Specifications

Release
Notes
Contents
01.05
REGULARS
New Year, New Projects
8 In/Out
You write, we respond
14 Quick Start
PC previews, news, and factoids
22 Head2Head
This month: PDAs
26 WatchDog
Maximum PC takes a bite out of bad gear
68 Ask the Doctor
Symptom, diagnosis, cure
71 How To...
This month: Make a BartPE recovery disc
74 In the Lab
A behind-the-scenes look at product testing
120 Rig of the Month
It’s amazing what a person can do with a PC!
REVIEWS
GAMES
95 Madden 2005
95 RollerCoaster Tycoon 3
96 Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault
97 Pacific Fighters
97 Full Spectrum Warrior
JANUARY 2005 MAXIMUMPC 5
76 Desktop PC: Alienware Area-51 ALX SLI
78 Notebook PC: Voodoo Envy m:790
80 Wi-Fi access points: Buffalo Technology WHR3-G54;
Parker Vision WR1500; Belkin Wireless Pre-N
82 PC cases: Silverstone LC10 HTPC; Kingwin Mutant X
84 Card scanner: Corex CardScan Executive
84 2.1 speakers: Logitech Z-2300
86 External hard drive: Buffalo DriveStation 160GB
86 Small formfactor PC: AOpen XC Cube EX65
88 MP3 players: MSI Mega 516 256MB; Creative MuVo Slim
256MB; GoVideo Rave-MP AMP128
90 Mini hard drive: Seagate 5GB Pocket Drive
90 Disc printer: Signature Z1 CD/DVD Printer
92 USB keys: M-Systems Smart DiskOnKey; Verbatim
Store ‘n’ Go;
Memorex TravelDrive
94 Laptop bags: Axio Fuse Hardpack; Ogio Boss
REVIEW
S
REGULARS
New Projects
8
4
2
REGULARS
New Projects
8
1
4
2
2
Which PDA
belongs in your
pocket? p.22
A celebrity-
endorsed
mobo. p.15
T
his month, we take a long, hard look at 19 new
PC technologies that promise to evolve your
PC’s performance and functionality to new lev-
els. It’s the perfect story for the onset of 2005. Flush
with loot from the holidays, we can all hunker down
and begin the entertaining process of mapping out
the year’s upgrades.
I often get so caught up in thinking about upgrad-
ing my rigs for performance during this pre-spring fling
that I overlook more basic, non-performance-related
PC tasks. No more! I hereby
commit to the following PC
projects in 2005.
Get my digital audio
together: 2005 is the year I
rip, archive, and organize my
entire music library. I’m going
to start by organizing all the
songs in my existing digital
library; I’ll get the song/art-
ist/album names right, then
I’ll make sure it’s properly
organized. Then I’m going to
rip every CD I have to FLAC,
or maybe Apple’s proprietary
lossless format. This will
ensure archival-quality sound,
in case I lose or scratch a CD.
Then I’m going to convert these files into a smaller,
more portable digital format like 192Kbps MP3s. The
result will be a song collection that’s easy to sort, easy
to move onto my portable music player, and easy to
stream throughout my house.
Build the ultimate media server: I want to
take one of my old systems and turn it into a high-
capacity server exclusively dedicated to storing all
my music and photographs. On top of this, I want to
get some PVR action going. I’m envisioning four to
five TV tuners, with an equal number of cable boxes.
Using an off-the-shelf copy of WinXP Media Center
Edition 2005 or BeyondTV, or maybe SageTV, I’ll be
able to record anything and everything and stream it
throughout my house.
Wire my house: The more I’ve worked with
streaming media, the more I want to run Gigabit
Ethernet to key areas of my house. Don’t get me
wrong—I’ll still use Wi-Fi for my notebook and more
simple tasks. But there’s no way I’ll be able to stream
hiccup-free video from my media server to other rooms
in my house without wires. It shouldn’t be too difficult
a task. And once it’s done, it will be easy to upgrade in
the future.
Computerize my kitchen: It’s time to build—
or buy—a kitchen PC. I’m thinking something simple
mounted near the stove and prep area, with a small
screen (and a protective coating), and possibly a touch-
screen display. Hmmm...maybe I’ll convert a tablet PC?
THE EIC’S PICKS
TECHNOLOGY PREVIEW:
We had a blast putting this
cover story together, and
the result is a great opener
followed by a deep, insight-
ful look at the next 12
months. Page 30.
HALF-LIFE 2: I’m particu-
larly proud of this feature
story. We go past the obvi-
ous here to break down the
most sophisticated game
design ever. Page 44.
POWER SUPPLY
SHOWDOWN: I love the
opening art in this story.
Majestic! Page 52.