Custom PC

I am always amazed when I walk into the local WHSmith’s and see the hundreds of magazines available about computing, whether it be new software, how to use Windows XP, or the latest games releases. They all cover many different subjects monthly but somehow always seem to contain the same material.

Custom PC is different. Custom PC is fresh. Custom PC is great!!

As you can probably tell, I am a keen Custom PC magazine fan and simply cannot bear to be without the latest issue of this wonderful hardware bible.

For those who don’t know, or haven’t even heard of Custom PC before, the magazine is an almost entirely hardware based monthly magazine, full of the latest gear available in the PC world. They review everything from top notch Processors and £400 cooling systems to Plastic Duck USB drives and illuminated internal cables. They also deal with Operating System problems, not only for Windows, but Linux too in a popular but obviously titled ‘Operating Systems’ section.

I have found this magazine to be invaluable many-a-time, when in need of purchasing advice as, unlike many other magazines I have seen, they don’t always opt for the most expensive option, favouring full-on tests to find out which will be best for which type of person accompanied with a full table of results showing written in plain English.

The main aim of it is to get people to make the most out of their PC’s, both at home and in the office, by using accurate, and detailed benchmarking systems to show readers how hardware will perform in real situations rather than those quoted by the manufacturers technicians.

I must admit that some of the articles do seem slightly out of place, or perhaps out of readers reaches, such as pages covering how to fill your computer full of a gaseous substance that will supposedly cool it to -35°C. This kind of article is interesting as you’d love to have a go while knowing that no-one (including yourself) is going to actually follow it through.

The newest issue of the magazine is usually available at the rear end of each month under the clichéd yet true term of ‘available from all good newsagents’ for £3.50 in the UK. There aren’t usually any free gifts included but then again, who actually buys the magazine for the free gift eh? (*Looks around with shifty eyes*)

I would thoroughly recommend at least taking a look at this magazine next time you are in town, but it definitely helps to have an active interest in computers and how they work rather than knowing how to use Word and Excel.