PC Pro

The UK’s biggest selling PC monthly magazine, and your source of professional IT news, reviews and tests. Combining in–depth industry comment and analysis with rigorous product testing.

Never mind the brand, it’s the price that matters

CONTRIBUTORS

PC pro • January 2023 Issue 339

Google’s chopping block • Does Google deserve its reputation for killing products at will? Stadia joins the list of victims

Crypto’s climate change • Ethereum’s switch to “proof of stake” boosts crypto’s eco credentials

Win for the virtual networks

Apple hangs up on SIM cards • Apple wants rid of SIM cards. Are the mobile networks ready for eSIMs? James O’Malley investigates

The A-List • The best products on the market, as picked by our editors

Meme culture is not only alive and well, it’s funny • While he’s now a firmer believer in Dawkins’ theory of memes, Dick leans towards dark humour rather than the cute worlds of lolcats and Doges

Demos shouldn’t just be an artist’s impression • Vapourware dates back to the birth of personal computers, and it remains just as frustrating a way to glimpse the future as ever

ISPs must deliver, deliver, deliver • The argument for ISPs to charge content owners such as Netflix an extra fee to traffic their data remains as flawed as it has always been

Star letter

Readers’ comments • Your views and feedback from email and the web

Readers’ poll • How long do you expect a new PC or laptop to last?

PC PRO Christmas Gift Guide • WHETHER YOU’RE BUYING FOR SOMEONE ELSE OR JUST NEED TO LEAVE A SUBTLE HINT FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS, HERE’S OUR GUIDE TO DOZENS OF GREAT TECH GIFTS FOR THIS CHRISTMAS

PC GAMES FOR THE Christmas WISHLIST • CHRISTMAS IS, OF COURSE, A TIME FOR GAMES – ALTHOUGH THERE’S NOT MUCH FESTIVE CHEER ABOUT SOME OF THE GAMES ON OUR LIST…

PC PRO GIFT SUBSCRIPTION

The homework hacker’s happy ending • Then 15-year-old Alistair Smith used his coding skills to hack his maths homework. It led to a showdown with the owner of the homework site. Here Alistair tells his extraordinary tale of what happened…

Switch to ABILITY OFFICE 11 FOR FREE • We give away a full version of Ability Office 11 this month (see p66). Here, Nik Rawlinson explains why you might want to switch

Why Ethernet just won’t die • If you’re looking for a fast, reliable network, there’s still nothing better than good old-fashioned cables. Darien Graham-Smith uncrosses the wires

Switching routes

PoE: I got the power

AMD Ryzen 7000 series • A brilliant set of technological advances add to these chips’ appeal, but they require a big up-front investment

The motherboard difference

AMD Ryzen 5 7600X • A fast gaming chip for the price, even it faces tough competition from the i5-13600K

AMD Ryzen 9 7900X • An impressive gaming chip, but other options from both AMD and Intel are better value

AMD Ryzen 7 7700X • The best choice for most AMD fans due to its supreme performance coupled with a great price

AMD Ryzen 9 7950X • A stunning opening salvo for the next generation of AMD processors, but boy it’s expensive

Bag a software bargain • Don’t pay full price for software when we can offer you huge reductions on everything from security software to Windows 11 Pro

Intel 13th gen Core desktop processors • A lukewarm upgrade on paper, but in practice this is a stunning performance leap for a single generation

Intel Core i5-13600K • Nudging into i7 territory for performance, this is a brilliant all-rounder for a great price

Intel Core i9-13900K • Intel’s top-end and highly overclockable chip comes at a heavy premium, but it’s worth it

Intel Core i7-13700K...