Custom PC UK

Custom PC is the UK’s best-selling magazine for PC hardware, overclocking, gaming and modding. Every month, Custom PC is packed with in-depth hardware reviews, step-by-step photo guides and informative features, all with a focus on tinkering with your computer’s insides. Along the way, you’ll also find hard-hitting tech opinion, game reviews and all manner of computer hobbyism goodness, from small Pi projects to extreme PC mods.

Socket to me

Custom PC

DO WE NEED A 240W LAPTOP? • Richard Swinburne takes a sceptical look at Asus’ latest top-end gaming laptop, which packs a 16-core CPU and RTX 3080 Ti GPU

FIFA FO FUM • Tracy King looks at the current row between FIFA and EA for official video game rights to the beautiful game

Incoming

ASUS ANNOUNCES ZEN 5 BOARD

CORSAIR SHOWS OFF ITS FIRST GAMING LAPTOP

Letters • Please send us your feedback and correspondence to custompc@raspberrypi.com

SAPPHIRE NITRO+ RADEON RX 6750 XT / £650 inc VAT

SAPPHIRE NITRO+ PURE RADEON RX 6950 XT/£1,200 inc VAT

GPU BENCHMARK RESULTS

NZXT N7 Z690 / £269 inc VAT

COOLER MASTER MASTERBOX 500 / £97 inc VAT

COOLER MASTER MASTERLIQUID PL240 FLUX/£133 inc VAT

ANTEC SYMPHONY 240/£70 inc VAT

ASUS ROG SWIFT PG279QM/£799 inc VAT

MSI OPTIX MPG321UR-QD/£900 inc VAT

LOGITECH LIFT/£70 inc VAT

ASUS TUF GAMING M4 AIR AND M4 WIRELESS / £42 inc VAT (M4 Air); £54 inc VAT (M4 Wireless)

ALIENWARE x17 R2 / £3,184 inc VAT

ASUS ROG STRIX SCAR 15 G533ZW / £2,399 inc VAT

OCUK SPECTRA GAMING CELESTE/£1,399 inc VAT

JBL REFLECT FLOW PRO / £129.99 inc VAT • Phil Hartup checks out the latest gadgets, gizmos and geek toys

NANOLEAF LINES SKIN / £14.99 inc VAT

RUGD RHINO POWER/£19.99 inc VAT

SANDISK EXTREME PRO SSD / £189.99 inc VAT (1TB); £305.99 inc VAT (2TB); £612.99 inc VAT (4TB);

BRAINWAVZ TREO / £15.99 inc VAT

How we test

Custom PC AWARDS

SUBSCRIBE TO Custom PC

CPU megatest • Antony Leather straps 12 of the latest mainstream desktop CPUs from Intel and AMD to the test bench, to find the best options for a variety of budgets

INTEL CORE i5-12400F / £165 inc VAT

AMD RYZEN 5 5600 / £179 inc VAT

AMD RYZEN 5 5600X / £210 inc VAT

AMD RYZEN 7 5700X / £270 inc VAT

INTEL CORE i5-12600K / £270 inc VAT

AMD RYZEN 7 5800X / £290 inc VAT

AMD RYZEN 9 5900X / £360 inc VAT

INTEL CORE i7-12700K / £380 inc VAT

AMD RYZEN 7 5800X3D / £430 inc VAT

AMD RYZEN 9 5950X / £500 inc VAT

INTEL CORE i9-12900K / £539 inc VAT

INTEL CORE i9-12900KS / £720 inc VAT

CPU LABS BENCHMARK RESULTS

Elite • Our choice of the best hardware available

A SENSE OF PLACE • Ghostwire Tokyo and Weird West demonstrate the importance of understanding your setting for different reasons, says Rick Lane

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands / £54.99 inc VAT

Ghostwire Tokyo / £49.99 inc VAT

NIGHTMARE REAPER / £19.49 inc VAT

WEIRD WEST / £30.99 inc VAT

REALITY CHECK • Rick Lane checks out the Meta Quest Gaming Showcase and flings around his virtual tentacles in his latest VR roundup

QUEST GAMING SHOWCASE

Home comforts • Make your home office or gaming setup more comfortable, relaxing and functional with Edward Chester’s top tips for creating the ultimate desk setup

RAPID RESPONSE • EDWARD CHESTER EXPLORES WHAT’S MEANT BY YOUR MONITOR’S RESPONSE TIME, HOW IT VARIES AND HOW OUR NEW TESTING WILL...