster 568 is amazing compared to most
multithreaded. Chillblast has 448GB/sec bandwidth. other PCs we’ve reviewed, but it’s
partnered this potent CPU with 64GB Like all but one machine at the second slowest this month. The
of DDR4 memory, supplied as a pair of this price, the Chillblast only Maxon Cinebench R20 score of 9,788
32GB modules so there are still two sports one storage device – a PCI is also the second slowest, as is the
DIMM slots free in the Asus ROG Strix Express 4 NVMe drive. However, CPU Blender render time of 452

seconds. The Nvidia Quadro
graphics perform well, however,
with particularly strong
SPECviewperf 2020 results in
Creo, Maya and SolidWorks.

Of the three systems sporting
the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X here, the
Chillblast variant is marginally
behind on our benchmark tests.
This is still a very capable, well-
rounded workstation, but there
are slightly better performing
alternatives elsewhere.

PCSpecialistOnyx3000 memory architecture of the Ryzen ABOVE Theclean But the former is a PCI Express 3
Threadripper, leaving four more slots build and watercooled NVMe M.2 device with a small 250GB
Tfcooothrhmece2emr4dae-crcnoeodmarasebplpreor,ombcuiestsetsshoiisnrhisas free for upgrade on the Asus Prime CPU are just two of capacity that delivers 3,570MB/sec
TRX40-Pro S motherboard. this PC’s attractions sustained reading and 2,374MB/sec
SCORE writing. This isn’t slow, but half as
PRICE £2,500 (£3,000 inc VAT) Graphics acceleration is as fast as the Samsung PCI Express 4
from pcspecialist.co.uk/reviews expected at this price, though. The NVMe drives in some systems this
Nvidia Quadro RTX A4000 delivers month. The hard disk is a Seagate
PCSpecialist shows exactly what a huge 6,144 CUDA cores and 16GB Barracuda 7,200rpm unit, delivering
you can now get for your money of GDDR6 memory, with 448GB/ 210MB/sec reading and 205MB/sec
with its £3,000 inc VAT system sec of bandwidth. This is sure to writing, which is mediocre compared
– namely, a whopping 24 cores. But to make short work of any content to current hard disks.
afford this princely number, the creation viewport workload.
company has been forced to make Performance results show that
compromises in other areas. Storage is another area more cores don’t necessarily mean
where savings have been made. more speed in everything. The PC Pro
First, though, that processor – an PCSpecialist has opted for the benchmark score of 575 is fast but two
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X. This traditional combination of a of this month’s 16-core systems beat
24-core CPU offers a 3.8GHz base smaller SSD for operating system it. The Cinebench R20 score of 12,826
clock and 4.5GHz turbo, so it will cope and applications allied with a is only 16% faster too – from 50% more
superbly whether you’re performing larger conventional hard disk. cores. Graphics viewport results
single-threaded or multithreaded from SPECviewperf 2020 are in line
tasks. The memory PCSpecialist has
chosen to accompany this is only with most other Nvidia Quadro
32GB, however, which is a bit meagre RTX A4000 systems, although the
for 24 cores. This has at least been Catia, Creo and Maya results are a
supplied as four DIMMs, taking little behind. Rending with Blender
advantage of the quad-channel on the CPU is ahead of other
systems at this price, showing the
main strength of the 24 cores.

Ultimately, while it’s great to
have 24 cores at your disposal, the
lack of RAM and small primary
storage device unbalance the spec.
This is a competent workstation,
but other systems here have a more
even set of capabilities.

90

STORE.PCPRO.CO.UK Reader offer

Exclusiveoffer
Wforin£d6o9w.9s910Pro
Geta
CorlabimuyaWhiungdeo6w8s%10saHvoimngeofvoerrjuitsstR£R4P9.o9f9£219.99 FREEherearemanyreasonstobuya
separate copy of Windows 10.
Perhaps you’re building a new PC

Tfrom scratch or looking to moveup
uWpginr1da1odwetso

The OEM route is also a good choice if
you’re looking to upgrade from XP, Vista or
even Windows 7. XP and Vista users can’t
simply upgrade their install to Windows 10
from an older version of Windows. Maybe anyway, and while the option exists in
you want to run a version of Windows Windows 7, it’s not recommended for
alongside macOS or Linux. compatibility and performance reasons.
Whatever your reason, a Windows 10 Take advantage of the update to install a
OEM licence is a great choice. OEM stands fresh, pristine copy of Windows.
for original equipment manufacturer (think An OEM licence also fits the bill if you
Acer and Dell), and that means it’s tied to want to run Windows alongside another OS
one PC (so you can’t reuse the licence on a – either in a dual-boot configuration or in a
new build). But that’s reflected in a far lower virtual environment. In either event, it’s a
price: we’re offering Windows 10 Pro for just more cost-effective choice than splashing
£69.99, a £150 saving on Microsoft’s £219.99 out on a full retail licence. ahCnoladwimgteoytuoapudgrvrdicaeedaoel n
price for the retail version, or you can buy
Windows 10 Home for £49.99 versus the From Windows 10 Home to Pro
retail version’s list price of £119.99.
If you already own Windows 10 Home, an
The OEM difference OEM licence provides a way to upgrade to
Pro. This means you’ll benefit from
A Windows 10 OEM licence is perfect for additional features such as BitLocker, which
fresh installs. It’s the obvious choice for offers system-wide data protection by
those building a new PC from scratch – the encrypting your drives, including USB keys. We’velineduptwogreatofferswitha
lower price means you save money on the Then there’s Assigned Access, which gives minimumsavingof58%.Getasingle,
cost of your build – but you may also need a greater control over what users are able to non-transferableWindows10HomeOEM
fresh OEM licence if you’ve upgraded your do on a system, whilst Hyper-V allows you licenceforjust£49.99–that’safractionof
motherboard. Officially, Microsoft considers to run virtualised OSes within Windows the usual price (RRP £119.99).
that a new PC. without the need for extra software. Or, for just £10 more, you can buy a
single, non-transferable Windows 10 Pro
OEM licence for £69.99, saving you 68%
from the RRP of £219.99. These offers will
run through until 31 August 2021, but please
note that we have a limited number of codes
so buy early to avoid disappointment.
You’ll then need to download the latest
version of Windows (the May 2021 Update),
which you’ll use to create the boot media
(blank DVD or 8GB+ USB flash drive) you’ll
need to install Windows 10. On request, we
ABOVE Windows10OEMoffersthesamefeatures ABOVE YourWindows10OEMlicenceentitlesyou cangiveinstructionsonhowto“upgrade”
as a retail licence, but it’s tied to a single PC toallfutureWindows10updates–andWindows11 fromWindows10HometoPro.

Buy from the PC Pro store at pcpro.link/windows10

91

Preview pair of mirrored conventional hard
disks for safe asset storage. The main
PA6pThr4Cpor-rScgeooparmredeesricssiAipiandMpgleeiDbswrutRPotyOrrfzokoner-3ynint9xh-98e50W0X0 SSD is a Samsung 980 Pro NVMe PCI
Express 4 with sustained reading at
PREVIEW 6,366MB/sec and writing at 4,950MB/
PRICE £6,667 (£8,000 inc VAT) sec. The Samsung 870 QVO SATA SSD
from pcspecialist.co.uk/reviews provides reading at 524MB/sec with
writing at 460MB/sec, which is
PCSpecialist’s £8,000 inc VAT non-Pro’s 2.9GHz, with a top turbo ABOVE Withtheright behind other SATA SSDs here. The
system was still in development mode of 4.2GHz rather than 4.3GHz. GPU as a partner, this hard disks were slowed by the RAID1
at the time of this review, but PCSpecialist has partnered this could be an awesome configuration, providing 139MB/sec
we got a chance to take a look at it as a processor with 128GB of DDR4 workstation choice reading and 202MB/sec writing.
work in progress. PCSpecialist has memory provided as eight modules
embraced AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper to take advantage of the platform’s We only ran CPU-based
Pro platform to see what it can offer eight-channel architecture. It has benchmarks because PCSpecialist
beyond the existing non-Pro option. also supplied Nvidia Quadro RTX hasn’t confirmed the graphics it plans
It’s gone all in with the top-of-the- A4000 graphics, though a higher- to use yet. The PC Pro benchmarks
range Threadripper Pro 3995WX. This end member of the Quadro RTX score of 698 is only marginally behind
comes with a huge 64 cores, as does range would fit this processor spec the two Threadripper 3990X systems
the 3990X, and like other members of better, such as the A5000 or A6000. here. Likewise, the Maxon Cinebench
the Pro range it loses a few hundred The storage allocation is fully R20 result of 23,401 is a bit slower.
megahertz on clock speeds over the stocked, with a 2TB M.2 SSD for OS The Blender Gooseberry CPU render
non-Pro alternative. The base and applications, 2TB SATA SSD for took just 189 seconds, faster than one
frequency is 2.7GHz compared to the the media you’re working on, and a of the 3990X workstations. Only the
Adobe Media Encoder time of 172

seconds (software only) was the
fastest here; video encoding really
likes memory bandwidth.

Overall, this debut bodes well
for the Threadripper Pro 3995WX.
You lose performance in some areas
over the non-Pro 3990X but gain in
others where memory bandwidth
prevails. If your workloads need
this, and the added hardware
security, it looks very promising.

SAAmtChPc1woeU-anre2sntel4hlf-a3o’RbsrXraettSlemahsnGetocmWreeodPpnso-eyMwystienEermtfhubilsut unit, which uses the PCI Express 4
NVMe interface to deliver stunning
SCORE sustained reads of 6,797MB/sec and
PRICE £2,500 (£3,000 inc VAT) writing at 4,950MB/sec. This is class-
leading performance.
from scan.co.uk
If you need more storage, there’s a
Scan has a reputation to uphold, Graphics acceleration is as second M.2 slot available for another
as the winner of our last expected at the lower price – Nvidia’s NVMe drive. The Fractal Design
workstation Labs and a regular Quadro RTX A4000. This is a big step Meshify 2 chassis offers six 2.5/3.5in
recipient of awards for showcasing up from the Quadro RTX 4000, bays for further storage devices. The
the latest tech. The 3XS GWP-ME providing a whopping 6,144 CUDA Asus motherboard also provides a
A1-24R is another amazing mixture cores and 16GB of GDDR6 memory pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports at the rear
of cutting-edge components. with 448GB/sec bandwidth. This for fast external storage connectivity.
At the centre is a 12-core AMD is essentially the same memory
Ryzen 9 5900X, which has a 3.7GHz quantity and performance as the Performance results show a strong
base clock and 4.8GHz turbo. Scan has previous Quadro RTX 5000, but range of capabilities, with 516 in the
partnered the 5900X with a healthy with twice the CUDA cores. PC Pro benchmarks and 7,838 in
64GB of DDR4 memory, supplied as Scan is part of a trend we’ve Cinebench R20. However, with other
two 32GB modules to take advantage seen in this Labs (see opposite), manufacturers offering 16 or even 24
of the processor’s dual-channel only supplying an SSD for ABOVE There’salot cores at this price, CPU performance
memory ability but leaving two DIMM storage, rather than an additional tolikeaboutthisScan, is behind the competition. Putting
slots free on the Asus ProArt B550 secondary hard disk as well. But butthe12-corechip this in perspective, the Scan system
Creator motherboard for upgrade. it’s a potent 2TB Samsung 980 Pro putsitbehindrivals took 559 seconds to complete the
Blender render with CPU, and a

CPU-only video encode took 249
seconds, although this dropped to
166 seconds with the GPU.
SPECviewperf 2020 results are as
expected for the Nvidia Quadro
RTX A4000 graphics, with the
LuxMark 3.1 score of 10,276 on par
as well.

Overall, the Scan 3XS GWP-ME
A1-24R is an excellent workstation,
but the 12-core processor lets it
down in this month’s company.

92

ViewfromtheLabs
The mechanical hard disk may well be making its last hurrah in this Labs.
James Morris reveals the factors behind its imminent departure

Throughout this month’s Labs, about 25% faster than they were six disk, but the SSD will deliver twice
we’ve focused primarily on the years ago. But now that SSDs have PCI the sustained throughput and, most
complete takeover by AMD Express 4 interfaces to call upon with tellingly, a lot more than that with
processors. However, there was the AMD platforms, drives are hitting small file reading and writing in
another visible trend: only three of over 6,700MB/sec – nearly 27 times comparison due to much faster
this month’s systems contained the throughput of a conventional hard random access. SSDs consume far less
conventional, mechanical hard disks. disk. The Armari Magnetar’s RAID0 power too: up to 3.2W when writing
For many years, the traditional array of two PCI Express 4 NVMe SSDs and a mere 35mW when idle, whereas
configuration for workstations has FormerPCProeditor delivers a gobsmacking 13,000MB/sec the hard disk will be more like 7W
been a smaller, fast SSD for the OS and JamesMorrisisone – over 50 times faster. when writing and 3.7W when idle.
applications with much larger, slower oftheUK’sforemost Imagine you have a 4GB video file We have QLC technology to thank
hard disks for general media storage. workstationexperts to work on. That will take 16 seconds for lower prices. This is where a single
Only three systems this month deliver to load from a conventional hard disk, NAND flash memory cell has multiple
this configuration, though. At last, and less than a second from a PCI layers so it can store four bits of data,
the benefits of SSDs over conventional Express 4 NVMe SSD. Of course, SSDs compared to TLC’s three bits, MLC’s
hard disks are pulling ahead, with this fast still cost a considerable two bits, and SLC’s single bit. This has
sizes growing and costs falling. premium. But unless you’re working an implication for durability, but the
When SSDs first arrived, they on video regularly, the 1TB and 2TB 4TB Samsung 870 QVO, for example,
were soon hitting the ceiling provided NVMe PCI Express 4 boot is rated for 1,440TB written over three
by the SATA 600 interface. While Saha“AnhaSerdtDdalcsaddoso,istvswt,kestirshtfhacaelorsbleinienzvpnegeues”nlfgltiirtniosognowafilng drives provided by most years. This is where business-class
conventional hard drives were of the systems this month hard disks such as the WD Red Pro
delivering 160 to 210MB/sec sustained will be enough for have an on-paper advantage: they’re
throughput in our 2015 workstation everyday work. rated for a typical one million hours,
Labs, SATA-connected SSDs were which equates to 114 years of
already achieving a 560MB/sec read More modest 2.5in continuous usage.
rate. The differences in random SATA SSDs have also now
come down in price In reality, though, only a high
access performance were even more sufficiently to make these viable to usage data centre could have a
pronounced. The NVMe interface take the place of the large secondary problem with a 1,440TB writing limit.
had arrived, and SSDs using this PCI hard disks of previous years. Two The SSD has had the performance
Express-based interconnect were systems this month have opted for crown over hard disks for years. With
breaching 1,000MB/sec – five times Samsung 870 QVO SSDs as secondary prices edging closer together, the
more than any hard disk at the time. storage. The 4TB version of this drive writing is on the wall (or the flash
Fast forward to today and hard will set you back around £280, twice memory cell) for the venerable
disks are closing in on 250MB/sec, so the price of a 4TB business-class hard Winchester drive format.

Testresults

IndigoBench4CPU (Supercar) IndigoBench4GPU (Supercar) PCProbenchmarks (multitasking) PCProbenchmarks (overall)

PCOSnpyxec8ia0l0is0t 13.4 ScAan1-34X8ST 42.6 FusioCnhRillibplpaesrt 890 WSoprekcsitaaltiisotns LabsWinner 705

WSoprekcsitaaltiisotns LabsWinner 13.2 FusioCnhRillibplpaesrt 37.9 PCOSnpyxec8ia0l0is0t 890 FusioCnhRillibplpaesrt 703

FusioCnhRillibplpaesrt 12.8 WSoprekcsitaaltiisotns LabsWinner 37.7 WSoprekcsitaaltiisotns LabsWinner 890 PCOSnpyxec8ia0l0is0t 698

MaAgrnmetaarri Recommended 10.9 MaAgrnmetaarri 28.5 Recommended MaAgrnmetaarri Recommended 864 MaAgrnmetaarri Recommended 690

ScAan1-34X8ST 8.5 FusiCohnilRlbylzaesnt 28.2 ScAan1-34X8ST 798 ScAan1-34X8ST 639

PCOSnpyexc3ia0l0is0t 8.2 GrAavrimstaarri 28.2 IInPtWer-PRr9o Recommended 738 IInPtWer-PRr9o Recommended 598

IInPtWer-PRr9o 7.1 Recommended PCOSnpyexc3ia0l0is0t 28 PCOSnpyexc3ia0l0is0t 717 GrAavrimstaarri 582

GrAavrimstaarri 6.6 IIPnWte-rRP9r 27.8 Recommended GrAavrimstaarri 710 PCOSnpyexc3ia0l0is0t 575

FusiCohnilRlbylzaesnt 6.4 ScaAn1-32X4RS 27.7 FusiCohnilRlbylzaesnt 693 FusiCohnilRlbylzaesnt 568

ScaAn1-32X4RS 5.2 12 16 PCOSnpyxec8ia0l0is0t N/A ScaAn1-32X4RS 625 ScaAn1-32X4RS 516
0 48 0 15 30 45 60 0 225 450 675 900 0 180 360 540 720

93

TheNetwork

Practical buying and strategic advice for IT managers and decision makers

ssR2Buou0eyefp2mrt’sp1wgouoidtareetr-e
Nowmorethanever,remote-supportsoftwareisacrucialpart
ofyourITsuite.DaveMitchellrevealshowtochoosetheright ISL Online, LogMeIn and NetSupport
solutionforyourneeds,andtestsfourhigh-qualitycontendersastyear,whenthepandemic thecomfortoftheirowndesk–or,as – to help you choose the one that best
L it was understandable if fits your new working practices.
struck and working from home it might be, their own home.
suddenly became a necessity, Growing demand for remote Cloud connected
support during the pandemic has
support for remote workers was ensured that there’s now a wealth Cloud-hosted remote support is an
ad-hoc and patchy. Now, as the era of of affordable solutions for SMBs. In attractive choice for businesses
lockdowns hopefully draws to an end, this month’s buyer’s guide we look BELOW ConnectWise developing a hybrid working model.
many businesses are ready to at on-premises and cloud-hosted Controlprovidesan It allows technicians to access a
permanently embrace flexible solutions from four of the biggest extensiverangeof troublesome workstation or laptop
working models – and that means names in the business – ConnectWise, toolsfortechnicians regardless of where either party is
they need to find a reliable and physically located. There’s not even
manageable way of delivering a need for anything to be installed:
technical support to staff technicians can initiate support
across diverse locations. sessions from their personal cloud
Luckily, the solution is portal, while end users grant access
already out there. Remote- by clicking on a web link and entering
support software is a mature a unique security code supplied to
technology that’s been around them by the technician.
for many years. It means
there’s no need to waste All good cloud providers offer free
time on unproductive and time-limited trial accounts, so you
frustrating phone calls: can try out their services to see if
support technicians can put they’re right for your requirements.
themselves in front of a user’s Be aware, though, that some trials
computer without leaving have limited features; you’ll need to
buy a subscription to enable support
for multiple technicians and functions
such as reporting or portal branding.

Indeed, licensing can be confusing,
with different vendors using different
pricing schemes, based variously on
simultaneous support sessions, the
number of technicians and the

94

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO The Network Business Focus

amount of clients you want to can only be installed when a user is
support. Nearly all offer tempting present to verify the requester’s
savings with yearly contracts, but if authenticity – some products disable
you’re just trialling a system, look for remote control during this phase to
monthly billing and an easy contract ensure that technicians can’t accept
exit policy. the installation request themselves.

Our house Help on the way
It’s tempting to try to save money by
Cloud-based support systems are using free remote-access tools, such
convenient, but those demanding as Chrome Remote Desktop or
more hands-on control will prefer an Windows 10’s Quick Assist feature.
on-premises support solution. This It’s a false economy, though. With
requires an on-site server, but the minimal management features
hardware requirements are low (you these tools can be a security
can even use a regular Windows 10 nightmare, and they’re also
PC) and deployment is easier than you lacking a heap of features
might fear, taking only ten minutes compared to proper business-
for the initial installation. class remote-support
solutions. For example, you
Although on-premises solutions can expect both on-premises
were originally developed to provide and cloud-hosted products to
support over local networks, most include integrated file
have evolved to support remote transfer, audio and video chat
workers just as easily as those in the capabilities, along with screen
office. They often use a proprietary sharing, session recording,
gateway service to handle secure reboot and reconnect services
connections over the internet – but and hardware and software
check whether this is included in the inventory functions.
price as it may be an optional extra. They will often have better
connection is closed. This is great for TOP ISLLightoffers cross-platform support too. While
For the strictest possible security, security: it means the client is always excellentsecurity most products focus primarily on
some remote-support systems allow using the latest version of the agent optionsforitsAlways Windows systems, many offer agents
you to deploy agents that can only software, and outside of active On client agent for macOS, and some support Linux
accept connections from the specific support sessions there’s no remote- endpoints too. And while you can’t
on-premises server that created the access component for a would-be ABOVE GoToAssist’s remotely control iPads or iPhones
install package. Remote clients may attacker to try to break into. agentconsoleisgreat (due to the operating system’s strict
also be restricted to connecting a formanagingmultiple security model), many remote-
specific gateway address, rather than If you need all-hours access to supportconnections support products provide apps that
being open to the internet. unattended systems, however, you allow these devices to broadcast their
will have to leave an agent running screen to a technician.
Sleeper agents full-time. All good cloud-hosted On the other side of the support
products offer this as an option, and connection, there’s no reason why IT
All remote-support products require even let you push the agent out from staff shouldn’t also enjoy the freedom
some sort of software to be running the technician’s console. This raises to use their preferred platform, be
on the client system. With on- security concerns, however: you that desktop or mobile. Most remote-
demand access, a temporary agent is should ensure that unattended agents support products include
downloaded to the remote system for apps that allow them to
the duration of the session, and connect to and control
removed without trace once the client systems from a
smartphone or tablet.
asd“yWotsewtimtenhpmloooafnrod-adreredtymhtaeoagdntehudnertaaricstecimoensosot,ef
the session” As businesses put
together their post-
pandemic working
practices, remote-support software
has a hugely valuable – perhaps
indispensable – part to play. On the
following pages we review four
products offering a wealth of
LEFT TheNetSupport powerful features at affordable
Manageron-premises prices; read on to see which one will
solutionprovidesa smooth your business’ transition into
smartlocalconsole the new era of flexible working.

95

cCsfACeouoocalsulnnttoutontuirromedeno-cbshlwter2oWtias1tanht.ie8ndsaddienssdgmuisopatpprinttoicortntivse

SCORE We also tested the Control iOS ABOVE TheControl You can try Control for 14 days for
PRICE Starts from £17 per month exc VAT app on our iPad, and found it an webportalprovides free, and if you like what you see
from connectwise.com impressively consistent experience. technicianswithabig there’s a flexible range of licensing
The resentation is the same as the toolboxofutilities options. Small businesses may well be
If you’re looking for remote web portal and all the same features fine with the lightweight One licence,
support with a personal touch are available, meaning technicians which supports up to ten unattended
then ConnectWise Control is a can provide support from the road as agents and allows one technician to
great choice, as its portal and client easily as at their desks. run one connection at a time for
apps can be easily branded with your around, for around £17 per month.
company details. Both on-demand and always-on A Standard licence starts at about
sessions offer a good set of features. £28 per month, permitting up to
Personalisation is built into the You can adjust the video quality to three simultaneous connections and
system from the start: as soon as you suit the connection speed, chat to RECOMMENDED unlimited unattended agents. All
sign up, you’re prompted to pick a the person at the other end via text or packages include remote control, file
unique name to append to the voice, send and receive files, run transfer, web meetings, portal
standard Control URL. A focus on session recordings, annotate the branding and mobile technician apps,
security quickly becomes apparent client’s screen and share your own with the Standard version adding
too, as you can tighten technician screen across multiple sessions. Android and iOS mobile guest clients
access by enforcing two-factor for remote screen viewing.
authentication, and set up user roles One useful tool is a shared folder, Simple web-conferencing services
to determine what support functions where you can drop files for quick are also included through the Meeting
are available to each individual. access during a session. Another feature, which allows participants to
smart feature is the option to reboot use the same connection process to
The technician portal is easy to and automatically reconnect to a join, have audio conversations and
navigate, and offers two different client system: this doesn’t require the share their screens or
types of remote-support session. To always-on agent, and works even “Simple web-conferencing applications with other
create an on-demand connection you when booting to safe mode. sahaenlalrovdvewsihacinuaergdseiapotracheroetaniilrcvsisoepcrairnsnecateltsuinotdsone”sd, members. Upgrading to
can visit the Support tab and generate the Premium version
a custom URL and five-digit passcode During a support session, a enables the ConnectWise
to be passed onto the user. sidebar in the portal provides plenty View tool, which gives
of technical information. Across technicians the ability to
To set up an always-on connection, various tabs you’ll find hardware and
switch to the Access tab, select your software inventories, running
target platform (Windows, Mac or
Linux) and provide a few details about r vn
your company. A web link to the logs and messages
installer is then generated, which can sent, plus graphs
be run on the target machine to install revealing details
the resident agent. of current and
historical activity.
remotely access webcams
on client systems.
ConnectWise Control is a fairly
priced remote-support solution
that’s suitable for both SMBs and
larger organisations that want strong
access security and portal branding
features. It’s easy to use and has great
mobile support – and for those who
prefer to keep everything in-house,
ConnectWise offers an on-premises
version too.
LEFT Mobilesupport
istopnotch–theiOS REQUIREMENTSWindows7/Server2008
appprovidesthesame upwards,Linux,macOS10.8 mobileapp
toolsasthewebportal supportsAndroid 4,ChromeOS,iOS11

96

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO The Network Business Focus

IgtTitiShr’gseiLhseatOhatasomncyslcotitenebosdeimlsessaesenrucavpuigpcreoeitrtoyotfao–fenardnsd

SCORE
PRICE Cloud/1 licence, £259 per year exc
VAT from islonline.com

With ISL Online, simplicity is
the name of the game. It’s
a web-based service that’s
geared up for helping technicians
quickly and easily establish on- screen, send files to a specified
demand support sessions with remote folder on the remote system, ask
workers, or set client computers up the user to send files back,
for secure unattended access. record the session for posterity or ABOVE ISLOnline once someone’s connected, the
The online portal is a tidy affair. To use the drawing tool or pointer to presentsatidyweb remote user remains in charge – a
start a new session, just select the highlight areas of interest. consolethat’seasyto status bar at the top of their screen
remote support tab, then click to If you enable the console’s findyourwayaround provides options to stop sharing or
download the ISL Light app. You can administrative mode you’ll also have revoke remote access at any time.
now choose whether you want to access to a restart-and-resume The security of the cloud portal
view the remote desktop, share your function, which lets you reboot the can also be enhanced by enabling
own screen or just have a text chat; remote system and regain control 2FA. There are several options here:
whichever you pick, the app provides once it’s loaded up again. From the you can use an authenticator app, a
a unique eight-digit code, and offers web portal or the console you can security key or a code sent to your
multiple convenient options for even transfer the session to another mobile. We opted to use Microsoft
conveying it to a remote user. The technician and invite others to join in. Authenticator and the portal
quickest is to email a web link directly Unattended access is just as easily RECOMMENDED provided a QR code for convenient

from the app’s interface, but the app set up, by generating a unique scanning into the app.
can also open your local email invitation from the portal’s remote- Indeed, support for mobile devices
program with a new email ready and access tab; this contains a link that is outstanding all round.
waiting – or you can pass the code installs the ISL AlwaysOn app t“hAesrteamtuostbeaursaetrt’shsectroepeonf The free iOS and Android
onto the user in some other way, and preconfigured for your account. apps can be used by
ask them to enter it at the main ISL Security is reassuringly tight. pashcracorevisindsgeasotoraprnteyivotonimkseeto”resmtoopte technicians to access their
Online website. After installing the agent under both accounts and provide
Windows 10 and macOS, we were support on the move; end
Once the user has provided the required to secure access with a users can use the client
code, the ISL Light app is installed on
their system and the session begins. strong global password; technicians apps to give view-only
A bar at the top of the technician’s must provide this to connect, or users access to technicians if they’re having
console offers a wealth of support can create a one-time password that’s problems with their phone or tablet.
features: you can share your own only valid for a single session. Even BELOW TheiOSappis We tested this on an iPad. When
simpletouse,allowing logged in as a technician, we had no
users oeasilyshare problem starting on-demand support
their screens sessions and connecting to always-on
clients. As a user, we were able to join
an on-demand session with a few
taps, and to broadcast our screen
contents to the technician.
ISL Online isn’t just easy to use
– it’s affordable too, with a basic
pay-per-use contract starting at £70
for 500 minutes of unrestricted usage.
The Cloud licensing model starts at
£259 per year for one active session,
with an extra licence required for
each additional simultaneous session.
If that sounds a little complicated,
worry not: the company even
provides an online tutorial explaining
the differences.

REQUIREMENTS Windows 7 / Server 2008
upwards,Linux,macOS11 mobileapp
supports Android 4, iOS 11

97

tLrvURoeeonermugcmysoMoeamot,fetefwpoesIlreiunScdlpaGuafptebpoeoaldpTrettoocutlrrAohetusad5dts’a-issbnetadasseyd

SCORE reboot and ABOVE Thedesktop tried this process on Windows and
PRICE Yearly plan, per agent/month, £32 reconnect, send appissimilartothe macOS and found it seamless on both.
exc VAT from gotoassist.com files to the portal,butisbetter Alternatively, you can download the
client, browse withmultiplesessions permanent agent from the web
LogMeIn’s GoToAssist Remote their storage console and send it to the client for
Support is a well established devices and manual installation.
cloud-hosted support service, transfer the session to another Mobile support is mixed. An
and this latest update adds flexibility technician. Technicians can share Android agent is in the works, but it’s
by allowing technicians to launch their own screens too, via a browser currently in beta and officially only
remote-access sessions from their console on the remote system, and works on Samsung and LG mobiles.
personal web portal or a dedicated for general troubleshooting there’s a On iOS, meanwhile, the technician
desktop application. handy information button, which app only supports GoToAssist v4, and
shows a snapshot of the client any unattended systems
Whichever method you choose, system’s CPU usage, memory and “gBraenfoterde,rtehmeoutseecroisnstrhoolwisn set up from v5 won’t show
it’s easy to set up an on-demand running processes. adreewqtaeuibelssptoaifngtgehdtehispepeslreassyosinniogn” in its console. You can still
connection. With a few clicks you can open the web portal in
generate a nine-digit access code and The major difference between the Safari, however, and use
a web link, which can be sent directly web and app interfaces emerges when that to create on-demand
to the client via email or SMS. The end multiple support sessions are open sessions or access
user can then either click on the link together. In the application, a sidebar unattended systems.
or manually open the website and appears showing thumbnail views, It’s also worth noting that support
enter the code to initiate the session. so you can keep an eye on what’s for Android and iOS client devices is
going on and quickly swap between an add-on, costing £12 per month for
A few security measures help systems. If you’re using the web each technician. We tested it on an
prevent unauthorised access. Before portal, you can still manage multiple iPad with the GoToAssist Customer v5
remote control is granted, the user is sessions, but each one opens in its app loaded and had no problems
shown a web page displaying details own web page. remotely viewing its screen from the
of the person requesting the session; desktop console and web portal.
they must also manually download Unattended access can be set up in BELOW GoToAssist Mobile camera sharing is another
the temporary agent and explicitly two ways. If you’re already inside an workswithMacs,and handy tool, giving users an easy way
permit remote access. While the on-demand session then you just youcanaddAndroid to show technicians what they can
session is running, either party can have to click the “Add Device” button
click the disconnection button to on the toolbar; this pops up a request
instantly end the session – and on the remote system asking
afterwards the agent immediately permission to install a permanent
unloads itself, so there’s no agent, and the technician’s remote
opportunity for hackers to probe it. control is temporarily suspended, so
only the user can approve this. We
From the technician’s side, the
web portal and desktop app are
effectively identical, with an upper
menu providing an extensive range of
support tools. You’ll find options to

andiOSdevicestoo see, and enabling voice conversations
too. These connections work similarly
to regular support sessions, but use a
separate URL and require their own
security code.
LogMeIn’s GoToAssist Remote
Support 5 is easy touse and affordable,
as subscriptions are based on the
number of technicians with no limits
on simultaneous sessions. The iOS
technician app needs an update, but
overall this is a great support package
that makes a good fit for most SMBs.

REQUIREMENTS Windows 7/Server 2008
upwards,macOS11 mobileappsupports
Android 6.0, iOS 10 upwards

98

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO The Network Business Focus

N1pAsau2creccip.clt8eapeSss.o6tussrhyptfaoosptronoirln-urpecttmrliuoeModnmteaaeisstnwesaaesoggcroeukorreders

SCORE Although NSM is an on-premises ABOVE Youcanview when you connect an alert pops up in
PRICE 1-500 systems, perpetual, £10 each solution, it’s fully capable of alllocalandremote their system tray, and they can
exc VAT from netsupportmanager.com supporting home workers. As long as clientsfromthe disconnect anytime they want.
a remote client has the agent installed Manager console To start a full remote-control
Cloud-friendly SMBs have a and correctly configured with the session, it just takes a double-click on
plethora of remote-support address of the support host, the the client icon; you can also select
products to choose from; those Gateway and Connectivity Server specific tools from the thumbnail’s
who prefer to keep it all in house have components allow technicians to quick access toolbar or dropdown
fewer options. Luckily, one of those reach out and connect over the menu. There are some powerful
options is the exceptional NetSupport internet. Sessions are protected with features here that are rarely found in
Manager (NSM), a product that IT 256-bit AES encryption, and clients cloud-hosted solutions: for example,
departments have been relying on for can only connect if their security keys a distribution tool lets you send files
more than 30 years. match the gateway server’s. You can to multiple users at once, and there
tighten security further by restricting are facilities for technicians to run
Despite its affordable pricing, NSM which support staff are permitted to training sessions by sharing their
offers all the features you’d want access remote systems. screen to groups of users, as well as
from a fully-fledged support product. recording and replaying activities on
Those include full remote control, file Both local and remote clients are the host.
transfer, text and audio chat, remote accessed from the same NSM Control NSM’s hardware and software
application launch and Registry console, via a tree view that groups inventory features are impressively
editing tools – plus highly detailed systems together for easy access. comprehensive, and include details
hardware and software inventory. Dynamic groups can help you quickly of all running processes and services,
find clients based on their OS, client along with facilities to
Getting set up is swift and easy. version or geographical location; if remotely stop and start
After installing the NSM Control you want to focus on remote clients, them – something that
component on a Windows 10 host, you’ll find these all listed under the
we were able to use the Deploy tool gateway tab in the console.
to scan the LAN and push the client
to all discovered Windows desktops. As well as descriptions
You can’t currently do the same of systems, the console
with macOS clients, but manual offers visual thumbnails
installation merely involves copying that let you passively
the NSM application and licence file keep an eye on multiple
onto each Mac you want to support. clients. Users needn’t
worry about privacy:
y“Douynqaumicikclygrfoinudpcslcieannthselp
bsgyeasostegedrmaop,nchtlihiceeanilrtlovoceparetsriiaootnni”nogr could be invaluable for
troubleshooting.

The support process
doesn’t have to be one-
directional either: users
can use the NSM client to send help
requests. NetSupport’s PIN server lets
them generate a unique access code,
and when technician and user
provide the same code, an instant
connection is created.
If your business needs an on-
premises support solution then you
need look no further. NetSupport
Manager is a cinch to deploy, delivers
a remarkable range of technician
tools and includes full support for
remote workers – all for a reasonable
one-off, per-client price.
LEFT TheiOS
Managerapp REQUIREMENTSWindows7/Server2008,
providesa macOS10.9upwards,Linux mobileapp
richconsole supportsiOS7andAndroid5upwards

99

pEWmAenhair-GenFfoaaie6rvgnimeAliymuaPasnerocnmfefteoarutin able
ax
SCORE
PRICE £363 exc VAT it.
from solwise.co.uk ,

There are plenty on of
access points to with
from, but most gy
are designed for indoo s,
installation. EnGenius a
ECW260 brings the ected
performance of ith the
Wi-Fi 6 into the nd
great outdoors. Its as
innards are protecte
rated metal housing, s ABOVE Thecompact ol too,
more than up to the design comes with select
British weather – it’s total dust- mountings to attach w all
tight and can even handle full to a wall or a pole the
immersion in a metre of water for days.
30 minutes.
year
As for technical capabilities, we’re RECOMMENDED ted
looking at a dual-band AP claiming s service ows you to to around £37 pe evice per year.
speeds of up to 1,200Mbits/sec on its manage any number of sites, or To register the AP you can enter
5GHz radio and 574Mbits/sec on the organisations, and all the cloud- the unit’s serial number in the portal,
2.4GHz band. It connects back to your enabled APs and switches contained or use the Cloud To-Go
network through a 2.5GbE multi- within them. “mTehteakl bitriancckluedt efosrawstaulrl dy iOS app to scan in the QR
Gigabit LAN port located behind the Before adding APs to your account, pamlolooluewnutisniingnggi,tcwtioritcbhuelcpaulratc-coleaudmtospnsa” code on the base. We
weatherproof grommet in its base; it’s worth configuring your wireless chose the latter option
note that there’s no socket for an networks first; these will then be and the ECW260 was
external power supply, so you’ll need pushed out automatically when your instantly added to our
a PoE+ power source. access points come online. Up to eight site; moments later it had
SSIDs per site are supported, and for received our wireless
The kit includes a sturdy metal each one you can decide which radios settings and was broadcasting the
bracket for wall mounting, with cut- are active, choose whether to enforce SSIDs. The cloud service also detected
outs allowing it to be placed on a pole WPA3 encryption, enable application that our review unit was in need of a
using circular clamps. A heavy-duty analysis and apply rate limits for the firmware upgrade, and automatically
grounding cable is provided too, entire SSID or per client. downloaded and applied it.
along with self-tapping screws for One feature of the portal that’s Although the ECW260 doesn’t
dry walls, and the back of the AP has particularly relevant to the ECW260 support high-performance 160MHz
four standoff lugs to aid with cooling. is the ability to set separate groups of channels, it delivered superb speeds
settings to be applied to internal and BELOW TheECW260 in our real-world tests. Large file
external APs. You may, however, canbemanagedfrom copies between a Windows 10 Pro
notice that you have little control eitherthecloudportal workstation equipped with a TP-Link
over Wi-Fi 6 settings: you can choose or a mobile app Archer TX3000E Wi-Fi 6 PCI-E
adapter and a server on the LAN
averaged a speedy 103MB/sec at close
range, dropping to 82MB/sec when
we moved the AP 20m away.
The EnGenius ECW260 is an
excellent AP for any business wanting
to extend Wi-Fi 6 services to an
outdoor area. Its casing can handle
most weather extremes, Wi-Fi 6
performance is very good and cloud-
management services are beyond
reproach. DAVEMITCHELL

SPECIFICATIONS
AX1800 Wave 2 dual-band 2.4GHz/5GHz
802.11ax 1.8GHzquad-coreARMCortex
A53sCPU 2x2MU-MIMO 2x2.4GHz/2x
5GHzexternalaerials 2.5GbELAN/PoE+
wall plate, pole mount clamps, earth strap
190 x 124 x 53mm (WDH without aerials)
700g 2yrhardwarewarranty

100