1ST CORE ULTRA PC TESTED

PRINTERS FOR PROS

BEST ink tank choices
BEST lasers & all-in-ones
BEST for home and office
See
6 FULL PRODUCTS WORTH £170 page 66

THE BIG
WINDOWS 2025
GUIDE Every Windows
question answered!
Why you need to update
from Windows 10
The right Windows 11 for you
What to expect from Windows 12

LATEST REVIEWS
BONUS SOFTWARE CODE YF9JWBQP

Dell XPS 13 NEW

ISSUE 365 FEBRUARY 2025 £6.99

Raspberry Pi 500
ISSUE 365

Brilliant screen, An £84 computer in a

genuine all-day keyboard
battery life
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO
February 2025 Issue 365
HIGHLIGHTS THIS MONTH Full contents overleaf

REVIEW
p46
OF THE MONTH
HP OmniBook Ultra Flip
If you’ve resisted 2-in-1 laptops until now, the
HP OmniBook Ultra might just change your mind.
For one, it’s a gorgeous and sleek laptop that packs
a chip from Intel’s most efficient Core Ultra 200V
family. Even with a 14in OLED screen we found that
it delivered such good battery life that we stopped
worrying about charging it. But it also includes a
terrific keyboard, and with a 1.3kg weight it’s
light enough that we were quite happy using it
as a tablet when it came time to annotate
PDFs. The only real question is
whether it’s worth the high
asking price.

p28 p36 p40

WINDOWS UPGRADE UPSKILLING DEEP DIVE

OF THE MONTH OF THE MONTH OF THE MONTH
Whether you’re running an old version of You’ve almost certainly heard of DaVinci How do the latest laptops and Macs run
Windows or thinking about buying a new Resolve, which has changed all the rules for Intel software on their Arm processors?
system, you need to know your options. And amateur video makers. Here, we reveal how to Darien Graham-Smith explores the
that’s what we provide from p28. exploit the free software for yourself. world of emulation.

MYSTERY OF p123 THE LABS IN p78

THE MONTH ONE NUMBER
IBM Apple How much does it cost
People have now forgotten that Apple and IBM you to currently print
were very nearly bedfellows in the 1990s, with a page of text on your
plans for an operating system to rule them all. We printer? Chances are
explain what went wrong – and why ultimately that it’s ten times or
that was the best choice for both companies. more what it will cost
if you choose one of the
best-value printers in
our group test of 14
this month.

3
p56 1ST CORE ULTRA PC TESTED REGULARS

7 Editor’s letter 108 Subscriptions

PRINTERS FOR PROS

p78
16 The A-List
26 Readers’ letters
129 Next month
130 One last thing…
BEST ink tank choices
BRIEFING
BEST lasers & all-in-ones
10 Gelsinger’s gone: what
BEST for home and office next for Intel?
CEO’s sudden departure raises prospect
See
6 FULL PRODUCTS WORTH £170 page 66 of the company being torn apart.

12 The space race for your phone

T-Mobile has teamed up with Starlink
to eliminate mobile dead spots in the
US. Barry Collins investigates whether

THE BIG
it could take off in the UK, too.

14 Four surprising things we

p28

WINDOWS 2025 learned from IBM Research

AI and quantum computing were two
big themes at this year’s IBM Research

GUIDE
Europe media event, but there was also
one surprise lurking in the lab.

VIEWPOINTS
22 Dick Pountain
Every Windows What could possibly be convincing the
question answered! once liberal owners of big tech to switch
their allegiance to the new president?
Why you need to update
from Windows 10 23 Nicole Kobie
Why is the gap between tech promises
The right Windows 11 for you and reality so wide? It’s all our fault,
says Nicole.
What to expect from Windows 12
24 Barry Collins
Forget wikis, YouTube videos and
Q&As – software support was so much
LATEST REVIEWS better in the days of printed manuals.

Dell XPS 13 NEW

ISSUE 365 FEBRUARY 2025 £6.99

Raspberry Pi 500 FEATURES

Brilliant screen, An £84 computer in a 28 Windows in 2025
genuine all-day keyboard With the new year bringing the curtain
battery life down on the most used version of
Windows, we explore where consumers
p51 p54 and businesses should head next.
365 COVER C.indd 1 11/12/2024 15:49

36 Instant expert:
Real World Computing 3 SUBSCRIBE
AND RECEIVE A
DaVinci Resolve
Edit and render videos like a pro –
FREE GIFT Nik Rawlinson shows you how to hit
110 Jon Honeyball 118 Davey Winder Subscribe to PC Pro the ground running with the powerful
Why Microsoft’s new Davey reveals one of the today and you can free editing suite.
mini PC might be of oddest cyberattacks yet benefit from our limited-
interest to IT managers. and says we all need to
time offer: see p108 for 40 Emulation: making
stop blaming users for BELOW How
full details.
Windows on Arm great again
113 Lee Grant cybersecurity failings. weird can How do the latest laptops and Macs run
Lee reveals the inner cybercrime Intel software on their Arm processors?
workings of a secretive 120 Steve Cassidy get? Find out Darien Graham-Smith explores the
Microsoft department. If you’re wondering on p118 wonderful world of emulation.
why phone calls are
116 Olivia Whitcroft still so difficult in 3THE PC PRO
We all have an implicit 2025, Steve – PODCAST THE NETWORK
understanding of what master of the Listen live to the PC Pro 104 Get ready for the biggest
“confidential” means, VoIP upgrade podcast every Thursday security threats of 2025
but in practice it’s open project – has at 1pm. Join us at Forewarned is forearmed: Davey
to misunderstanding. the answer. pcpro.link/discord Winder explores the likely online
security risks of the year ahead.

4
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO
February 2025 Issue 365

REVIEWS THIS MONTH LABS

LAPTOPS & CONVERTIBLES 72 Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro
46 HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 73 RedMagic 10 Pro
51 Dell XPS 13 (Core Ultra 200V)
PRINTERS
RASPBERRY PI & PIMORONI 84 Epson EcoTank ET-2865
54 Raspberry Pi 500 85 HP OfficeJet Pro 9135e
74 Pimoroni Pico Plus 2 W 86 Canon Pixma TR7650
75 Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W 86 Epson WorkForce Pro
76 Raspberry Pi Touch Display 2 WF-C4310DW
77 Raspberry Pi SSD 87 Epson WorkForce
WF-2960DWF
DESKTOP PCs 87 HP Smart Tank 7005
56 PCSpecialist Nebula Goliath 88 Canon i-Sensys LBP243dw
59 Wired2Fire HAL 9000 89 Kyocera Ecosys PA4000wx
90 Brother HL-L2865DW
Compact PC
90 Brother MFC-L2980DW
91 HP Color LaserJet Pro
MONITOR
MFP 3302fdw
61 Eizo FlexScan EV3450XC
91 HP LaserJet M209d
92 Lexmark MS331dn
E-READERS 92 Xerox C410
62 Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024)
63 Amazon Kindle Paperwhite WI-FI 7 ACCESS POINTS

Printers
Signature Edition (2024) 98 EnGenius ECW536
99 TP-Link Omada EAP772
SMARTWATCHES 100 Ubiquiti UniFi U7 Pro Max
64 Huawei Watch GT 5 101 Zyxel NWA130BE
65 Huawei Watch D2

for pros
VIDEOCONFERENCING BAR
SMARTPHONES 102 Barco ClickShare Bar Pro
68 Xiaomi Mix Flip
70 Oppo Find X8 Pro DESKTOP SCANNER
71 ThinkPhone 25 by Motorola 103 Epson WorkForce DS-800WN

We put 14 inkjet and p78

laser printers through
their paces in our
exhaustive tests for
quality and speed so
that you can buy
with confidence.

Buyer’s guide
The Xiaomi Mix Flip has a great 96 Upgrade to Wi-Fi 7
p68 display and the best cameras
We review four business-class Wi-Fi 7 access
yet on a flip phone – but does
points and explain what to look for when
the software let it down?
investing in this cutting-edge technology.

Futures
123 Apple’s big blues 126 AI agents: putting AI to work
Apple once joined forces with IBM to According to Google, Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic,
create an operating system that could this year is set to be all about AI agents. Nicole Kobie reveals
easily have destroyed the Mac. David what this means and whether the backlash is beginning
Crookes explains what happened. before AI agents are even here.

5
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Editor’s letter

It’s time for

radical honesty in
the IT industry

I
’ll be honest: I haven’t read Dr bland press release full of platitudes with barely touches the NPU inside
Brad Blanton’s book Radical as Intel doesn’t want to upset the – yet you can’t use the AI Companion
Honesty: How to Transform market and Pat doesn’t want to lose app unless you buy an HP laptop with
Your Life by Telling the Truth. In his $10 million golden handshake. an NPU inside. It’s marketing. It’s
fact, the only reason I even know There’s a similar nebulous cloud sugar-coating. I don’t like it and it
about it is because I asked Copilot if of mystery around AI, with tarnishes my feelings for the
there was a philosophy of complete manufacturers – including Intel – computer, whereas if HP were up
honesty, imagining that I would be promising the world while delivering front about this then I wouldn’t have a
directed to Greece in the 4th century very little. In off-the-record problem with it.
BCE. But no, I was directed to this 21st conversations, everyone accepts In contrast, I have only positive
century version instead. that we’re at the beginning of the feelings about IBM having spent a day
My reason for searching is that I mainstream AI journey. That in at its AI summit (see p14). Not because
want to be more honest. To avoid the three decades’ time, we’ll look back it was in Zurich – truth is, I saw
sugar-coating that sometimes creeps at today’s AI PCs with the same nothing of Zurich – but because I
into my relationships, as I avoid patronising nostalgia as we think of was speaking to people doing real,
telling people exactly what I think. Amstrads and Commodores. But the cutting-edge research. It appears that
A couple of my best friends have this marketing around these computers is if you have a PhD you have to tell the
attitude, and I know that others so desperately trying to turn nuggets truth, and in great, molecular detail.
admire them for it – unless they’re in of usefulness into transformational My brain, which is a pea compared to
the firing line. Why am I mentioning technologies that will shake our world theirs, was gasping for air by the time I
this? Because the IT industry could do that they’re destroying people’s faith. left, but there really is great work
with a dollop of honesty right now. The thing is, we’re not children. going on here – and AI is key.
Take the departure of Pat Gelsinger We know when we’re being lied to In one final moment of candour
from Intel, which we cover on p10. – or, if “lie” is too strong for this this month, I will admit I have no
Even my cats know that he didn’t magazine’s lawyers, being fed a intention of reading Dr Blanton’s
retire. A blue-chip company does sugar-coated version of the truth. book, despite its promise of “deeper
not announce the retirement of its We want honesty. For example, I connections and personal freedom”.
CEO the day after that retirement was review the HP OmniBook Ultra Flip But, as with all the reviews and
said to happen. That’s a good old laptop this month (see p46) and it’s a articles in this august magazine, I
explosion in a boardroom, an damn fine machine. HP’s best for promise to tell the truth.
irresistible force meeting an years, in my view.
immovable object, and dammit I want But, unless Task Manager is lying to Tim Danton
to hear about it. But no, we receive a me, the AI Companion app it ships Editor-in-chief

CONTRIBUTORS

Les Pounder Simon Handby Olivia Whitcroft Barry Collins

Les, who helped write and We set Simon the If you ask IP lawyer and What’s Barry angry about
deliver the Raspberry unenviable task of testing data protection specialist this month? The demise
Pi Foundation’s teacher 14 inkjet and laser printers Olivia for assistance, you of Western democracy?
training programme, to discover which deliver can trust that she will Cancel culture? The fate
gives his honest verdict on the ideal mix of quality, keep your discussion of his non-league football
five new Pi products this features and value. Read his confidential. But would you team? Nope: he wants a
month, starting on p54 verdicts from p78 do the same? See p116 paper manual. See p24

7
February 2025 Issue 365 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO

EDITORIAL This month we asked our contributors: To tie inCONTACT

with our group test of
US [email protected]
if you’re brave enough, please make Chromebooks (see p78), we asked our
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF TWITTER/X @pcpro
contributors: when did you last use a
Tim Danton [email protected] one tech prediction for 2025… See FACEBOOK facebook.com/pcpro
Chromebook and what would make you
EDITORIAL FELLOW which won our popular vote with
buy one? pcpro.link/discord
DISCORD
Dick Pountain readers on p27
SUBSCRIPTIONS
ASSOCIATE EDITOR “IPrice:
reviewUKtwo
£77.88; Europe
or three €138; USA $156, Rest of World
Chromebooks
Darien Graham-Smith “In contrast to Nik, I think AI will mature £120. Visit
each subscribe.pcpro.co.uk/offer
year, and they’re definitely for our best offers.
FEATURES EDITOR to the point where most PC Pro readers becoming more capable. But I can’t see
SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIES
will have their own AI agent – or agents myself switching. There’s always some
[email protected]
Barry Collins
piece of Windows software I need to do
FUTURES EDITOR – to help them perform work and home
my job, andMANAGE YOUR SUBSCRIPTION
until everything moves to the ONLINE
tasks more efficiently and effectively.” Visit www.mymagazine.co.uk/FAQ
Nicole Kobie web I can’t see that changing.” to view frequently
BONUS SOFTWARE EDITOR asked questions or log in at www.mymagazine.co.uk

Nik Rawlinson “OpenAI to enter death struggle with “I’m writingPRODUCTION

this on one! What would
& DISTRIBUTION
Musk, both explode (may destroy world make me buy onePrinted
is if thisbyone
Walstead
broke?Roche.
I’m
economy in the process).” Distributed
quite committed now,by and Marketforce
get flu-like (UK) Ltd,
ART & PRODUCTION 121-141
symptoms on Westbourne Terrace,
the rare occasions London W2 6JR.
I have
ART DIRECTOR Email: [email protected].
“I think we could see Google open up and to use Windows, so I can’t imagine buying
Paul Duggan PC Pro anything
is produced by Danton Media Limited and
else.”
de-integrate its various products to a published monthly by Future plc.
FREELANCE DESIGN
degree – partly for good competitive
Bill Bagnall “My daughter has a Chromebook
COPYRIGHT – it’s
reasons, but also to avoid being © Future
ideal plc 2025. PCshe
for schoolwork, Procanis aplay
registered trademark.
PRODUCTION EDITOR
completely broken up by regulators.” Neither the
Android whole
games of and
on it, this itpublication
won’t be too nor any part of it may
Steve Haines
muchbeofreproduced,
a loss when itstored in a retrieval
inevitably gets system or
“Intel and AMD will announce their transmitted
broken. in any
Personally formget
I could or by
byany
withmeans
a without the
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS written
intention to merge the two companies Chromebook 90%permission
of the time,of the
but thatpublishers.
Steve Cassidy otherHOW
10% makes it a non-starter.”
before the end of the year.” TO ORDER AND ACCESS PAST ISSUES
Lee Grant Active subscribers have instant access to past issues
Dave Mitchell through
“About your ago,
a week iOS or Android
trying to fixdevices.
an issueTo purchase single
“AI will prove to have been a flash in the past issues (print format only), visit magazinesdirect.com
Jon Honeyball my daughter had with the still snappy and
pan. People will be tired of the (click
lovely looking on the ‘Single
Chromebook issues’
Pixel that tab)
she or email
Rois Ni Thuama
‘hallucinations’ and simultaneously get a [email protected].
uses for homework, six years since Magazinesdirect.com
it is
Olivia Whitcroft owned and operated by Future Publishing Limited.
green conscience about the first rocked up here.”
Davey Winder
environmental impact.” SYNDICATION & INTERNATIONAL LICENSING
“LastPC Proone
used is available
about fiveforyears
licensing
ago. overseas.
No Contact
CONTRIBUTORS Phoebe
reason atGriffin-Beale, [email protected]
all why I wouldn’t buy another,
“Cryptocurrencies will become unusable
Philip Berne but Affinity Designer andLIABILITY
LibreOffice are
as soon as Putin sues for peace.”
David Crookes myWhile
happyevery
places. If they
care weretaken
has been web appsin the preparation of
Simon Handby I’d be
this Chromebook
magazine, shopping today.”
the publishers cannot be held responsible
“The PC Pro podcast will bag a trophy so for the accuracy of the information herein, or any
Paul Hatton
shiny it might blind passing satellites. In “I usedconsequence
one yesterday, arising fromI use
but then it. Please
one note that all
Jon Mundy response, a top global audio brand will judgements have been made inso
thefor
context of equipment
most days and I’ve been doing
Les Pounder shower us with fancy recording gear available
around PC Pro
tentoyears. Foratme
timeit’softhe
review,
priceand that “value for
Richard Priday money”
and comments are
the convenience. Asbased
long asonyou’re
UK prices at the time of
– our audio will be so crisp that ears will
review,
happy which are
in Google’s subject to
ecosystem fluctuation
they just and are only
do a happy dance. Prepare for the
ADVERTISING applicable
work.” to the UK market.
transformation from ‘muffled mysteries’
GROUP ADVERTISING MANAGER
to ‘ear candy’ that’ll have you tuning in
Ben Topp: [email protected] “I used my daughter’s last weekend to
for more! Did someone say Patreon?” play a family game of Among Us. Except
ADVERTISING MANAGER PC Pro is a member of the IPSO (Independent Press
for some tinkering with ChromeOS Flex,
Alexandra Thomas: Standards Organisation) which regulates the UK print
“If Intel gets into deep trouble, is AMD I’m not really a Google user, so I don’t feel
[email protected] and digital news industry. We abide by the Editors’ Code
likely to be able to supply the IA64 any urge to purchase a Chromebook.”
of Practice and are committed to upholding the highest
marketplace? Having Windows on Arm standards of journalism. If you think that we have not met
PRODUCTION “I used one just last week, and for many
ready might be a good outcome, if anyone those standards and want to make a complaint, please
SENIOR PRODUCTION MANAGER people it’s an ideal solution, but I won’t be
can be tempted to make WoA desktop contact [email protected]. If we are unable to resolve
Lawrence Brookes buying one.
your I have too
complaint, ormuch
if youwhich
wouldislike
local
more information
hardware. And the Windows 365 Link toabout
my networks and don’t spend my life
IPSO or the Editors’ Code, contact IPSO on 0300
(see p33) remote box will kick in big time on online services. PlusorI visit
use “real” apps
CIRCULATION & SUBSCRIPTIONS 123 2220 www.ipso.co.uk.
on corporates.” too much, ones that don’t exist for
CIRCULATION MANAGER
Android/Chromebooks.”
The Professional

Emma Read
Publishers Association
Member

“The threat of hybrid war will generate

SENIOR CAMPAIGN MANAGER
renewed efforts by nations to accelerate “I’ve not usedCERTIFIED
a Chromebook since
DISTRIBUTION
Juber Ahmed before Covid, because I haven’t travelled
the adoption of cyber essentials to 16,468 (Jan-Dec 2023)
DIRECT MARKETING EXECUTIVE on business in that time. I used one as it
Lewis Smythe protect business and economic
was small, secure and worked well for
interests.” writing. I wouldn’t buy another as the
LOGOS & REPRINTS new MacBook Pro M3, at 14in, meets my
ENDORSEMENT LICENSING MANAGER “People will still be getting tricked into travel demands should I ever start again,
Ryan Chambers: clicking malicious links by someone but Mrs W uses a Chromebook as her
[email protected] saying ‘please click this link’.” daily driver.”

8
Briefıng
Background and analysis on all the important news stories

Gelsinger’s
gone: what
next for
Intel?
CEO’s departure raises
prospect of company
being torn apart

T
he abrupt departure of Intel retirement, but it subsequently ABOVE Gelsinger’s a joint piece for Fortune magazine,
CEO Pat Gelsinger leaves the emerged that the CEO was given an sudden departure arguing that splitting the firm in two
beleaguered chip giant with ultimatum: take the golden handshake throws Intel’s whole was “the only way to save America’s
an uncertain future, with or clear your desk. “The reality is this future into doubt most important manufacturer”.
increased speculation that the was not a retirement but a firing of “Nvidia, Qualcomm, Broadcom,
company’s board may be looking Pat,” wrote Doug O’Laughlin, LEFT Yesterday’s and others are desperate for a
to split the business in two. president of semiconductor men: Gelsinger with second manufacturing option to
Former Intel board research specialists former President TSMC, but will remain hesitant as
members have called SemiAnalysis. Joe Biden long as Intel directly competes
for the company to “His brief stint of with them,” the quartet wrote.
be cleaved in half: 1,386 days was “Samsung, the only other advanced
one part focusing surprising because manufacturer of chips, has similarly
on making chips, not only was he the discovered that many chip designers
the other on chip most technically such as Apple and Nvidia tend to
design. Other competent CEO avoid its foundry because Samsung
industry analysts of the last few bad is a potential competitor.”
disagree, claiming apples at Intel, but “An independent foundry would
Intel’s board has he was also among offer open access to all American,
made a serious blunder the shortest.” Korean, Japanese, and European
by effectively firing Among the theories companies to accrete sufficient
Gelsinger midway through his being offered for Gelsinger’s volume and ensure its commercial
long-term restructuring of the firm. sudden departure is a disagreement viability,” they added, while
All of this comes amidst the change with the board over a restructuring of admitting that the Intel design
of US administration, which threatens the company. The board, it’s claimed, company would need to underwrite
a huge government investment in would prefer to split the company in the foundry
Intel’s ability to manufacture chips in half, spinning off the foundry business It emerged that the firm’s losses “for
the States. For Intel, the future could
barely be more uncertain.
in the same way that AMD did when it
established GlobalFoundries to take
CEO was given an several years”
until new
over the company’s manufacturing ultimatum: take the long-term
Early retirement operations in 2009.
golden handshake or manufacturing
Intel attempted to paint Gelsinger’s That move was publicly endorsed deals could
shock departure as a move into early by four former Intel board members in clear your desk be realised.

10
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Briefing News

AGI edges
Long-time Intel watcher Ben of the few pieces of recent legislation
Bajarin, the CEO of Creative to have bipartisan support – but it’s

closer as
Strategies, told PC Pro that a split always tricky to tell where the
now looks inevitable. “At this point, I rhetoric ends and the policy starts
think the general consensus is that with an incoming administration.
what needs to be done,” he said.
“In all actuality, I believe Pat felt
Geopolitics might also convince
Trump to keep subsidising Intel. o1 leaves
preview
this was the right plan also but only “TSMC does have plans to keep
once [Intel] Foundry could stand on its building manufacturing facilities in
own financially, which won’t happen the US,” said Bajarin, but “Taiwan is
until the end of the decade. So, I’m not against letting them develop their
sure the schism with the board was most leading-edge process on US soil, ChatGPT’s new reasoning
over this specifically but perhaps although this could still happen. The model is unleashed in full

S
more the timing of it.” bigger point is that even if TSMC does
However, O’Laughlin believes this, it’s still not a US company. Intel is BELOW AGI could am Altman’s bullish claims that AGI
that following the AMD blueprints the only hope of a US company making be with us by the could be achieved as soon as this
could be a fatal mistake. “I would leading edge chip production in the US.” end of the year year have taken a step closer to
liken firing Pat in the final hour of 18A The identity of its leadership and fruition with the full release of the
[the company’s new manufacturing ongoing government funding aren’t o1 reasoning model.
process] to quitting the final round of the only doubts hanging over Intel at The OpenAI CEO
chemotherapy in cancer treatment,” the moment. The company has been claimed in a November
he wrote. subject to ongoing takeover 2024 interview that
“Instead of seeing the long and speculation, with Qualcomm, TSMC, artificial general
painful process through, I think the Samsung and even Apple linked with intelligence, the point
board will let Intel die and be sold for potential bids for Intel in recent at which AI becomes
parts. It’s the correct answer to months, although none of the at least as capable as
maximise relatively short-term supposed suitors has made a formal humans across the full
shareholder value, but it’s a near- offer at the time of writing. spectrum of
sighted move that the Intel Yet the fact that Intel is even being intelligence, could be
board specialises in.” talked about as a possible target for achieved in 2025. Key to
rivals such as Qualcomm and TSMC that is the o1 reasoning
CHIPS on the table shows how far the company has fallen. model, which has been available
The uncertainty over Intel’s long- In mid-December 2024, Intel’s share in preview mode to ChatGPT Plus
term structure comes amid further price was less than a third of what it subscribers for the past few months.
ambiguity over the future of the US was during the The o1 model has been widely accepted
CHIPS Act, which was set to invest 2020 Covid Instead of seeing the as a step change in AI due to its ability to
heavily in Intel’s domestic
manufacturing facilities.
peak, when
companies long and painful process reason and problem-solve in a human-like
manner. The full o1 model is significantly
In November, it was announced were rushing to through, I think the more intelligent than the preview version,
that Intel would receive around $8
billion in federal grants to support
buy computers
for home- board will let Intel die Altman claims, and now comes in an even
cleverer “pro mode” that will only be
semiconductor manufacturing plants bound staff. and be sold for parts available to customers on ChatGPT’s
in Arizona and Ohio. That comes on It’s bleeding punchily priced and unlimited
top of the $3 billion government market share to AMD on the desktop $200-a-month Pro plan.
contract Intel secured to manufacture and the highly lucrative server OpenAI claims the new model is highly
chips for the US military. markets. When Microsoft launched capable in maths, science and coding
But November also brought about a its new Copilot+ PCs last summer, it challenges. For example, the new “pro
change in president, to one that has did so without either AMD or Intel, mode” would be in the 90th percentile for
criticised the direct government preferring to launch with Qualcomm- solving coding problems in the Codeforces
funding of the CHIPS Act in preference based systems instead. The x86 tests, according to OpenAI. The o1 preview
to imposing punitive tariffs on products landed later. hit only the 62nd percentile.
semiconductors imported from Asia. Intel is vulnerable. What is does The rapid rate at which the o1 model
The suspicion is that President Trump next might well decide whether it’s is evolving gives Altman confidence that
won’t rip up the CHIPS Act – being one rescuable or fatally wounded. AGI is not a distant goal. “We could hit
some like unexpected wall or we could be
missing something, but it looks to us like
there’s a lot of compounding still to
happen,” the OpenAI boss said in an
interview with Y Combinator.
Altman isn’t coy about predicting
where this advanced AI could lead us,
claiming it might soon be able to solve
“every problem in physics” and avert an
energy crisis by creating abundant power
– handy for a technology that is consuming
so much energy AI firms are investing in
their own nuclear reactors.
LEFT Intel’s long “This is a point in time where whatever
and illustrious feels like abundant energy to us will feel
chip-making like not nearly enough to our great-
history could be grandchildren, and there’s a big universe
nearing its end out there with a lot of matter,” Altman said.

11
PC Probe
Exclusive investigations into technology practices. Email [email protected] if you have a story

The space race

for your phone
T-Mobile has teamed up with Starlink to eliminate smartphone to connect to the company’s fleet of satellites,
given that you currently need a dish to access the service.
mobile dead spots in the US. Barry Collins It’s possible because the FCC has granted partial
investigates whether it could take off in the UK, too approval to operate 7,500 Gen2 Starlink satellites at
altitudes of 340-360km, which will crucially send and

I
receive signals in the 1,900MHz band. These frequencies
f you’re on the T-Mobile network in America, mobile are typically reserved for terrestrial cell phone services,
not spots could soon become a thing of the past. Well, and indeed Starlink is using a chunk of spectrum that is
as long as you’re outdoors, that is. currently allocated to T-Mobile. Your common or garden
T-Mobile’s tentative deal with SpaceX’s Starlink smartphone is already compatible with that frequency
service has won approval from the Federal Communications range, meaning that where cell tower coverage isn’t
Commission (FCC), meaning that the vast swathes of the available, it can pick up a signal from the satellites.
US landscape without any mobile signal will soon be The T-Mobile/Starlink partnership will initially be pretty
serviced by Starlink’s satellites. And you probably won’t limited, only allowing customers to send text messages
need a new phone to benefit, either. when they’re outside of cell tower range. In that regard,
The concept of improving mobile connectivity from it’s similar to Apple’s Emergency SOS service, allowing
space isn’t restricted to large countries such as the US, people with no regular signal to send text messages to the
which has huge holes in its coverage. In the UK, Ofcom is emergency services, provided they have a modern iPhone.
considering whether to permit similar services, even though However, the Starlink/T-Mobile partnership proposes
90% of the UK landmass is already receiving “good quality to go much further, offering full voice and data services via
data and voice coverage”, according to the regulator. satellite in 2025. The hope is that T-Mobile customers will
But before we start celebrating the end of “no signal” be able to use their smartphone as normal wherever they
nightmares, let’s explore the challenges that face are in the US, albeit with a clear line of sight to the satellites
delivering mobile signals from space. or some means of relaying the signal indoors.
Those familiar with Starlink’s current service might
be wondering how it’s even possible for your everyday

Is Amazon plotting a
UK mobile network?
Starlink isn’t the only satellite provider with eyes on Low Earth Orbit. Amazon
has long been promising to put up some competition with its Project Kuiper,
although at the time of writing it had yet to deploy anything but prototypes.
That is set to change in early 2025, however, with Amazon preparing to
make its first commercial deployments. And another indication that it’s
preparing to go live comes in the responses to Ofcom’s consultation on for terrestrial mobile services and
Direct to Device (D2D) satellite services: while SpaceX didn’t offer a response all geographic areas, so long as applicants can demonstrate compatibility
to the consultation, Amazon Kuiper did. with existing terrestrial licensees.”
Amazon’s response suggests it would rather not strike a deal with a Surprise, surprise, the mobile networks that responded to Ofcom all take
mobile network to license already allocated spectrum, as Starlink has done a different view, arguing that the satellite providers should be forced to
with T-Mobile, but that it would rather go it alone, maybe offering a phone strike deals with the networks, or as Virgin Media O2 puts it, “a suitable
service to consumers by itself. It encourages Ofcom to “proceed in a broader licensing framework to enable the MNO to provide the satellite operator
and more sustainable manner” and to avoid creating an “unnecessary and with rights to access the licensed mobile spectrum, in order to deliver the
multi-year hurdle for the next generation of D2D services seeking access in agreed service”.
new ways and in different frequency bands. Satellite phone provider Lynk Global encouraged “Ofcom to be open to
“Amazon, therefore, urges Ofcom to encourage competition and an MNO utilising more than one D2D provider to enable flexibility and
innovation by broadly enabling D2D services across all frequencies allocated maximise the benefits that could be realised”.

12
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Briefing PC Probe

regulators such as Ofcom will be keeping a

keen eye on what happens when the service
goes live in the US in the coming months.

Satellite mobiles in the UK

So what are the chances of Starlink or another
satellite provider striking a similar deal in the
UK? Ofcom is currently consulting with
industry, but seems generally warm on the
idea. “We plan to consult on specific
proposals to authorise Direct to Device
satellite services in mobile bands in the UK in
early 2025,” the regulator said in a report in
November. “Subject to consideration of
stakeholder responses and our final decisions
this could enable such services to be offered
to consumers later in 2025.”
Ofcom’s summary of responses from
industry so far highlights potential
advantages, such as improving access to
The obstacles ABOVE Not spots in emergency services in remote areas, enhanced resilience
Although this all sounds like a marvellous way to reach the great outdoors for mobile networks where satellites can be used as a
people and areas that are never likely to be served by could soon be a fall-back option, and providing connectivity to those
conventional cell towers because the economics just thing of the past currently in the not spots.
don’t add up, there are potential problems with delivering However, there are question marks over the business
a cell service from space. case for such a service. With only 10% of the UK’s landmass
First, by bringing the Gen2 satellites closer to Earth, currently unserved, filling in those not spots is not going to
there’s the risk of interfering with other space objects, suddenly bring millions of new customers to the networks.
most notably the International Space Station. Although the “I think it’s quite difficult for operators,” said Joe Gardiner,
Space Station is usually orbiting way above the new a research analyst with CCS Insight’s telecom and
satellites, at altitudes of around 400km, satellites might connectivity research team.
cross the ISS’s orbit during manoeuvres or deorbiting, “Will people pay for SOS capabilities on their phone?
raising potential collision fears. So one of the FCC’s Very unlikely. The only time you’d pay for that is when
conditions for approving the new satellites is that Starlink you’re actually in an emergency. SMS? I think in this
must continue to work with NASA to minimise such risks. country it’s not used as much as it was. I think the real use
There’s also the growing risk of the satellites colliding case would be data, but... it’s going to cost a lot of money to
with themselves in the increasingly crowded Low Earth implement by the operator.”
Orbit, giving rise to fears of space debris clattering into the If networks do offer satellite
ISS or other spacecraft, or creating a cascading effect Will people pay for services in the UK, Gardiner thinks it

SOS capabilities? Very

known as the Kessler Syndrome, where a chain reaction of will arrive in the form of a “contract
multiple collisions renders Earth’s orbit unusable. uplift”, where the network will justify
The FCC’s authorisation document stated that NASA
had raised concerns “about the functioning of SpaceX’s
unlikely. The only time charging more for 100% UK coverage.
Gardiner warns there could be
autonomous collision avoidance system, particularly at
lower altitudes where atmospheric drag is higher”,
you’d pay is when you’re other unintended victims if Direct to
Device satellite takes off here. “One
meaning that the satellites deteriorate more quickly. in an emergency thing to consider in the UK market is
However, the report adds that “both NASA and SpaceX how... it’s going to affect something
are confident NASA’s assets can remain safe while like the Shared Rural Network and all the investment
sharing space with Gen2 Starlink, and neither NASA nor that’s gone into that,” he said. The Shared Rural Network is
SpaceX have identified issues that cannot be resolved by a project funded by the UK’s four mobile networks and the
continued coordination”. government, to deliver 4G broadband to 95% of the country.
It’s not only physical interference, but signal The advent of satellite telephony is “something that
interference that poses another potential drawback. maybe the government didn’t foresee at the time,” when
There’s potential for interference with other mobile the agreement was reached five years ago, but it could
network services, due to out-of-band emissions (OOBE) jeopardise the entire project, Gardiner warns.
from the satellites. Starlink has asked for a waiver from Yet, despite the technical challenges and other
certain OOBE limits, which “all other commenters, with hurdles, both Gardiner and Paolo Pescatore, founder
T-Mobile excepted” raised concerns about with the FCC. of PP Foresight, believe Starlink is likely to partner
The regulator has deferred a decision on whether that with UK networks to offer a similar service over here.
waiver will be granted. “Ultimately for Starlink to broaden its appeal, it must
Radio astronomy, GPS services and emergency services partner with telcos,” said Pescatore. “This will prove
frequencies could all be potentially affected by crucial in ensuring robust, reliable and more importantly
interference too, which means that other international ubiquitous connectivity for all.”

13
4 surprising
things we
learned from
IBM Research
While AI and quantum computing were the two big themes
at this year’s IBM Research Europe media event, Tim Danton
reveals there was also one surprise lurking in the lab

P
erched on a hill overlooking Lake Zurich, there sits a Read our Cheat you have clouds, it’s very difficult to understand the
group of inauspicious buildings. This is the campus Sheat for more on impact of the flooding. But... with radar data, you can look
for IBM Research Europe, and inside you’ll bump post-quantum through the clouds and you see all the flooding.”
into some of our continent’s brightest minds. cryptography, p107 Next, Bernabé-Moreno explained how the same model
Some of their research areas are predictable: artificial could be used to understand the impact of a reforestation
intelligence, quantum computing, integrated circuits. initiative in Kenya. Pointing to a satellite view, he said:
But it’s also working on areas that might surprise you. “Let’s divide this area in chunks, where [local people] are
I was there for the faculty’s annual media event, titled going to be incentivised if they increase
“IBM: Shaping the Future of Computing”. Based on The new model… is their tree coverage ratio. And what you
briefings, demonstrations and visits to the labs, this article see here is that our model can measure
focuses on four initiatives of particular note. excelling at all these the tree coverage ratio at a very general

Understanding the Earth tasks to a point that our level.” All of which allowed the Kenyan
government to rapidly work out which
On 6 December, the day before the event, IBM announced
that – in partnership with NASA – it had released Prithvi-
models are the leading incentive schemes worked best.
Finally, Bernabé-Moreno covered
EO-2.0, an open-source geospatial foundation model. Such ones in this space how IBM had worked with partners
models are trained to recognise anything from cattle to such as the Linux Foundation to create
water coverage to foliage; feed it satellite data and it will a foundation model that helps remove the complexity and
produce meaningful information without human analysis. BELOW NASA and uncertainty in the electric grid. This will make it more
“The new model that we have is excelling at all these IBM have released a efficient – which it will need to be, because some predict
tasks to a point that [we can say] our models are the leading new geospatial that by 2050 we will need to produce twice as much
ones in this space,” said Juan Bernabé-Moreno, director foundation model electricity to decarbonise the economy.
IBM Research Europe/UK &
Ireland. “But what do we do Cryptography: time to
with the models?” wake up
The first example was all too “If I told you, there is a 1% chance that
topical, following the flooding in this building is going to collapse in 20
the Valencia region in late minutes, what would you do?” A
October 2024. “Here, the beauty question posed by Jaime Gómez García,
of the model is it doesn’t only head of quantum at Santander Bank,
work with Sentinel 2 data, so who then looked out expectantly at
with images, it works also with the audience. “You would evacuate
radar data. The difference is with because you would be concentrating
images only then when you have on the risk. Would you start
flooding, you have clouds, and if discussing, is that 1% real, or is it going

14
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Briefing IBM Research
to be a zero or 5%, or would you start computer to do things, to do
discussing about is it going to be in 20 calculations that you cannot do
minutes or in one hour?” classically.” Since this point, the
We all know the answer, but the hardware has advanced – in line
point Jaime was making is that this is with the detailed roadmap that IBM
where we are with cryptography in laid out a couple of years ago – and so
2025. Quantum algorithms will break quantum computers have become
the cryptography foundations we’ve even more potent.
all come to rely on throughout our With this, Woerner says that we
lives, the ones that underpin every have entered “the era of quantum
transaction in our global economy, utility. We are not calling this the era of
and the fact we don’t know exactly quantum advantage yet [which] is when
when that threat will become real is we solve a practical relevant problem
irrelevant. We need to act. faster, cheaper or better than what is
“What is happening is that we are possible classically.” Instead, quantum
not concentrating on the risk, and so we are not utility means they can use quantum
creating the right programs to address the challenge,” he ABOVE Jaime computers to “advance algorithmic discovery, to try out
said. Although it’s worth pinning down who, exactly, he Gómez García (left), new ideas that otherwise would not be possible”.
means by “we”. Perhaps top of the list comes governments. head of quantum at So, what’s happening next? By 2026, IBM aims to have
While the US government is taking this seriously, Santander Bank, in created quantum circuits that are complex enough to solve
explicitly telling anyone involved in providing services full flow at the event these problems. In terms of numbers, that means going
that they must meet quantum-resistant cryptography from 127 qubits to 156 qubits for one quantum core,
standards, the rest of the world has not been so blunt. bringing the total number of gates to around 7,500. But it
The next layer down are the infrastructure suppliers also plans to link quantum cores together, with the
and organisations that are big enough to have an influence. promise of up to 1,092 qubits via seven linked computers.
If they are releasing code that doesn’t meet post-quantum At the same time, IBM has released its Qiskit Code
cryptography standards then they aren’t meeting “first Assistant – powered by LLMs running on its watsonx
aid, 101” levels, in the words of Michael Osborne, CTO of platform, naturally – to help its partners write code that
IBM Quantum Safe (pictured above right). In other words, BELOW Mark Lantz can run on forthcoming quantum computers. After all,
he said, organisations must “stop the bleeding”. holding up a modern what good is hardware without software?
So, I asked, what should smaller companies do? tape drive his team
“Smaller organisations are more likely to just need to helped to develop Tape storage is on the comeback trail
update their software and their products, following their As part of our tour of the labs, we popped in to see
providers,” said García. “So your vendors are Mark Lantz, a research scientist who manages
going to solve it for you, unless you do your tape research for IBM. “A lot of people are kind of
own development.” But, Osborne emphasised, surprised that IBM still sells tape products, let
we must all be aware of the risk. alone does advanced research on the topic,” he
said, adding that not only has it always been
Quantum computers are already important in data centres but that we are in the
“tools for scientific discovery” middle of a “renaissance” for the technology.
IBM is one of the world leaders in quantum That’s because hard disks and SSDs can’t
research, and Stefan Woerner, IBM’s manager of keep up with the current data explosion. Hard
quantum computational science, was keen to disks are now approaching their maximum
highlight that “quantum computers are now possible areal density, so data centres –
tools for scientific discovery” at the summit. particularly “hyperscalers” such as Amazon
In particular, IBM has proven via a paper and Microsoft – need a new way to keep up. Tape storage
published in Nature in 2023 that a “quantum computer is the answer, and its advantages aren’t merely to do
with 127 qubits can run quantum circuits with 2,882 qubit with scale and price.
gates and get meaningful results”. BELOW IBM has Compared to a “27-petabyte hard disk solution, the
Why does this matter? “This pushes us into a regime committed to a tape solution has 96% less CO2 emissions over a ten-year
that’s far outside what we can simulate exactly with quantum roadmap lifetime,” explained Lantz. What’s more, tape “has a
classical techniques. So... we could use this quantum up to 2029 built-in physical air gap [because] the cartridge isn’t
mounted in a drive. You can’t
modify the data. That gives you
an extra layer of security.”
The challenge for Lantz’s
team is to make tape data
storage easy to use – he says
tape specialists are no longer
required with IBM’s latest
products – and to increase
tapes’ areal density. “Today,
our high-capacity enterprise
product operates with a 50
times lower areal density [than
hard disks],” said Lantz. “So
from this fundamental physics
point of view, we have lots of
room to keep scaling the
technology... until we will
get to the same areal density
where HDD is.”

15
The A-List
The best products on the market, as picked by our editors

PREMIUM LAPTOPS BUSINESS LAPTOPS

Apple MacBook Lenovo ThinkPad T14s

Pro M4 Gen 6 (Snapdragon)
M4 beast from £1,599 Copilot+ PC for £1,500 exc VAT
from apple.com/uk from lenovo.com
This M4 update to the already It’s perhaps a controversial choice – and
brilliant MacBook Pro line is an we wouldn’t roll this out en masse – but if
easy recommendation, so the big you’re buying for executives or CTOs this
question becomes do you choose the 14in version from £1,599 or 16in from cutting-edge Copilot+ PC, complete with
£2,499? And then how much do you upgrade, as Apple isn’t afraid of high prices. a Qualcomm Snapdragon Arm processor, is a superb choice. Not only is it
But whatever you choose should last for years, and look great while it’s doing it. good value, it’s light, it’s fast and its all-day battery life is genuinely 24 hours.
REVIEW Issue 364, p50 REVIEW Issue 360, p56

ALTERNATIVES NEW ENTRY

Apple Mac Book Asus Zenbook S Asus ProArt PX13 Lenovo ThinkPad Dell Latitude HP OmniBook
Air13in (M3) 14 OLED With AMD’s new Ryzen AI X1 Carbon Gen 12 9450 2-in-1 Ultra Flip
Both the 13in and 15in Asus pairs a Core Ultra 9 9 HX 370 inside, this 1.4kg The X1 Carbon range has This 14in convertible, A top-quality 2-in-1 with
MacBook Airs impress 288V with a 72Wh battery compact powerhouse stepped up a gear thanks based around Core Ultra a terrific 14in OLED
for speed, styling and to produce a laptop that offers incredible amounts to Intel’s Core Ultra chips, CPUs, lacks for nothing, panel, great build quality
battery life, but the lasts almost 20 hours on a of power. Add a fantastic and Lenovo matches it whether that’s speed, and superb battery life
1.2kg 13in Air wins out charge. What’s more, this OLED screen and RTX 4070 with the stunning build battery life (around 16 thanks to Intel’s latest
of the two for its sheer 1.2kg machine looks (and graphics and it’s a winner. quality and keyboard hours), build quality or generation Core Ultra 7
portability. From £1,299 feels) the business. From From £2,000 from you’d expect. From £1,375 flexibility. From £1,560 processors. From £1,699
from apple.com £1,750 from scan.co.uk uk.store.asus.com from lenovo.com exc VAT from dell.co.uk from hp.com
REVIEW Issue 356, p54 REVIEW Issue 362, p46 REVIEW Issue 361, p50 REVIEW Issue 358, p58 REVIEW Issue 361, p63 REVIEW Issue 365, p46

COPILOT+ PCs EVERYDAY LAPTOPS

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 9) Acer Aspire 14 A14-51GM

AI on demand, £1,350 Compact power for £850
from lenovo.com from acer.com
You won’t find a better-value Want gaming power? Buy the
laptop, never mind one that meets version with RTX 2050 graphics for
the Copilot+ PC criteria. With a £850 (part code NX.KSVEK.005).
Snapdragon X1E-78-100 inside it Just care about value? Get a Core
isn’t the fastest in benchmarks, 5 processor and integrated
but it’s incredibly nippy in practice, graphics for £600 (part code
the battery lasts over 16 hours NX.KRWEK.00B). Whichever you
and the 14.5in OLED screen is choose, it’s a staggering laptop
top quality. for the price.
REVIEW Issue 361, p57 REVIEW Issue 359, p82

Samsung Galaxy Microsoft Asus Zenbook Asus Zenbook 14 Framework Huawei

Book4 Edge Surface Laptop, S 15 OLED OLED (UX3405) Laptop 13 (DIY MateBook D16
A classy 16in laptop that 7th Edition With a price drop to If you can stretch past Edition) It’s big and certainly not
weighs 1.6kg, uses the The poster child for £1,200 this 15.6in laptop £1,000, this is a top- With a competitive price, bashful, packing an Intel
fastest Snapdragon Elite Copilot+ PCs offers becomes a viable quality Core Ultra laptop modular approach and Core i9 chip and a high-
X chip and delivers a solid quality, great looks and competitor to the Yoga with a superb 120Hz easy-to-repair ethos, you quality 16in panel – and
12 hours of battery life. staggering battery life. Slim 7x if you need a screen and great battery can pick and mix your surprisingly good battery
512GB, £1,499 from From £1,049 from bigger screen. £1,200 life. From £1,099 from perfect 13in laptop. From life, too. £1,000 from
samsung.com microsoft.com from uk.store.asus.com uk.store.asus.com £779 from frame.work huawei.com
REVIEW Issue 360, p53 REVIEW Issue 360, p50 REVIEW Issue 359, p52 REVIEW Issue 359, p58 REVIEW Issue 360, p58 REVIEW Issue 359, p87

16
 @
@PPC
CPPR
ROO FACEEB
FAC BOOO
OKK..C
COOM
M//P
PCCP
PRRO
O The A-List
CHROMEBOOKS

Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus (2024) Acer Chromebook Plus 515

This Chromebook Plus laptop is all about
Acer Chromebook
Spin 714
Core 5 power for £749 value. With strong speeds thanks to If you’re looking for a convertible,
from samsung.com Intel’s Core i5-1235U processor, and a this is the best choice around.
good-quality 15.6in panel with a 1,920 x Others may beat the 12th gen Intel
The first truly desirable Chromebook 1,080 resolution, Asus’ Chromebook Plus Core i5 we tested for performance,
since the Pixelbook, this is a top-quality 515 is ideal for families, students and but for features, design and bang for
laptop from the all-metal chassis to business users, providing mobility isn’t buck you won’t find any laptop that
the 15.6in Full HD OLED screen. And your main priority as it isn’t particularly can match this 2-in-1 for the
thanks to Intel’s Core 5 120U processor, it’s fast enough to last for years. light at 1.7kg. £429 from currys.co.uk money.£799 from currys.co.uk
REVIEW Issue 364, p65 REVIEW Issue 356, p82 REVIEW Issue 356, p83

MINI PCs

Apple Mac mini M4 Geekom A8 Mini PC

Geekom makes brilliant use of AMD’s
Minisforum
Venus UM790 Pro
Little monster from £599 Ryzen 9 8945HS in this powerful mini Ignore its basic looks, for this
PC, which occupies little more desktop compact system packs in a fast AMD
from apple.com/uk
space than a drinks coaster. And it still Ryzen 9 7940HS processor, 32GB of
This is a big and timely update for the Mac mini, with a much smaller (and packs every port most people need, DDR5-5600 RAM and 1TB SSD along
squarer) design that’s easy to tuck behind a screen. But what lifts it above the plus Wi-Fi 6E. If you don’t need this with a generous selection of ports,
pack is the astonishing power of the M4 and M4 Pro chips, with barely any much power (or 32GB of RAM and a including two USB-C 4 connectors.
cooling required. As ever with Apple the upgrade costs are high, but at least its 2TB SSD) the Ryzen 7 version is £719. And the price is super-aggressive.
starting price is reasonable. Ryzen 9, £899 from geekom.co.uk £549 from store.minisforum.uk
REVIEW Issue 364, p44 REVIEW Issue 359, p62 REVIEW Issue 363, p91

ENTHUSIAST PCs NEW ENTRY NEW ENTRY

Wired2Fire HAL 9000 Compact PC CyberPowerPC

Infinity X145 Elite
PCSpecialist
Nebula Goliath
Mini powerhouse for £1,900 Designed to deliver the maximum The best possible debut for Intel’s
from wired2fire.co.uk possible gaming power for £999, this Core Ultra 285K processor, with
Core i5-14400F system – with 32GB of PCSpecialist teaming it up with an
Wired2Fire proves there’s no need to go big for DDR5 RAM and GeForce RTX 4060 RTX 4080 Super to provide a versatile
top-level performance, squeezing a Ryzen 7 graphics – is a great machine now system for gamers and creatives
7900X and RTX 4070 Ti into a Cooler Master with potential for more later. £999 alike. £2,399 from pcspecialist.
chassis measuring 185 x 295 x 377mm (WDH). from tinyurl.com/360cyber co.uk/configurereview/629
REVIEW Issue 365, p59 REVIEW Issue 360, p61 REVIEW Issue 365, p56

ALL-IN-ONE PCs

HP Envy 34 All-in-One Dell Inspiron 24

All-in-One
Apple iMac M4
Anyone hoping for a 27in iMac will
£2,099 widescreen wonder Despite being built to hit a price point, be disappointed, but everyone
from hp.com the Inspiron 24 All-in-One manages else should be delighted by this
to look classy, include a good-quality, M4-powered all-in-one with its
Built around a high-quality 34in widescreen 1,920 x 1,080 24in panel and have enough 24in 4,480 x 2,520 IPS panel.
– which is perfect for viewing two windows power to breeze through a typical day’s It’s fast inside and out, too,
side by side thanks to its 21:9 aspect ratio – this also comes tasks. It even packs mod cons such as a with Thunderbolt 4 and Wi-Fi 6E
with Nvidia RTX 3060 graphics. We’re big fans of the 720p webcam. Superb value for money. on offer. From £1,299 from apple.
magnetic 16-megapixel camera, too. From £599 from dell.co.uk com/uk
REVIEW Issue 335, p46 REVIEW Issue 350, p47 REVIEW Issue 364, p48

CREATIVE WORKSTATIONS

Armari Magnetar M64T7-AW1650G4 PCSpecialist

Quantum Goliath R
Scan 3XS GWP A1-TR64
A more balanced offering than
Threadripping power for £8,329 exc VAT Extracting maximum power from Armari’s Magnetar, Scan mixes a
from armari.com its budget by opting for consumer Threadripper 7970X with Nvidia
AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper 7980X is the star of this components with professional levels RTX 5000 graphics – and a stunning
particular show, dominating our benchmarks with of power, this well-thought-out supporting cast of components with
the help of 128GB of RAM, two 2TB Crucial PCI-E 5 workstation couples Intel’s Core an equally stunning case. Perfect
drives in RAID0 configuration and AMD’s Radeon Pro i9-14900KS with RTX 4090 graphics for real-time viewsets and GPU
W7800 professional GPU. And it’s all wrapped up in a to tremendous effect. £3,750 exc VAT accelerated computation.
custom Armari case with liquid cooling. from pcspecialist.co.uk/reviews £7,917 exc VAT from scan.co.uk
REVIEW Issue 361, p92 REVIEW Issue 361, p89 REVIEW Issue 361, p94

17
 TABLETS

Apple iPad Air (M2) Apple iPad Pro (M4)

The best tablet in the world becomes
OnePlus Pad 2
Last year the OnePlus Pad took its
M2 power from £599 even better thanks to Apple’s stunning place alongside Apple’s iPads on the
from apple.com M4 chip, a gorgeous OLED screen A List – and this year it’s done it again,
and the must-have accessory: the with superb battery life of over 18
We love the new iPad Pro, but for most people all-new Pencil Pro. But it comes with hours, a gorgeous design and great
the M2 iPad Air is not only far better value but an obvious downside of cost, with the power making this new version an
also all the tablet they’ll need. It supports the cheapest 13in incarnation costing even better proposition. All for a
Magic Keyboard and Pencil Pro, plus it’s now £1,299. From £999 (11in, 256GB) from price that’s exactly right. £449 from
available in both 11in and 13in sizes. apple.com oneplus.com/uk
REVIEW Issue 358, p50 REVIEW Issue 358, p48 REVIEW Issue 364, p86

EVERYDAY PHONES

Motorola Moto G54 5G Google Pixel 8a

We’re fans of the Pixel 8 but you can
Samsung Galaxy A55
Not the fastest phone on the market,
Great looker for £180 save £200 and buy the 8a without but in return you get a high-quality
from johnlewis.com missing out on any key features, 6.6in OLED display, excellent battery
including its advanced AI skills thanks life and a trio of strong cameras. And
The 6.5in 120Hz IPS display is the G54’s standout feature, but it to the same Tensor G3 chip inside. It’s you also get four years of feature
improves on the previous generation in numerous ways while only when you zoom into snaps that updates. With a price that significantly
being even cheaper. It’s faster, looks better, takes great photos you spot the camera quality difference. undercuts the Pixel 8a, it’s great value,
and battery life is strong. You won’t find better for less than £200. 128GB, £499 from store.google.com too. 128GB, £364 from johnlewis.com
REVIEW Issue 355, p77 REVIEW Issue 358, p74 REVIEW Issue 358, p77

PREMIUM PHONES

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Honor Magic V3

With the Magic V3, not only does
Motorola Razr 50 Ultra
Not merely a huge upgrade over
Class and quality from £999 Honor make foldable phones as last year’s Razr 40 Ultra, this
from apple.com/uk slim as flagship phones but also as new model also leapfrogs over
affordable – so long as the £300 Samsung’s new Flip6 to become our
Even without Apple Intelligence, the introduction of a discount voucher still applies, as flip phone of choice. That’s thanks
5x optical zoom, classy 6.3in OLED panel and Apple’s shown in the price here. What’s to its great battery life, superb
ludicrously fast A18 Pro chipset make this the best update more, the cameras and both OLED screens (particularly on the outside)
to an iPhone Pro for years. The improved battery life is panels are superb. £1,400 after and a camera that’s a joy to use.
merely the cherry on top. discount from honor.com £1,000 from motorola.co.uk
REVIEW Issue 363, p70 REVIEW Issue 362, p62 REVIEW Issue 360, p68

EVERYDAY MONITORS

Iiyama ProLite XUB3293UHSN-B5 AOC Q27B3CF2 Acer Verso B277

32in 4K bargain, £429 AOC’s relentless focus on value Ebmiprzxv
delivers a 27in 1440p screen with a This is a basic but high-quality
from currys.co.uk
high-quality IPS panel that costs £200 monitor, delivering colourful images
The fact that this 31.5in IPS monitor could including VAT – and also packs in a across its 27in Full HD diagonal.
compete so well against Eizo’s alternative USB-C port. Those are almost the only You don’t get USB-C docking, but it
(see below) says it all. Great colour coverage features you get, and the OSD is awful, includes VGA, HDMI and DisplayPort
in sRGB and DCI-P3, USB-C and RJ45 inputs, but at this price we’re not complaining. inputs, plus a two-port USB hub.
plus solid build quality add up to a bargain. £200 from amazon.co.uk £149 from tinyurl.com/357acer277
REVIEW Issue 357, p88 REVIEW Issue 360, p77 REVIEW Issue 357, p84

PROFESSIONAL MONITORS

Eizo FlexScan EV3240X Eizo ColorEdge CG2700X

A brilliant choice for professional
BenQ PD2706U
If you can’t stretch to Eizo budget
Stunning 4K quality, £1,206 designers, whether working solo or levels then this 4K 27in screen
exc VAT from photospecialist.co.uk in teams, thanks to its dedication to is definitely worth investigating.
providing accurate colours across It has several features aimed at
With images that whack you between the potentially years of life. It’s also bang professionals, including a Hotkey
eyes as soon as you lift it, fully assembled, up to date for connectivity, with Puck to switch between profiles,
from its box, this 32in 4K monitor is our USB-C and RJ45 making it easy to plus great coverage of the sRGB
top choice pick for anyone willing to manage, too. £2,149 exc VAT from and DCI-P3 gamuts. £333 exc VAT
make such a hefty long-term investment. wexphotovideo.com from scan.co.uk
REVIEW Issue 357, p91 REVIEW Issue 357, p90 REVIEW Issue 357, p86

18
 @PCPRO FAC E B O O K . C O M / P C P R O The A-List

WEBCAMS

Logitech MX Brio 705 for Business Logitech Brio 105

for Business
Obsbot Tiny 2
This portable 4K webcam delivers
Consistent brilliance for £219 While you can buy 1080p webcams for quality, design and sharpness,
from logitech.com for a third of the Brio 105’s price, they and it comes with a shedload
won’t hold a candle to the Logitech of advanced features, including
Consistent image quality in all webcam’s quality – especially in dynamic zoom and subject
lighting conditions coupled with top low-light conditions, such as one tracking. The only real downside
build quality and nifty features – such candle. It’s also easy to manage, for is that it has a price that reflects
as a presenting mode for items on your businesses and individuals. its premium ambitions.
desk – make this a fantastic all-round choice. £45 from logitech.com £329 from amazon.co.uk
REVIEW Issue 356, p68 REVIEW Issue 360, p77 REVIEW Issue 352, p75

HOME OFFICE PRINTERS NEW ENTRY NEW ENTRY NEW ENTRY

HP OfficeJet Pro 9135e Epson EcoTank ET-2865

As usual with ink tank printers, you
Canon i-Sensys
LBP243dw
Do-it-all inkjet for £193 don’t get many frills with the Epson Everything you could want from a
from printerbase.co.uk EcoTank ET-2865 (so no ADF or mono laser printer – it doesn’t
screen). What you do get is come with a scanner – the
This versatile inkjet all-in-one – which includes incredibly low running costs of LBP243dw produces excellent
a 35-page ADF – pumps out high-quality prints 0.5p for colour and 0.2p for mono, results at speed. You also get Wi-Fi
at laser-rivalling speeds. Likewise scans and plus high-quality prints and scans. and wired networking. £186 from
copies. Print costs are reasonable, too. £233 from uk.insight.com printerbase.co.uk
REVIEW Issue 365, p85 REVIEW Issue 365, p84 REVIEW Issue 365, p88

WORKGROUP PRINTERS

Canon Maxify GX6550 Brother HL-L9430CDN

This laser printer (not an all-in-one,
Xerox B315DN
A fine alternative to the Brother and
Ink tank all-in-one for £392 exc VAT so there’s no scanning or copying Canon, this mono laser multifunction
from canon.co.uk functionality) is a great choice for printer produces superb results at
a busy office, producing sharp great speed – 27.5 pages per minute
Designed to fit in tight spaces, this black text and making a good job in our 50-page test, which includes
all-in-one includes a highly effective of colour graphics as well. All while the spool time. It’s similarly quick for
ADF and backs it up with high-quality doing so quickly with a competitive scans, with a dual-CIS ADF to speed
prints at 24ipm in our tests. Running price per page. £415 exc VAT from up double-sided copies. £238 exc VAT
costs are superb, too. printerland.co.uk from printerbase.co.uk
REVIEW Issue 350, p58 REVIEW Issue 353, p84 REVIEW Issue 341, p87

WIRELESS ROUTERS

Netgear Nighthawk RAXE300 Netgear Nighthawk Asus RT-AX59U

Fast Wi-Fi 6E router, £350 RS700S You can buy cheaper Wi-Fi 6
Make no mistake – you won’t get routers – such as the D-Link Eagle
from amazon.co.uk stunning speeds out of this Wi-Fi 7 Pro AI R15 for £55 – but Asus’
router today. But if you must buy a well-priced offering delivers
The RAXE500 is faster than the RAXE300, but router now and want future-proofing, strong performance along with
in practice we doubt you would notice – this tri-band router still delivered speeds this is a solid choice. But honestly, lots of control and exceptional
between 50MB/sec and 150MB/sec in our tests. And it’s packed with features, too. we would recommend that you wait. VPN support. £125 from
At £150 cheaper than its bigger brother, we think it hits the Wi-Fi 6E sweet spot. £800 from netgear.com uk.store.asus.com
REVIEW Issue 341, p68 REVIEW Issue 353, p76 REVIEW Issue 350, p57

MESH WI-FI

TP-Link Deco XE200 Netgear Orbi 770

If you’re eager to upgrade to Wi-Fi 7 then
Linksys Velop Pro 6E
Ironically, this Wi-Fi 6E router
Clever Wi-Fi 6E for £400 the Orbi 770 is the best mesh option yet. will get the most out of your
Its speed and range are both excellent, non-Wi-Fi 6 devices thanks to
from amazon.co.uk
with a twin-pack covering 420m2 (says its use of the 6GHz network for
There are cheaper Wi-Fi 6E meshes, but the XE200 Netgear), and the wired connectivity station-to-station traffic. And
wins for its superb download speeds, excellent superb: four 2.5GbE connectors on the you only need two units for rock
coverage and the fact that older clients reap benefits router unit, two 2.5GbE ports on the solid performance across a
of 6E, not just new ones. And a two-pack (code satellites. But it ain’t cheap. 2-pack, three-bedroom house. 2-pack,
B0BKTDPWC8) should be enough for most premises. £600 from amazon.co.uk £380 from amazon.co.uk
REVIEW Issue 349, p65 REVIEW Issue 364, p70 REVIEW Issue 350, p54

19
 BUSINESS WI-FI NEW ENTRY NEW ENTRY

Ubiquiti UniFi U7 Pro Max TP-Link Omada EAP783

This slim-line discus has a mighty
EnGenius ECW536
The ECW536 delivers on all fronts: this
Wi-Fi 7 AP, £214 exc VAT BE19000 rating and will appeal to mighty BE19000-rated Wi-Fi 7 AP is
from broadbandbuyer.com businesses looking to make an early impressively fast and incredibly good
A great choice for SMBs seeking a powerful and transition to Wi-Fi 7. It delivers superb value. It can only be cloud-managed,
affordable upgrade to Wi-Fi 7. You’ll need a UniFi performance and is MLO-ready, while but the EnGenius portal is easy to use
controller to complete the wireless picture, but this TP-Link’s Omada cloud platform offers and delivers a wealth of wireless
investment will be paid back handsomely as they great remote management services. management and monitoring services.
offer the best cloud management services around. £520 exc VAT from senetic.co.uk £386 exc VAT from solwise.co.uk
REVIEW Issue 365, p100 REVIEW Issue 360, p103 REVIEW Issue 365, p98

NAS SERVERS

Synology DiskStation DS1823xs+ Qnap TS-h987XU-RP

The TS-h987XU-RP is a ready-made
Synology
DiskStation DS1522+
10GbE NAS, £1,413 exc VAT hybrid storage solution for SMBs. Small businesses that want a high-
from broadbandbuyer.com This rack-friendly package offers capacity desktop NAS at a good price
a great specification for the price, will find Synology’s DS1522+ a great
This powerful eight-bay NAS is a great and Qnap’s QuTS hero software choice. Performance over 10GbE is
choice for SMBs that want plenty of scores highly for its wealth of data- impeccable and the DSM software
capacity, features and performance at a protection features and business offers a fantastic range of storage
reasonable price. The new DSM 7.2 software has security high on its agenda, and apps. Diskless, £3,292 exc VAT from features. 5-bay NAS, diskless £586 exc
the icing on the cake is Synology’s generous five-year warranty. broadbandbuyer.com VAT from broadbandbuyer.com
REVIEW Issue 346, p101 REVIEW Issue 344, p96 REVIEW Issue 344, p98

VIDEOCONFERENCING

Biamp Parlé VBC 2800 Owl Labs Medium

Room Solution
Ricoh Meeting 360
Ricoh’s Meeting 360 is up against stiff
Go big for £2,918 exc VAT (MSRP) The Owl 4+ and Owl Bar partnership competition in the panoramic meeting
from midwich.com offers smart tracking and dynamic hub market but stands out for its
split-screen views to ensure everyone is excellent build quality and generous
We thought the in the picture, while the Whiteboard Owl three-year warranty. It’s easy to use
VBC 2500 was a great VC room bar, and the new VBC 2800 delivers Biamp’s adds extra professionalism to and delivers good video and audio
undeniable expertise to larger meeting rooms. Video and audio quality are presentations and training sessions. quality, while the smart app allows you
outstanding, speaker framing is super fast and the smart combination of dual Owl 4+, Owl Bar, TV mount, £2,999 exc to create a view for every occasion.
camera lenses makes sure everyone is in the big picture. VAT from owllabs.co.uk £744 exc VAT from amazon.co.uk
REVIEW Issue 364, p98 REVIEW Issue 364, p100 REVIEW Issue 364, p101

SCANNERS NEW ENTRY

Xerox N60w Pro Scanner Brother ADS-4500W Epson WorkForce

Ideal for small businesses, the DS-800WN
Speed demon, £766 exc VAT ADS-4500W offers a fine set of A flexible desktop scanner with 50ppm
from tradescanners.com walk-up scan features and its output pace and lots of connection options.
quality is beyond reproach, while Epson’s software provides great scan
The N60w Pro offers tremendous value and Brother’s Print&Scan app delivers management features, and support for
versatility. It delivered up to 67ppm in our tests with great scan workflow management Epson’s Open Platform is a boon for
great output quality, offers a plethora of connection options. £295 exc VAT from document management. £656 exc VAT
options and makes walk-up scanning a breeze. printerbase.co.uk from ballicom.co.uk
REVIEW Issue 358, p101 REVIEW Issue 358, p98 REVIEW Issue 365, p103

SERVERS

Dell EMC PowerEdge T350 Dell EMC

PowerEdge R250
Broadberry CyberServe
Xeon E-RS100-E10
Xeon E-2300 power, from £1,399 exc VAT With prices starting at around This represents a powerful hardware
from dell.com £850 exc VAT for a Pentium Gold package at a price that will please
CPU, and the option of Xeon E-2300 small businesses. We love its
Perfect for SMBs and branch offices looking for an series chips from £1,461 exc VAT, this low-profile chassis and the fine
affordable and powerful single-socket tower server. is a slim, rack-mounted alternative selection of remote-management
Along with support for Xeon E-2300 CPUs and lots of to the more high-powered T350 tools. It’s a great alternative to the Dell
memory, it has a high storage capacity, plenty of that’s ideal for SMBs. From £845 EMC servers also listed here. £983 exc
expansion space and is sturdily built. exc VAT from dell.com VAT from broadberry.co.uk
REVIEW Issue 335, p98 REVIEW Issue 332, p98 REVIEW Issue 318, p96

20
 @PCPRO FAC E B O O K . C O M / P C P R O The A-List

SECURITY SOFTWARE VPNs PASSWORD MANAGERS

Avast Ultimate Surfshark NordPass

Buy from retail and this is a bargain, with a Reliably fast and goes out of its way to ensure that This hassle-free option is a great choice for both
solid VPN, anti-tracking software and international streaming services work. Surfshark personal and business use, with a competitive
handy detection fees on top of excellent protection. has a credible track record for privacy, too. price matched with all the features most people
10 devices, 2yrs, £30 from store.pcpro.co.uk £55 for 27 months from surfshark.com need. £1.89 per month from nordpass.com
REVIEW Issue 355, p84 REVIEW Issue 360, p87 REVIEW Issue 350, p70

G Data Total Avast One NordVPN Proton VPN Bitwarden Keeper

Protection Essential One of the best all- A great VPN in its own Free for individual use A great choice for
G Data provides Avast One Essential purpose consumer VPN right, but also the best free and open source, the businesses thanks to its
straightforward, has the same malware- services around, and VPN service as you get only important thing focus on security and a
effective and inexpensive detection engine as our the paid-for version is unlimited data. Instead, Bitwarden lacks is phone zero-knowledge policy,
protection against top choice, but for free. packed with features Proton restricts which support: it works with and if you need more
malware and other threats It even includes 5GB – from anti-malware endpoints you can access virtually every device options then Keeper
to your system, making it a of VPN services per tools to a rather clever to only three countries: and browser, and the has them. Business
favourite despite its quirks. month and a few system mesh file-transfer system. the USA, the Netherlands paid option is well worth edition, from £2 per
5 devices, $82 from optimisation tools. Free £94 for 27 months and Japan. Free from £10 per year. Free from user per month from
gdatasoftware.co.uk from avast.com from nordvpn.com protonvpn.com bitwarden.com keepersecurity.com
REVIEW Issue 355, p87 REVIEW Issue 355, p89 REVIEW Issue 360, p85 REVIEW Issue 360, p86 REVIEW Issue 350, p71 REVIEW Issue 350, p72

ON-PREMISES BACKUP CLOUD BACKUP VOIP SERVICES

Nakivo Backup & Replication 10.11.2 IDrive Business 3CX Phone System V20
Perfect for SMBs that want the freedom to choose A top cloud backup choice for SMBs that want to Our top choice for businesses that want to manage
their host system. It supports an incredible range of protect on-premises systems and remote their own VoIP system. It can be hosted in the cloud
hardware platforms and OSes and is packed with workers. Platform and business app support is or on-premises, and has lots of new features. Small
data protection features. Enterprise, 10 servers, outstanding, it’s easy to use and the simple Business, 10 users, £175 exc VAT per year from 3cx.com
perpetual capacity-based REVIEW Issue 357, p98
licence, £1,118 subscriptions are
exc VAT from incredibly good value.
nakivo.com 5TB, £838 exc VAT per
REVIEW Issue year from idrive.com
362, p100 REVIEW Issue 359, p101

Veritas Backup Exec 23 Acronis Cyber Protect 16 Advanced TelephoneSystems.Cloud

Backup Exec 23 is easy to manage, provides valuable Flexible subscriptions keep costs under control, A great choice for businesses that know what they
ransomware protection and the subscriptions are the EDR service stays one step ahead of want from cloud-hosted VoIP services, offering a
great value. Simple Core Pack, 5 instances, £498 cybercriminals and it’s easy to manage, too. wealth of features at a good price. From £11 exc VAT
exc VAT per year from uk.insight.com From £95 exc VAT per year from acronis.com per user per month from telephonesystems.cloud
REVIEW Issue 362, p101 REVIEW Issue 359, p98 REVIEW Issue 357, p100

ENDPOINT PROTECTION REMOTE SUPPORT SECURITY APPLIANCES

WithSecure Elements Endpoint Security NetSupport Manager 14.1 Firewalla Gold Pro
A comprehensive set of protection measures for a Sets the standard for on-premises hosted A great choice
great price, easily managed from a cloud portal. It support for local and remote workers. It delivers for small
supports a wide range of devices and the Luminen a remarkable range of features and its one-time businesses that
tool delivers AI-powered reporting services that cost per seat will appeal to businesses concerned delivers a wide
present detailed summaries of events with a click. about subscription fees. 1-500 systems, perpetual range of security
100-499 devices, licence, £10 features at a tempting price. Our 10GbE tests show it
£37 exc VAT each each exc VAT can easily cope with high demand, and you don’t have
per year from from netsupport to worry about subscriptions either, as the price
withsecure.com manager.com includes all security services and lifetime updates.
REVIEW Issue REVIEW Issue $899 (£676) from firewalla.com
363, p101 361, p100 REVIEW Issue 364, p103

Sophos Intercept X Advanced ISL Online Standard DrayTek Vigor 2927Lax-5G

An unbeatable range of tough security measures. Perfect for SMBs wanting cloud-based support. This affordable security router offers always-on
Deployment is a breeze, and a multitude of security Features and access security are excellent, as are internet access thanks to an unbeatable set of WAN
policies make it highly flexible. 100-199 users, £48 its flexible licensing plans. Standard Cloud/One redundancy features and also offers built-in Wi-Fi 6
exc VAT each per year from enterpriseav.co.uk user, £287 exc VAT per year from islonline.com services. £667 exc VAT from broadbandbuyer.com
REVIEW Issue 363, p98 REVIEW Issue 361, p99 REVIEW Issue 360, p98

21
 Is that the final PC Pro editorial
fellow Dick
Pountain is busy

Trump of doom
gathering followers
on BlueSky
(@dick-pountain)
as an act of

I hear?
Xtermination

What could possibly be convincing the once liberal owners of big tech, and
now multi-billionaires, to switch their allegiance to the new president?

I If Trump humours his new silicon

’ve been writing this column for vital news resource for journalists of
30 years, during most of which all persuasions into X, a conduit for
I’ve kept my political opinions out previously banned hate speech and buddies by employing their AI products
to displace huge numbers of human
of it, apart from the occasional nod and pro-Trump propaganda. Then a week
wink about my lack of faith in or so before the November election
free-market dogmas. However, there
are, very occasionally, historic events
Musk openly came out for Donald
Trump and appeared prancing on
jobs, he’ll likely trigger social unrest
of such importance that to avoid platforms with him. Meanwhile, Three AI problems are becoming
mentioning them would be a sign of Jeff Bezos, owner of the Washington visible. The first is that those who
cowardice. The last such event was the Post as well as Amazon, forbade its really know (as opposed to hyping a
destruction of the World Trade Center editors to endorse any candidate, stock-price bubble) are as sceptical as I
on 11 September 2001, and I did permit while Mark Zuckerberg announced am about whether merely adding
myself a column on that. To me the he’d made a “20-year mistake” and a more GPU and training data will push
re-election of Donald Trump on 5 “political miscalculation” (code for GPTs into AGI: there are already signs
November 2024 is another such event. dumping the Dems). of plateauing or even degeneration

W
I have long been commenting on through data pollution. A second
the rising power of Silicon Valley hat has induced such a problem is the absurd, even obscene,
moguls – corporations such as handbrake turn in these amount of electrical power consumed
Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Facebook, billionaires’ opinions? A by the huge processing arrays that
eBay, HP, Twitter and more – who stock price rally following Trump’s support current generative AI models.
built the industry whose products we victory increased their collective Pronouncements about its future
document in this magazine. And fortunes by $64 billion overnight, but energy needs are beginning to sound
during those 30 years I have written that’s merely chump change: Musk frankly deranged – restart old nuclear
under an unspoken assumption that spent $250 million to finance Trump’s power stations to marginally improve
these moguls, having emerged from election campaign, a sum he earns AI services which are, let’s face it,
the post-1960s counterculture, were every 15 minutes. Trump is promising really only souped-up search engines
fundamentally inclined toward to oppose internet regulation and rather than solutions to any physical-
“liberal” (in the American sense) prosecute journalists who investigate world problems. Building a new clean
values. The two Steves, Jobs and or criticise too much, but I think even energy infrastructure to mangle words
Wozniak, were once “blue box” phone those aren’t sufficient bait. These and bitmaps rather than providing
phreaks; Google was started by two moguls already had everything except clean transport, heating and air
Stanford students in a friend’s garage power to rule, which is now on offer. conditioning is actually psychotic.

T
under the motto “Don’t Be Evil”. And The other promise Trump makes is
in the interest of full disclosure, PC Pro to dump the Democrats’ (already he third problem is that if Trump
itself was created by a company feeble) policies toward climate change humours his new silicon buddies
founded by Felix Dennis, once editor of mitigation, turning the USA away by employing their current,
Oz magazine, on which I too worked. from the Paris Agreement and Net flawed, AI products to displace huge
In order to remain neutral, over Zero. This very well suits a second numbers of human jobs, he’ll likely
the past couple of years I’ve refrained generation of moguls – the AI barons. trigger an economic crisis that leads to
from expressing alarm as it’s become My own attitude to AI has changed social unrest or even breakdown. This
clearer that my assumption was being somewhat over the past few years: magazine is called PC Pro, the first P
overturned. It started to look really I’ve been sceptical of earlier claims standing for Personal. We grew out of
shaky when Elon Musk bought Twitter that silicon tech will soon produce a 1980s technical revolution that put
and proceeded to corrupt it from a intelligence equivalent to or greater computing power into the hands of
than humans, a goal now individuals and decentralised power
It started to look shaky renamed as AGI, but I’m away from the mainframes of state

when Musk bought Twitter

enormously impressed by the bureaucracies. The ambitions of the AI
strides made in language and brigade concentrate processing back
and started to corrupt it from perceptual processing (I did
after all let ChatGPT write a
into gargantuan data centres that
threaten data democracy itself.
a news resource guest column for me). [email protected]

22
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Viewpoints

Gap between tech Nicole Kobie is PC

Pro’s Futures editor,
and she’ll never get

promises and
over how terrible the
internet has become.
What a letdown.
@njkobie

reality is too wide

Technology has been saving us time and supposedly making the world
better for decades, so how come it takes so long to book a GP appointment?

R
emember life before the battle on the phone at 8am to get seen. He adds: “All of this is a reminder
internet? Looking something The same goes for calls to government, that technology itself is neither good
up meant dusting off an my pension provider and any query nor bad; what matters is how we use it.”
encyclopedia or heading to the library. that can’t be answered by a chatbot. True, but the problem is this:
Talking to friends required a phone or Weren’t digital services supposed people are the worst. We were given
meeting them in person. Wild times. to cut the costs of public services while perfect access to information, and we
The rise of the internet promised improving access? And yet here we descended into conspiracy. We could
perfect information: we’d never be are, still hanging on the phone with have enabled true teleworking –
wrong again. We’d be flooded with not enough money in the budget. I can remember when we used to call it
facts, be it the name of a football player only assume those millions ended up that? – that enabled work-life balance,
for a pub quiz, a politician’s voting with digital contractors supplying let parents return to work more easily,
record or a restaurant’s opening time. various technologies and services.
The very early days of the internet
A
All of that information is readily
available. But instead of growing into
well-educated, well-informed
nd don’t get me started on the
internet’s promise of free and were fabulous. But it seems the more
citizens, we’re as stupid as ever –
perhaps, given the rise of conspiracy
easy communication. When I
moved to the UK 20 years ago, I racked
we could do online, and the more people
theories, even stupider. The rise of up long-distance phone bills talking to got online, the worse it became
misinformation and disinformation friends and family for hours. Now,
means the data available online can’t calling is free, but instead we send a eased transport congestion and offered
be trusted, and we’re far too set in our few short messages back and forth and access to good work to anyone,
ways to seek out facts that disagree call that keeping in touch. (I know I regardless of disability or even
with us when there are so many could pick up the phone, but I’m as geography. And yet, we’re seeing
available that fit our points of view. flawed and lazy as anyone.) demands to return to the office.

I
That’s just the information side of What happened? What is it about us
the internet. Digitalisation promised humans that we manage to take these ’m not saying AI can’t deliver on
to open up access to everything, and if gifts of technology and turn them so its promises. But even if these tools
you look at banking then it has: not so sour? The very early days of the pan out to be as powerful as
long ago we needed to queue to get internet were fabulous. But it seems Benioff et al claim, I’m not sure they or
anything done beyond taking out cash the more we could do online, and the we will apply them intelligently. We
more people got online, the have a terrible track record, after all.
Instead of growing into worse it became. Early evidence isn’t looking good.

well-educated, well-informed I was thinking about this

missed opportunity to benefit
Large language models are incredible
prediction machines, yet every single
citizens, we’re as stupid as ever from the internet while
reading a piece in Time
time I try to type the word “and” on my
iPhone keyboard, it replaces it with
– perhaps even stupider magazine by Marc Benioff, “Ave”. Fix that, then we’ll talk about
founder and CEO of the rest of the world.
at a machine. I remember having to Salesforce – and also the owner of Time, If AI goes the way the internet did, I
wait half an hour in a branch to deposit in case you wonder why that piece don’t foresee an age of unlimited joy,
a cheque. Now I just take a picture of it (tinyurl.com/365time) sounds less like money or other benefits. I expect yet
and the money appears in my account. journalism and more like fan fiction. another age of frustration and
But it also means I’m now my own Here’s the gist: advances in AI disappointment, just this time using
travel agent, my own banker and my promise, says Benioff, an unlimited much more expensive, dangerous and
own personal assistant – and as not age of plenty with little work, environmentally damaging tech. I
everything is digital, this is a massive improving everything from customer hope this time they can prove me
time waster. My GP technically offers service to healthcare. AI agents, he wrong, but I’m not holding my breath.
appointments that are bookable predicts, will open up access to the We don’t need technology to make
online, but there’s always just one, best of care virtually. Mate, we’ve everything better. We need to do the
several weeks in the future at a very heard that one before, and I still can’t work – we’re the problem, after all.
inconvenient time. Instead, it’s a get an appointment at my local GP. [email protected]

23
 Viewpoints @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO

How I miss Barry Collins wrote

his dissertation
on the Amstrad

the missing
NC200, before
having to convert
the documents to
ASCII format to

manuals
print it off from a
PC. That was fun.
Email him at barry@
mediabc.co.uk.
@bazzacollins

Forget wikis, YouTube videos and Q&As, application support

was so much better in the days of printed manuals

I At best, you can hope for an in-game

n 1993, Amstrad launched the Of course, printed manuals have
NC200 – a wonderful little laptop largely gone the way of dot-matrix
that I hoiked off to university printers and cans of Lilt. They’re tutorial (most of which suck) and an
online wiki that has less craft than a
with me. It looked like it could have practically extinct. They’ve been
been made by Fisher-Price: if you replaced with “online guides”, wikis or
wanted to open the word processor
you pressed the red button, for
YouTube tutorials – which are often
not a patch on a proper printed manual.
wheelie bin

I
“diary” you pressed blue. In other
words, it was almost insultingly ’ve been building a new website – those beautifully written guides
simple to operate. And yet it came with WordPress.com over the with maps and game lore you used to
with a 460-page manual that was as past couple of weeks, and even pore over before sticking the disks in
chunky as the laptop itself. though WordPress has grown more the Amiga, say. Now, at best, you can
The first 50-page section of that user-friendly over the years, there hope for an in-game tutorial (most of
manual, according to the foreword, have still been times when I’ve which suck) and an online wiki that
was written by none other than Alan needed help in making a Query Loop has less craft than a wheelie bin.
Sugar. And even if – like me – you behave or adjusting various settings. I recently tried getting into Flight
struggle to believe that Sugar sat On numerous occasions I’ve found Simulator 2024, but the sheer number
there for hours pounding out an that WordPress’ online help system of controls you have to master makes
instruction manual, it’s written in has outdated information, where a you appreciate why it takes years of
that gruff, no-nonsense style that at feature or function has been updated training to become a pilot. It’s too
least sounds a bit like him. For and the instructions haven’t been. much for the casual gamer. Unless
example, the instructions for the Worse, when I turned to the you’re prepared to devote hours to
delete keys (yes, really) tell you to support team for help – the £250-per- learning it all it’s near impossible, at
press the button to make letters year Business plan supposedly offers least for this 40-something with a
“disappear”. “The Boffins say they “priority 24/7 support from our memory weaker than Alan Sugar’s
were DELETED,” (faux) Sugar adds. expert team” – I was left waiting for punchlines. But if I had – or could order
“Got it? Del is short for DELETE.” hours before an AI bot sent me a – printed control sheets reminding
Yeah, thanks for spelling that out, Al, boilerplate email that didn’t answer me what all those sodding buttons do,
it had been keeping me awake. my question. It was more than 12 I might have half a chance of landing a
I take the mick, but that manual hours later before a human actually Cessna without having to be cut out of
was brilliant. It’s sitting in front of helped me solve the issue. the cockpit by the fire brigade.

M
me, and I can see how well thumbed it It’s a similar story with apps such
was. It covered literally everything as Photoshop and InDesign. Yes, anuals aren’t a completely
that primitive laptop could do in Adobe has an online user guide and lost cause. A few years ago,
detail, with graphics and screenshots tutorials, but I often find they don’t Serif produced a couple of
throughout. And remember this is have the exact answer for what I’m wonderful guides for its Affinity
1993. I cannot even conceive how trying to achieve. More often than Photo and Publisher apps. Proper,
they got screenshots off the thing, let not, I resort to third-party YouTube hard-bound, glorious-smelling glossy
alone the difficulties of laying them videos for the solution, but the quality guides that walked you through how
out in a manual using the DTP of these videos is highly variable and to use the software, with pull-out
software of the time. It is, in all often they’re using a version of keyboard shortcut sheets to boot.
sincerity, a hugely impressive piece of Photoshop that is two or three They were magnificent, well worth
work. (You can see it for yourself by iterations out of date. Is it too much to the £20 or so asking price.
heading to ncus.org.uk/m200.htm.) ask for even a downloadable PDF I’d happily pay for a printed
manual for a product that Photoshop, WordPress or Flight Sim
Is it too much to ask for even costs hundreds of pounds
per year? More than that
manual, if only the companies were
prepared to cover their own products
a downloadable PDF manual for Amstrad laptop did, in fact. as comprehensively as Amstrad did
a product that costs hundreds It’s a similar story with
games. Video games used to
all those years ago. Alan Sugar or AI?
Give me the grizzly old sod any day.
of pounds per year? be the apogee of manuals [email protected]

24
Readers’ comments
Your views and feedback from email and the web

Business class Wi-Fi lives) in 1811, our economic model had

Thanks so much for the Upgrade to been based on the philosophy “if you
Business Class Wi-Fi article (see don’t move forwards you inevitably
issue 364, p40). In 2024 I upgraded move backwards”. The strategy has
my own home/office network to a helped humankind in creating PCs
TP-Link business mesh system and and phones work in ways that we
don’t regret it. There are two could barely imagine 20 years ago.
things to add to the article, though. So it comes as no surprise that
First, many of the subscription governments around the world are
features available on the Zyxel giving out licences for drone
system Darien chose are included deliveries. In the rush to move the
in the software of other routers, economy on, has anyone paused to
including my own, which is only think what the future holds? Not only
about £20 or so more expensive. do drones emit high-frequency sounds
Second and most importantly, while ABOVE Dr Steven academics who have lots of PDFs and that are intensely annoying to the
guest networks allow you to isolate Hammer recommends other documents to manage. human ear but, whereas a delivery van
IoT, plus kids’ and visitors’ devices, to Zotero as a tool for Zotero can use regular expressions will be heard up to around 100 metres,
boost security, only a professional writers and academics for searching within attachments, too a drone flying at 1,000 feet might be
router will allow you to do the same (see screenshot above). It also handles audible over several square miles!
with Ethernet, which is becoming PDF viewing and annotation using its In this “brave new world” every
more popular for devices including built-in viewer. You can make quick city dweller will experience noise
smart TVs used for streaming. additions to your library from loads of pollution akin to living near a major
Mike Halsey different websites using the Zotero airport! That reminds me to send off
Connector browser plugin. Zotero is that application form for membership
Associate editor Darien Graham-Smith available for various devices, of the Neo-Luddite society.
replies: “Good point – no doubt I’ll be including Chromebooks. Nigel Osborn
discovering additional benefits of a Sadly, it doesn’t read and critically
pro-grade router for a long time to come. review the articles for you. I’m still Max not mini
The only catch is that you need to be willing looking for a tool to do that... The December 2024 issue asked
to delve into quite advanced settings, and Dr Steven Hammer whether we are tempted by mini PCs.
to live with the possibility of temporarily I was, but no longer. It would replace
stuffing up your home network while Editorial fellow Dick Pountain replies: one of my self-build computers that
you’re exploring what you can do – which I “Thanks, Dr Hammer, for your tip-off about is a standby and used for online
doubt my family will appreciate!” Zotero, which I didn’t know about and meetings. One Geekom and three
which looks like exactly what I need. I’ll Minisforum mini PCs later, they have
PDF reference manager certainly be trying it: I will wait for the been returned because of failures or
Has Dick Pountain (“In praise of the Android version, which the website says not meeting the specification.
mighty PDF”, issue 364, p20) is ‘coming soon’.” The Minisforum Venus UM790 Pro
considered a reference manager to failed to switch on after being run for
catalogue and search his PDF library? Return of the Luddites 90 minutes from new. I eventually
I’ve used Zotero (zotero.org) for years From the point the Luddites lost their rebooted it but it had self-encrypted
and it’s a great tool for writers and argument (and some of them their with BitLocker. I’ll admit that I’ve

Star letter
We hear you! phone, not just a camera? I was looking for hardware, and we tend to focus on the hardware
I was perusing my latest copy of PC Pro, information such as “how long does the in our reviews unless there’s something unique
December 2024, over breakfast and was battery last on standby”, “what are its about the software package. We also try (and
enjoying the articles and advice given until I abilities in connecting to networks”, “how often fail) to avoid covering things that can be
reached p68. I read the reviews from p68 all many contacts can it store”, “does it have looked up online on the manufacturer’s website;
the way through to p76 and then re-read emergency services abilities” and so on. our reviews attempt to tell you what the product
them again. Surely I had missed something Please, if you are going to review a is like to use, which is why we’ll concentrate on
of significant interest. smartphone, review all its abilities. experiential things rather than raw numbers
No matter how many times I read the Edward Henry Holroyd where possible. But I do realise that our reviews
reviews I couldn’t find any reference to the include a lot of numbers, too, as we try to obey
telecommunication abilities of the various Editor-in-chief Tim Danton replies: A tricky one. the mantra “no opinion without fact”. Hopefully
iPhones, Apple Watch or other phones. A bunch of factors come into play here, including that answers the question to some extent!
Surely, if you are going to “review” a phone the role of software; for example, three of those
you should be highlighting its abilities as a four questions relate to the OS rather than the

This month’s star letter writer wins a Cherry KC 200 MX mechanical keyboard, worth £80,
recipient of a five-star review and a PC Pro Recommended award. Email [email protected]

26
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Viewpoints

Readers’ poll

23%
been spoiled over the years with Asus’
UEFI BIOS. So here I am, with a new For this month’s
self-build based on a ROG Strix
masthead question (see p8),
Z790-H motherboard and Core
i7-14700K CPU that work faultlessly.
John Knight
Google to
de-integrate
its products
we asked our contributors to
make predictions for 2025.
Intel and AMD
5%
And then asked readers to vote
The Collins Replacement announce
Cycle™ which of four predictions merger
In response to Barry’s column (see
issue 364, p22), where he describes his
57% were most likely…
CRC (Collins Replacement Cycle™) as
being broken by the Apple M1,
meaning his laptop will last longer
than its planned three years, I
Most PC Pro
readers to have
their own AI agent
15%
AI proves to be
certainly agree, but I would say it goes flash in the pan
beyond Apple. My 2020 vintage LG
Gram laptop is as fresh now as the day
I bought it, and only partly due to the John Moore, commenting on Facebook, didn’t think any of our predictions were going to
Format C: followed by a reinstall of happen so came up with his own. “The AI hype will become even more ludicrous – Heinz AI
Windows a few months back. Baked Beans anyone?” Nor was Mike Webster convinced. “Is this an April Fools? None of those
The real reason is fast SSDs, decent will happen next year IMO but if I had to pick it would be ‘AI will mature to the point where most
CPUs and an abundance of RAM. I PC Pro readers will have their own AI agent’.”
remember the days of the Windows Over on Discord, Skyloop also leaned towards AI agents. “I love having a ChatGPT sidekick,
Task Manager showing maxed-out and while I think AI agents are unlikely to be used by everyone, those of us who do take
RAM and CPU, while the spinny disk advantage of a real life C-3PO can only benefit.” But Robert Paul Riley felt that AI would be a
struggled with the demands of the flash in the pan. “[I] can’t see the home users paying the premium for an AI device,” he wrote.
swap file, slowing everything to a “Currently [Copilot+ PC] laptops are £1,000+, most home users will splash out around £600.”
crawl. But no more; the hardware is Adam Jackson backed Barry’s Google de-integration prediction, but purely “as a pre-
finally outpacing the software, so the emptive defence”, while Tom Dickson changed the emphasis: “Google will be forced to open up
focus became on making the hardware and de-integrate its products to some barely noticeable degree.”
small, light, cool and efficient to And we’ll give John Hind, on Discord, the floor regarding the AMD/Intel merger. “I predict
preserve battery life and to make them major disruption in the semiconductor business: confluence of Apple’s processor dominance
20% thinner than last year’s model. with supply chain concerns and tariff wars will force platform owners into the semiconductor
It makes you wonder where the space. Intel will be up for a fire sale, but to Microsoft, Nvidia or Google rather than AMD.”
hardware manufacturers will go Finally, we feel it only right to back our readers when they have business opportunities to
next. What’s that? NPUs, you say... share. “My newly developed AI (Ant Internet) will revolutionise 2025,” wrote @NukesSix on X.
Alan Ingram “Utilising insect pheromones with potential speeds up to 3.7 teraflipflops, my AI (Ant Interweb)
is stable, unhackable and compatible with all NEST technology. Openings for serious investors.”
Rolling back the years
I received my January 2025 edition on AI will prove useful in some The least implausible is that
30 November 2024. Interestingly, the
December 2024 edition states the
situations, but turns out to be most PC Pro readers will have
January edition goes on sale on more of a naughty boy. some form of AI agent(s) doing
5 December 2024. After I read it, this Henry Malt @artbookreviews some form of work for them.
morning I couldn’t find the magazine!
I went around the house twice, before Geoff Campbell
I eventually realised that the spine Most likely? The AI
says “January 2024”, and I had filed agents. Only because I see Join the debate
this with my back copies. And it’s not
even 1 April.
the others as less likely. Join the growing PC Pro
John Haigh Kol Tregaskes @koltregaskes community on Facebook at
facebook.com/pcpro
Editor-in-chief Tim Danton replies: Thanks If forced to choose I would say Get the latest news and
to everyone who wrote in to point out our updates by following us
error on the spine, and our apologies for AMD merger as it’s the most likely @pcpro 1ST CO

to lead to the great god, profit.

RE ULTR

the confusion! Regarding publishing dates,

A PC
PRINTERS TESTED

@
BEST ink FOR PRO
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Email us at letters@
& all-in-ones
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office
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Keith Miller
WORTH
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THE BIG

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YOU R WI-
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18/10/2024
13:03
WIND
in 2025
With the new year bringing the curtain down on the most
used version of Windows, Barry Collins explores where
consumers and businesses should head next

I
t’s remarkable to think that a decade time on Windows 10, with the operating
after its release, Windows 10 will enter system reaching end of support later this
2025 as by far and away the most used year. That will give consumers and
version of Windows. businesses a decision to make.
In some ways, it’s a cause for a Do they continue to cling to their
celebration. It shows that the majority of Windows 10 hardware, grudgingly
people still find Windows 10 suitably paying Microsoft for extended support?
equipped for their computing needs and Do they upgrade to Windows 11 and,
see no compelling reason to add to the if so, which version: x86 or Arm,
mountains of e-waste by upgrading their Home or Pro? Or should they wait for
computer. A win for the Windows 12, or maybe even eschew
environment. the very notion of running their own
However, Windows installations and head for the
Microsoft is clouds of Windows 365 instead?
preparing In this feature, we’ll systematically go
to call through the options, taking the different
operating systems in turn and helping you
to decide which version of Windows you
should be running in your home or
business in 2025.

28
 Windows in 2025

DOWS
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO

29
WINDOWS 10
offering Extended Security Updates you still need to pay the fee for any
(ESU) to consumers as well as previous years as well.
businesses for Windows 10. That still won’t deter many

T
he clock is running down on Consumers will be given a year’s businesses from sticking with
Windows 10 as we enter 2025. extra security updates for a one-off Windows 10, according to Wes Miller,
Support comes to a halt at the fee of $30, effectively pushing the research analyst with Directions on
end of October, and although support deadline back to October Microsoft, which offers independent IT
Microsoft has pushed Windows 2026. Microsoft has confirmed to planning advice. Miller predicts most
support deadlines back in the PC Pro that its Windows Defender businesses will “defer and delay”.
past – particularly when that antivirus will also keep receiving “It’s past time for organisations to
operating system remains in updates until at least October 2028. begin moving to [Windows] 11,” he
widespread use – the company said. “In the long run, they must get
seems more determined to draw to 11, which will likely mean new
a line in the sand with Windows 10.
Not least because there’s a revenue
Windows 10 still accounts hardware for many PCs.”
Miller believes there are multiple
stream attached to it.
Have no doubt: there’s still a huge for just over 60% of all reasons for businesses not moving
up the Microsoft food chain. They’re
installed base of Windows 10 users not upgrading to Windows 11 as “it
out there, even though Windows 11 is
now more than three years old. The
Windows installations often means replacing PCs, when
organisations are being told to do
global figures from Statcounter show
Windows 10 still accounts for just as of October 2024 more with less. Application
compatibility may be to blame for
over 60% of all Windows installations some roles. Lastly, I think some
as of October 2024. Windows 11 is at organisations don’t like how
36%, and while the gap between the As was the case with Windows 7, Windows 11’s UI shifts even more
two is narrowing, it’s not doing so at businesses can get up to three years and even faster than 10 did.”
any great pace. of security patches for Windows 10,
Perhaps more alarmingly for but there’s a stiff financial penalty for Upgrade options
Microsoft, even the traditional early companies that choose to linger on As Miller points out, the solution
adopters of new operating systems the operating system for the full for many Windows 10 users – be
remain stubbornly attached to duration. The first year of updates they consumers or businesses –
Windows 10. Gamers tend to have will cost business customers $61 per isn’t as simple as finally biting the
higher spec machines than average, device, but that price doubles each bullet and pressing the button to
but Steam’s hardware survey for year thereafter, meaning that by year upgrade to Windows 11.
October 2024 found that Windows 10 three you’ll be paying $244 per device Windows 11 famously raised the
was still installed on 47.5% of all for the security updates. minimum system requirements
machines used to access the gaming There’s no financial advantage significantly, meaning that a lot of
service, only a tiny fraction less than to biding your time and only paying Windows 10-era hardware simply
the 48.8% using Windows 11. for the ESU if a major security BELOW Windows isn’t compatible with Windows 11.
This vast installed base partly breach emerges that you absolutely 10 has been one of At a consumer level, there are
explains why, for the first time in the must patch, either. If you decide Microsoft’s most workarounds where you can
history of Windows, Microsoft is to join the ESU in year two or three, successful OSes brute-force Windows 11 on to an

30
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Windows in 2025

incompatible machine. For example,

the Rufus utility (rufus.ie), which
creates bootable USB drives, has an
option for Windows 11 installations
The Honeyball view
that removes the requirement for
4GB+ of RAM, Secure Boot and a TPM
on Windows 10
2.0 module. However, while you can We asked Jon to give his very personal view on what to say to people
probably live without the Secure who are still relying on Windows 10 for business or home use
Boot and TPM security, trying to run

I
Windows 11 on a system with 4GB of
f you work in the IT industry, I suspect you will In many home use cases, I suspect this isn’t the
RAM or less would be... brave.
have heard the adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix case, and there’s an almost endless supply of hope
Legacy software/hardware that
isn’t compatible with Windows 11 is it” more than once in your career. While it and finger-crossing involved. If you aren’t using
another potential blocker. Windows sometimes holds true, it fails when things start cloud services such as Dropbox, now is the time to
11 Pro allows you to virtualise a gathering a layer of dust. By this time, you have little start thinking about it.
Windows 10 instance using Hyper-V, or no idea how to fix things when they go wrong. For businesses, Microsoft is offering three
among other virtualisation options,
Windows 10 going out of support is a big deal, years of support on a rising price plan. Tread
but that is something of a sticking
plaster option. if only because there’s a lot of perfectly usable carefully. This should only be used in the most
Ultimately, the end of support for hardware out there that can’t be moved to extreme cases: you might have some industrial
Windows 10 really should be the Windows 11. And while this might seem control software that only runs on Windows 10,
nudge to start considering longer- “skipware”, it raises the question of what to do. and for which the developer hasn’t moved to
term solutions. The question is, The answer is actually simple if there is no Windows 11 support. This rings all sorts of alarm
where to next? Windows 11 is now
update path: either cough up the money for bells for continuity and risk planning in the
well established, but there are
different versions to consider, extended support or change your hardware. business, and while you could move to running the
including the much improved It really is that straightforward.
Windows on Arm. Or perhaps the For the home user, the
cloud-based Windows 365? And is extended paid-for support is
there any prospect of Windows
available for just one year, and
12 any time soon? We’ll
although it will put off the
consider all of these
in turn. replacement day, it doesn’t really
do so in a meaningful way. It’s
time to get new hardware that
runs Windows 11 and transfer
everything across. You can
either keep the old box
disconnected from the
network and running Windows
10, or move to a modern
Windows-alike Linux. Mint is my preferred choice. ABOVE If you have old hardware that won’t run
Windows 11, now is the time to upgrade
If you want to retarget the computer to Linux,
then use the facilities to create a boot USB drive for mission-critical app in a locked-down Windows 10
the Linux Mint installation. Then try it! You’ll soon virtual machine running on Windows 11, this is
know if it works well on your hardware and can going to be a mess.
decide whether you get on with it well enough for a If you have a mission-critical app that won’t run
permanent move. Once this has been done, the on Windows 11, then the same rules apply but those
tools are supplied to steal away disk partition space sirens are now wailing loudly. You have six months
from the Windows installation, and to create a dual to sort this out before opening the cheque book in
boot environment. This will allow you to boot back the hope of delaying the inevitable.
and forth between Windows and Linux Mint as you Look carefully at your estate of hardware.
transition from one to the other. How ageing is it that it won’t run Windows 11?
Moving your world across is never going to be Can you swap out the computer component and
easy, and I confess I prefer a “clean start” reuse the screen, mouse and keyboard? If so, the
approach. Making sure you have backups in place, new Windows terminal box from Microsoft – the
and copies of all critical data, is the key point. Cloud Windows 365 Link, which we cover on the
services such as Gmail, Hotmail, OneDrive and following page – might be just the ticket if you’re
Dropbox are all extremely helpful in this context. prepared to make the leap into cloud-hosted
This is also the perfect time to take a long, Windows sessions.
hard look at how your data is stored. Are you Yes, it comes at a high cost. But trust me, so
relying on this one Windows 10 computer, and is does running an old estate of PCs with all the
there an existing workable disaster recovery plan insecurities and unpredictable failures that will
in place for it? And do you know that this will work? become so tiresomely frequent.

31
WINDOWS 11
big advantage. That’s largely because
few games run natively on Arm, forcing
them into the frame-rate-sapping

I
f the end of support for Windows 10 emulator. Nor will you find an
is prompting you to buy new Arm-based Windows laptop with
hardware and you’re staying within dedicated graphics chips, instead
the Windows ecosystem, you’re going relying on Qualcomm’s integrated
to end up with Windows 11 in one Adreno GPUs. If gaming is even part of
form or another. But the choice here the reason for buying a new laptop, it’s
isn’t as simple as it once was. better to stick with the x86 machines.
There’s now a debate to be had over Sticking to x86 doesn’t necessarily
“sticking” with the x86 version of mean huge compromises on battery
Windows 11 or plumping for Windows life, either. As we mentioned, Intel
on Arm. Within those two camps, has been working hard to match the
there’s a choice to be made between renowned Arm power efficiency, and
Home and Pro versions, at least for the Intel-based Asus Zenbook S14 we
consumers. And you might even be reviewed recently (see issue 362, p46)
thinking about running Windows 11 lasted for just over 19 hours in the
from the cloud (see box on Windows light-use battery test. That uses one
365, opposite). Let’s start breaking of Intel’s new Core Ultra 200V
down the decision-making process. processors, which are geared towards
efficiency rather than out-and-out
x86 or ARM? performance, but it’s hopefully
A year ago, Windows on Arm was indicative of a new era of all-day
looking like the version of Windows battery life in x86 laptops that aren’t
with a few too many compromises. fallen victim to Stockholm Syndrome, ABOVE Lenovo’s being thrashed with games or other
Now, it’s a much harder choice – but Microsoft claims that aggregated Arm-based high-intensity tasks.
assuming you’re thinking of buying a app usage data from Copilot+ PCs in ThinkPad T14s Gen6
laptop rather than a desktop that is. several countries showed that owners offers stunning Pro or Home?
Windows on Arm has yet to make were spending more than 90% of their battery life If you’re buying a new PC or upgrading
any significant inroads on the time in apps coded specifically for the from Windows 10, it’s worth a quick
desktop, bar a couple of developer Arm platform. That list includes the recap of the differences between the
systems. In the fullness of time, it full Office suite, Dropbox, Slack, most Home and Pro versions of Windows 11.
might arrive on mini PCs or all-in- of Adobe’s Creative Suite, Spotify, Both the x86 and the Arm-based
ones (keep an eye out for next month’s Netflix, Visual Studio Code and almost versions of the OS support Home
feature showcasing all the new all of the well-known web browsers. and Pro editions, so the information
technology from CES 2025), but for Even those apps that aren’t yet native below applies equally to both.
now it’s largely confined to laptops. will likely run fine with the Prism x86 Obviously, if you’re buying for a
However, it says everything about emulation software. business, then Pro is the only realistic
the rise of Arm chips in laptops that the “Windows 11 on Arm has choice. You might not be too bothered
PC Pro A-List has Arm-based machines significantly matured, with improved about technically breaching
as the top picks for the Premium software compatibility, including Microsoft’s licensing terms by using a
Laptop, Business Laptop and Copilot+ native ARM64 apps (eg, Microsoft Home licence for business, and the
Laptop categories, albeit the Premium Office, Google Drive), and better x86/ chances of you being caught are
Laptop is an Apple MacBook Pro. x64 emulation,” said Kashif Nazir, minimal, but there are several
The biggest advantage of the Arm technical manager at Cloudhouse, a business-specific features that are
architecture is power efficiency. The company focusing on application excluded from the Home version. For
A-Listed Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen6 compatibility and cloud enablement. example, Home machines can’t join a
(Snapdragon) lasted almost a full day in “Arm-based devices offer exceptional domain, support Group Policy or be
the PCMark Application benchmark, portability, battery life and cloud-first managed with Windows Intune.
which runs a mix of Office and web- integration, making them ideal for It’s really only small businesses or
based apps. That’s not a full working mobile workforces, lightweight sole traders who would even consider
day, that’s a full day – 23hrs 39mins of business tasks or cloud-reliant buying a Home licence over Pro
constant usage. And though we’ve environments. However, businesses anyway, but even at this level,
seen recent Intel processors making relying on specialised or legacy where you might not have any
great strides in power efficiency, software should verify compatibility central IT management, there
they’re unable to reach those heights. before migrating.” are reasons to stick with Pro.
The 12-core Qualcomm Snapdragon Gaming is the one major area BitLocker device encryption
X1E-78-100 system-on-a-chip inside where the Intel/AMD axis still has a is one big absentee from
the ThinkPad isn’t light on muscle, Windows Home, meaning
either. It matched Intel’s Core Ultra 7 that if you were to leave a
in the Geekbench 6 single-core test,
and hammered it in the multicore
Arm-based devices offer work laptop on a train
or have it stolen in
section, although Intel had the slight a burglary, your
edge in Cinebench 2024. Certainly, for exceptional portability, data should
everyday work apps, there’s no need be protected.
to fear running Windows on Arm.
That’s partly because app
battery life and cloud-first
compatibility has grown much
healthier. It’s a stat that might have integration
32
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Windows in 2025

Virtualisation is another Pro-only

WINDOWS 365
feature. If you want to keep old apps
running in a virtual OS or maybe run a
Linux coding environment, you can

I
do so with Hyper-V. Third-party f the cost of rolling out new hardware is one
virtualisation software such as reason businesses are stalling on Windows
VirtualBox does run on the Home 10, Windows 365 provides a potential solution.
edition, but it’s much simpler to use Now an established part of the Microsoft
the native Hyper-V in most scenarios.
lineup, Windows 365 is a virtual Windows
Windows Sandbox, which allows you
instance hosted in the cloud, accessible from a
to test untrusted software in a
separate instance from your main range of internet-connected devices, including
desktop, is another feature that you other Windows desktops, iOS or Android devices. Windows 365 subscribers
won’t find in the Home edition. can currently choose between Windows 11 and Windows 10 as their cloud
If you think you’re going to need operating system, although presumably Microsoft will phase out Windows 10
Pro, it’s normally cheapest to have it as an option when it reaches end-of-life.
installed at the point of purchase. You While Windows 365 may spare you the upfront cost of new hardware, the
can upgrade in place from Home to long-term costs need to be considered carefully, particularly if you need one of
Pro in Windows 11, but it’s a punch the punchier specs. The Basic plan costs only £29 (exc VAT) per user per month,
£120 if you go through the Microsoft but for that you only get two virtual (and unspecified) vCPUs, 4GB of RAM and
Store. You can find licences cheaper 128GB of storage. At the other end of the scale, the Premium version delivers
online, but these aren’t always
four vCPUs, 16GB of RAM and still only 128GB for a much fruitier £61 per month.
legitimate; you’re better off buying
That’s a £700+ a year investment for not a lot of PC.
through the PC Pro Store, where it’s
There are business benefits to Windows 365 compared to running your own
currently £50 (see p35).
Once you have your activation key, hardware. There’s reduced energy costs, no direct hardware support costs,
go to Settings | System | Activation and and Microsoft takes care of the security provision. For staff working from
change the product key manually. The home, you can let them remotely access their work desktop from their personal
features are already installed with the devices, without worrying about any security compromises. And for businesses
OS; applying the activation key BELOW The that are hotdesking or employing a lot of temporary/short-contract staff, it
just unlocks them. All of Windows 365 Link could prove more cost-effective than kitting out offices with new PCs, although
your data and apps is Microsoft’s take staff will still need some form of hardware to access the service from.
should remain on the mini PC That device could even be a (whisper it) thin client from Microsoft itself. The
untouched. company recently announced the Windows 365 Link – a mini PC similar in
stature to the Mac mini – which is a client designed to exclusively access
Windows 365. It’s small, fanless and wakes “instantly” from sleep. David
Weston, vice-president of enterprise and OS security at Microsoft,
told The Verge that the way to think of it was as a “super
hardened” version of Windows. “Everything that runs is signed
by Microsoft and it’s isolated in sandboxes,” he added, comparing
it to something like the Xbox in terms of its closed nature.
The Link can support multiple displays, and has two USB-A
3.2 ports and a single USB-C 3.2 port, as well as DisplayPort and
HDMI outputs. It has both Ethernet and Wi-Fi 6E connectivity, as well
as Bluetooth 5.3 for connecting wireless peripherals. It will go on sale in April,
but while we know it will cost $349 in the US, Microsoft hasn’t yet confirmed its
UK price. If you’re in a rush, Dell and Lenovo offer similar thin client devices.
Yet even on the most Basic plan, you’re still looking at a year-one cost in the
region of £700 for a Windows 365 Link device. Wes Miller isn’t sure that is likely
to lure many businesses – and it remains business-only for now – that have yet to
make the move to Windows 11.
“I don’t think a customer who has held out on migrating to 11 to this point is
likely a good candidate to pay the premium price for Link, as well as the
premium price for Windows 365,” he said. “Some may move that way, but it will
be a small minority of customers.”

WINDOWS 365 OPTIONS

Basic Standard Premium

Price per month (exc VAT) £28.80 £38.10 £61.30

vCPUs 2 2 4
RAM 4GB 8GB 16GB
Storage 128GB 128GB 128GB
Users Up to 300 Up to 300 Up to 300

33
WINDOWS 12?
The Apple option
A I
nother reason to add to the
f nobody’s quite sure when the next version of
growing list of excuses of why
people are sticking with Windows will arrive, you can be more certain about
Windows 10 is the uncertainty of the cadence of macOS. Although the annual new
what’s happening with Windows 12 versions of macOS are arguably comparable to Windows’
– or whatever the next major version annual updates, they have been as regular as clockwork
might be called. for over a decade and don’t pull up the ladder on old Mac
The cadence of Microsoft’s hardware that aggressively.
Windows version releases has become That said, with next year marking five years since
entirely unpredictable. Windows 7 Apple launched its own M1 silicon, it’s possible that
was released in 2009, Windows 8 macOS 16 will cease support for Intel-based processors.
followed in 2012, and Windows 10 in That would be a significant milestone, and one that
2015, but that seemingly ended the
underlines how Apple has mastered the shift to Arm-
three-to-four year gap between major ABOVE Microsoft has made much of
based silicon at a much faster lick than Microsoft has. This
versions. Windows 11 was something Copilot+, making features available only to
of a shock drop in 2021, because those PCs that meet certain requirements despite Microsoft releasing the Arm-based Surface RT
although it had been six years since back in 2012, eight years before Apple bet the house
the previous release, Microsoft had announcement in 2025. But if on Arm architecture.
previously suggested it wasn’t Microsoft does announce a new OS, it Even though the Arm-based Windows machines have
planning a major new version, but will give those on Windows 10 an delivered big improvements in performance and battery
would instead keep providing cyclical even greater incentive to hold fire on life in recent months, Kashif Nazir from Cloudhouse
updates for Windows 10. Now nobody upgrades until Windows 12 machines believes that Apple is still the pacesetter. “Apple’s
is quite sure when or whether are on the market, which won’t be long-standing dominance in Arm computing through
Windows 12 will make an appearance. until the back end of the year at the its Apple silicon (M1, M2, and beyond) highlights the
An obvious opportunity for a very earliest, pushing them past the potential of the Arm architecture,” he said.
major release has seemingly passed. October cut-off date.
The flurry of AI features added to “Much has been made of a
Windows 11 in the past couple of potential [Windows] 12, but if
years, not least the controversial Microsoft is having this much
Recall feature, would have given difficulty getting organisations off 10
Windows 12 a clear point of to 11, in this economy I have a hard
differentiation from Windows 11. time believing a shift to 12 or any
Instead, Microsoft opted to go other brand will do anything to speed
down the Copilot+ PC route, making the shift, clear out stragglers, etc,”
some of those features available said Wes Miller from Directions on
exclusively to PCs that meet certain Microsoft. “It honestly just becomes
NPU requirements. a marketing pushpin to try and
A very underwhelming set of new generate excitement. But I don’t think
features for the annual Windows 11 that matters for business customers.”
24H2 release maybe hints that
Microsoft is saving standout new BELOW Judging from Surface devices,
features for Windows 12, perhaps for Windows 12 might require a touchscreen
“By combining vertical integration (hardware and
software co-design) with unmatched performance and
efficiency, Apple has set a benchmark that Arm-based
Windows devices are working to match. While Windows
on Arm has made significant strides, particularly in power
efficiency and portability, it still trails Apple’s ecosystem in
terms of performance optimisation and software
ecosystem maturity.”
For businesses, switching platforms comes with
all manner of other considerations – including staff
training, device management and software compatibility
– that all have to be carefully weighed up before even
thinking about jumping horses. For consumers, the
hurdles are less onerous. It’s arguably never been easier
to switch between Windows and Mac (and vice versa),
what with cloud services and the huge cross-compatibility
of major applications.
Gaming remains the Mac’s biggest blackspot, with
Nobody is quite sure when or Apple’s own GPUs failing to match the performance of
dedicated Nvidia/AMD GPUs, and game availability still
whether Windows 12 will make very restricted. Nevertheless, cloud gaming services such
as Nvidia’s GeForce Now can bridge the divide – albeit at a

an appearance significant price.

34
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Reader offer

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35
INSTANT EXPERT
DAVINCI
RESOLVE
Edit and render videos like a pro.
Nik Rawlinson shows you how to
hit the ground running in the
powerful free editing suite

T
here are plenty of video-editing
tools out there, but DaVinci
Resolve is unique in offering a
Is it really free?
Yes, the standard edition of DaVinci
Resolve is completely free, with no
ads or in-app purchases, and you can
1 Import and organise
your footage with
bins
Putting together a project in
use it for as long as you like, to make DaVinci Resolve starts with
comprehensive professional-grade
any type of video. It will run on any importing your raw footage into
workflow completely free of charge. PC running Windows 10 or 11, or any the program. You can add files to
It’s a well-established tool, too: the Mac running macOS Monterey or the Media Pool by dragging them
software turned 20 last year, and has later – although bear in mind that from the Windows File Explorer
been used on big-name Hollywood video editing is a resource-intensive to the upper left panel in the
process, and if you try to run it on Resolve interface, or by clicking
films including Bohemian Rhapsody,
lightweight hardware the experience the Import Media button above the
La La Land and Spectre. may be sluggish. Media Pool panel (you can also use
If you’ve ever used another There’s also a Linux edition, for the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+I).
non-linear video-editing suite, such as which the publisher recommends a If you’re only working with a
Premiere Pro or Apple’s Final Cut Pro, recent edition of Rocky Linux or handful of clips you can keep them
you should have no problem getting CentOS, and an iPad version that loose in the Media Pool; for bigger
runs on tablets with an A12 Bionic projects it can be helpful to organise
started with DaVinci Resolve, as it
chip or later; see tinyurl.com/​ your clips into different “bins”,
uses industry-standard tools and 365davinci for download links. representing different shoots or
workflows. If you’re coming from a Whichever platform you’re using, subjects. To create a bin, press
simpler tool such as Windows Movie you get an extensive set of tools for Ctrl+Shift+N, or select New bin
Maker or iMovie, the interface might editing and enhancing video clips from the File menu.
in all popular formats, assembling As well as helping you manage
seem daunting at first, but don’t be put
them into a complete film, and your clips in an individual project,
off. Spend an hour or two exploring
exporting the finished product for bins offer an easy way to reuse a
what DaVinci Resolve has to offer and online sharing or high-quality set of assets across multiple
you’ll soon start to feel at home – and distribution. Unless you’re a film and productions. To export a bin for
our top five tips on these pages will TV professional, it will do everything future use, click Media on the
help you reap high-quality results from you need – although for those who do toolbar at the bottom of the
fall into that category there’s also a DaVinci Resolve window; this
the word go.
high-end commercial version of the will change the main view from
software called DaVinci Resolve editing to media management,
Studio, which adds enhanced tools and you’ll see a new sidebar in the
for colour grading, media lower-left quadrant showing your
management, speech transcription, existing bins. Right-click on one and
subtitle generation, audio editing and click Export bin to create a saved
more. At $295 it’s a big step up from copy that you can easily import into
the free edition, but for what you get future projects, using the Import
it’s still a very reasonable price. option on the File menu.

36
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO DaVinci Resolve

Note that exporting a bin doesn’t

create new copies of the clips it
contains. This is a good thing, as
doing so could waste a lot of disk
space; rather, a saved bin contains
links to the original assets, in
whatever location they were in when
it was created. After you’ve saved a
bin, therefore, you should avoid
moving the original media it refers to
– otherwise you’ll have to locate the
files by hand next time you access it.

2 Working with
multiple tracks
When you first start working
with a non-linear editing tool like
Resolve, your instinct might be to line
all your clips up on a single track of
the timeline and trim each one down
to create the sequence you want.
However, you can work more
quickly, and with more flexibility, by
layering your material across
multiple tracks. For example, in the on the timeline, just position the ABOVE Using then fine-tune its behaviour as
screenshot to the right, we’re mouse cursor over its start or end, multiple tracks desired in the right-hand sidebar.
helps you make

3
transitioning between a wide shot then click and drag left or right.
and a tighter shot showing the main Even though there’s no hard quick adjustments Sound and vision
action. Rather than splicing them junction between the two pieces of When you place a video clip
directly together we’ve overlapped raw footage, we can also still apply on the Resolve timeline, its
them, with the wide shot on the lower transitions between them. You’ll find audio component appears as a
track and the tighter shot on the track these options in the Cut module, waveform inside a blue track that
above it. When we play the video, accessible from the toolbar at the runs along the bottom of the video
only the uppermost clip is visible, so bottom of the screen. To apply a frames. By default, the video and
we don’t need to waste time precisely transition from the library, click audio are linked, so if you adjust the
setting the out point of the lower clip. the Transitions tab at the top of position or length of one, the other
We can also now independently the window – replacing the Media will follow identically, even though
reposition, trim or extend each clip Pool – then drag your chosen it’s situated on a separate track.
by dragging it on its own track. To transition from the pane onto the If you don’t want this to happen,
adjust the in and out points of a clip uppermost media object. You can right-click either the video or audio

37
clip and select Unlink Clips at the
bottom of the context menu
(alternatively, you can press
Ctrl+Alt+L to unlink the selected
4 Correct colours
using keyframes
It’s not unusual for a
collection of clips to exhibit
ABOVE LEFT You
can adjust the
rate of attack of
audio fades
When you notice something you
want to fix, such as unnatural tones,
burned out details or areas lost in the
shadows, stop dragging. Back up
clips). The video and audio clips significant colour differences – for slightly, then right-click in the
can now be edited independently, example, if they were shot in different ABOVE Using Keyframes window and add a new
without affecting each other. weather conditions or at different dynamic keyframes dynamic keyframe, which will be
You can also use this technique to times of day. Applying judicious lets you gradually dropped in line with the playhead.
delete the video or audio portion of colour and lighting corrections can apply adjustments Now scroll forward to the point
a piece of footage while leaving the reduce these differences and make where you want the adjustment to
rest in place. However, if you just your finished project feel more like a take full effect, and insert another
want to silence the audio, a neater cohesive whole. This is easy to do in dynamic keyframe.
approach is to leave it linked and DaVinci Resolve, and by using Now, with the playhead on the
simply reduce the volume to zero. keyframes you can automate the second keyframe, you can make
To do this, click on the line that adjustments so that they fade in whatever adjustments you wish
runs horizontally through the subtly at the points you desire. using the controls within the Color
centre of the waveform and drag it Once you’ve imported your assets module. For example, you might drag
down to the bottom of the waveform and arranged them on the timeline, the handles within the Curves control
container. The volume will be click Color on the bottom toolbar to to increase or decrease contrast. Or
reduced to -96.86dB and the visual switch to the colour-adjustment you could drag the centre points on
representation of the waveform will view. If you have any experience the colour wheels to adjust the tone
disappear. You can drag this line only of applying colour adjustments to of the highlights, shadows and other
part of the way down to reduce the still images using a program such
volume slightly in your overall mix, as Photoshop, you’ll find some of
or move it up to increase the volume. the tools you encounter here
You can also use mouse controls to
make audio fade in and out. When
you hover your mouse pointer over
a waveform clip, handles will appear
in the top corners over the in and
immediately familiar, such as the
main Curves control that takes centre
stage at the lower centre of the
screen. This shows a live histogram,
representing the intensity of the
UNLESSYOU’REA
out points, and you can drag these
inwards to create a fade; a diagonal
line shows the overall volume level
as it transitions from 0% to 100%, or
individual primary colour elements
– red, green and blue – across the
current frame, with darker tones
(shadows) to the left and lighter
PROFESSIONAL,IT
WILLDOEVERYTHING
vice versa. If your fade is long tones (highlights) to the right.
enough, you’ll see a dot at the Now click one of your footage
half-way point on this diagonal (if thumbnails immediately below the
you can’t see this, hold Alt and scroll playback window, or click a piece of
up on your mouse wheel to zoom in footage on the timeline, and it will be

YOUNEED
on the timeline). This dot is another displayed in the playback window.
handle, which you can drag to adjust You can use the controls below the
the shape of the volume curve, so it main preview window to get a live
fades out more gradually or more view, or drag the playhead in the
suddenly, as you can see on the two Keyframes panel to advance through
fades in the screenshot above. the frames that make up the clip.

38
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO DaVinci Resolve

aspects of the frame. It’s worth

spending some time experimenting
to see what you can do, and how
combinations of different
5 Export and share
You can always preview your
video directly from the
timeline, but you might also want
ABOVE It’s easy
to create a version
of your video
for distribution
Start by either picking a preset or
selecting Custom Export; then, choose
whether you want to output your
entire assembled video as a single file,
adjustments affect the overall look. to quickly export a rough cut during or render an individual clip for each
Once you’ve got a setting you’re the editing process, so you can view piece of footage in your production.
happy with, you can scroll back and it in a different context or share it Then it’s time to select an output
replay the whole video. The footage for feedback before the final render. format and codec, and make any other
will look as it did before until To do this, click Quick Export on adjustments you wish to the format,
playback reaches the first keyframe; the top toolbar, then select a preset such as setting your preferred output
then your corrections will start to from the options that appear, which resolution and even the pixel aspect
fade in, until they’re fully applied at include formats suitable for YouTube, ratio (square or cinemascope).
the second keyframe. They’ll remain Vimeo and TikTok. DaVinci Resolve Once you’ve selected your desired
active until the end of the clip, or can even handle the upload for you if settings, click “Add to Render Queue”
until you create another keyframe you sign in to your account through at the bottom of the Render Settings
and make further adjustments. the application. sidebar. Your job will now appear in
If you later want to tweak your You can use the same process to the Render Queue panel on the
changes, just return the playhead to share it with the world, but if you BELOW You can opposite side of the screen, and you
the second keyframe and change the switch to the Delivery module (click it stack up several can start rendering right away by
settings – or, if you want to adjust the on the bottom toolbar) you’ll find versions to be clicking the Render All button.
timing of the change, you can move plenty of additional settings in the rendered in However, if you want to create
the keyframes themselves. Render Settings sidebar. sequence multiple versions of the video –
perhaps for different platforms – then
you can at this point return to the
Render Settings sidebar, set up
another job with different settings,
and add this to the queue. We added
four jobs to the queue – one full-
quality version of our video and three
smaller versions optimised for
different social media platforms.
When we click Render All, DaVinci
Resolve will set about creating all
four versions in sequence. This may
take a while, but we can go and do
something else while the software
works through the render queue.
One last tip: if you’re producing
multiple renders in one go, make sure
you specify a unique filename for each
one on the Render Settings File tab. If
you tell the software to create multiple
exports with the same filename and
extension, the later renders will
overwrite the earlier ones.

39
EMULATION
MAKING WINDOWS
ON ARM GREAT AGAIN
40
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Emulation
RIGHT The Surface
Pro 11th Edition is THE WOW64 STARTS NOW
powered by Ironically, while Microsoft was
Snapdragon chips jettisoning non-Intel architectures,
it rapidly found itself having to
build new emulation features into
Windows. In 2000 AMD introduced
the AMD64 architecture, an extension
of Intel’s x86 ISA that enabled support
for 64-bit addressing – meaning PCs
could use more than 4GB of RAM, and
work more quickly and efficiently
It’s a similar approach to what with larger data structures.
Apple did with the launch of its At first Microsoft ignored AMD64,
M-series processors (see p43), and it seemingly believing that the 64-bit
promises the best of all worlds, future lay with the Intel Itanium
combining Windows’ huge existing architecture. But while IA-64 was a
software library with the efficiency completely new ISA that couldn’t run
and battery life of Arm. If you’re x86 apps, AMD64 included native
curious as to how we’ve got here, support for 32-bit versions of
and what emulation could mean for Windows and applications, making it
your next laptop, read on. a much more attractive choice for
general-purpose computing. By 2004
NO EMULATION, PLEASE – Intel had started licensing AMD’s
64-bit extensions for use in its own
WE’RE WINDOWS x86 chips, under the not very
Microsoft has a long history of imaginative name “Intel 64”. Itanium
developing Windows for multiple fell by the wayside, and the new
different hardware platforms. x86-compatible 64-bit platform – now
In the 1990s you could buy versions commonly known as x86-64, or just
of Windows NT not only for the x64 – started to become ubiquitous.
familiar Intel x86 platform, but also At this point you might be

HOW DO THE LATEST LAPTOPS

for rival workstation and server wondering: if the whole point of x64
systems such as PowerPC, DEC was compatibility with older x86
Alpha and MIPS – each with its code, where does emulation come in?
AND MACS RUN INTEL SOFTWARE own proprietary instruction set
architecture (ISA). In the early 2000s,
The answer lies in the interaction
between the OS and the hardware.

ON THEIR ARM PROCESSORS? support was added for Intel’s 64-bit

Itanium platform too.
Taking advantage of the chip’s 64-bit
capabilities required a 64-bit edition

DARIEN GRAHAM-SMITH However, Microsoft made no

attempt to bridge the gap between
of Windows: the first of these was
Windows XP Professional x64 edition,

EXPLORES THE WONDERFUL

these different platforms. Each released in 2005, and from Vista
edition of Windows only worked onwards all releases of Windows were
with software and drivers that had offered in both x86 and x64 flavours.

WORLD OF EMULATION been compiled for that particular

architecture. The result was a
But because 64-bit Windows used
larger address spaces, additional

M
highly fragmented market that registers and other extensions, it
icrosoft’s “Copilot+ PCs” wasn’t ideal for anybody – certainly wasn’t directly compatible with
are supposed to usher in not Microsoft, which was at one programs designed for the 32-bit
a new era of AI-assisted point simultaneously developing version of the OS. To allow older
computing, but they’re and supporting Windows for at applications to run, Microsoft
historic in another way, least five different hardware designed a simple emulation
too. With surprisingly little BELOW Remember platforms. Partly for this very system called WoW64, short for
fanfare, Microsoft has for the first the Surface RT, reason, the competing ISAs Windows-on-Windows 64-bit – along
time endorsed a range of third-party Microsoft’s first gradually died away, and by 2010 the same lines as the old WoW32
laptops based on a mixture of AMD, attempt to put Windows was only available for component included in Windows NT
Intel and Arm processors. Windows on Arm? the Intel architecture. that had allowed the 32-bit OS to run
This isn’t the first time the firm has old 16-bit applications.
offered a version of Windows that The WoW64 framework includes a
runs on the Arm architecture, but it set of libraries that translate 32-bit
might be the first time the idea succeeds operations into 64-bit compatible
– because the OS now includes an forms, and automatically “redirects”
emulation layer. Conceptually this is certain operations to keep 32-bit and
much the same as the clever software 64-bit components apart. For example,
tools that let you tinker with a virtual when 32-bit apps try to access the
BBC Micro inside a web page, or revisit Registry, the OS redirects operations
old Amiga games on your phone. to a separate 32-bit datastore, and
In this case, though, it’s designed not 32-bit apps install and run in a folder
for historical purposes, but to allow called “Program Files (x86)” – aside
the latest Intel-native from the main “Program Files” folder,
apps to run on the which is reserved for 64-bit code.
Arm hardware. The actual program code, however,

41
runs on the processor unmodified –
so there’s almost no impact on
performance or system resources. RUNNING WINDOWS ON ARM
PROCESSORS ISN’T A NEW
WINDOWS ON ARM IDEA. CAST YOUR MIND BACK
You could make a case that WoW64 is
the world’s most popular emulation TO 2012 AND YOU MAY RECALL
layer, since it’s included in almost
every copy of Windows in use today. A LITTLE COMPUTER CALLED
However, it’s not exactly an ambitious
system, and some would say it barely
THE MICROSOFT SURFACE
qualifies as emulation at all, since
rather than emulating a different
CPU it merely emulates a different
version of Windows. The same can’t
be said for Microsoft’s most recent
emulation project, which aims to
allow Windows apps written for the ABOVE The had, the Pro X was positioned as a was low-level device drivers, so if you
Intel architecture to run smoothly on Surface Pro X gave slick and stylish new alternative, wanted to use weird and wonderful
a computer with an Arm processor. Windows on Arm a with a sexy name and a full-sized hardware devices, or play games
Running Windows on Arm new lease of life screen. It featured a new Arm-based designed for high-end GPUs, you’d
processors isn’t a new idea. Cast your Microsoft SQ1 processor inside, need to use Arm-native software.
mind back to 2012 and you may recall developed in partnership with Arm In the initial WoA release, however,
a little computer called the Microsoft veterans Qualcomm. there was one other limitation, and
Surface. This compact convertible Most significantly, it ran a new quite a significant one at that.
was built around an Arm-based Arm-native build of Windows 10, Although the Surface Pro X system
Nvidia Tegra 3 T30 chip – chosen known familiarly as WoA. As with was 64-bit through and through,
over Intel for its superior power Windows RT, it looked and felt almost the bundled Intel emulator only
efficiency, and hence battery life – identical to the Intel version – but for supported 32-bit x86 apps; anything
and ran an Arm-based version of the first time in the history of written for x64 wouldn’t run.
Windows called Windows RT. Windows it included a real-time This immediately ruled out the
At first glance you could easily emulation layer allowing Intel apps to latest versions of many applications
mistake Windows RT for Windows 8. install and on non-native hardware. – after all, 64-bit Windows was at this
The two operating systems were point 14 years old. It also meant that,
launched simultaneously, and (for although the Surface Pro X came with
better or worse) offered very nearly THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD 8GB of RAM as standard, no more than
identical interfaces. However, as Even in the first edition of WoA, the half of this was accessible to any given
with previous non-Intel editions of Intel emulation layer was pretty x86 app. Even if an x86 app would
Windows, RT could only run seamless. Unlike Windows RT, the OS run, emulated performance could be
applications specifically compiled for allowed you to freely download and laggy: the emulator was a work in
its hardware platform. You couldn’t install software from anywhere, with progress and, unlike Apple’s M-series
even attempt to install Intel apps, as the Windows Store and other software processors, the SQ1 chip lacked any
the Surface was restricted to software distribution tools automatically sort of custom silicon designed to
offered via the new Windows Store. serving up Arm packages where they speed up the translation from one ISA
Microsoft spun these restrictions were available, or falling back to Intel to another (it was basically a lightly
as a plus point: viruses and other if they weren’t. Programs compiled tweaked version of Qualcomm’s
security threats wouldn’t work on for Intel would automatically run in general-purpose Snapdragon 8cx).
the new platform, and the sandboxed emulation mode alongside native Thankfully, only early adopters
Store framework helped block off apps, and you normally wouldn’t even using Windows 10 on Arm had to
new exploits. The simpler, cleaner know it was happening: as with struggle with these issues. Windows
app model also meant the operating WoW64, the apps themselves didn’t 11 was developed from the outset as a
system could be much more BELOW Microsoft’s know they were running under dual-platform OS, and the Arm
streamlined and efficient. Even so, latest emulator is emulation, unless they’d been edition introduced an emulation layer
the almost total lack of compatible smarter and faster specifically coded to detect it. The that’s fully compatible with 64-bit
software made RT a lame duck, than ever main thing that couldn’t be emulated code, along with a new hybrid
and when Windows 10 was released emulation model – a framework
in 2015 the Arm platform was called Arm64EC ( “emulation
quietly dropped. It seemed as if compatible”), which lets programs
the idea of Windows on Arm use a mixture of native Arm code
might be dead forever. and x64 components. This means
Clearly, though, it wasn’t. In developers can build mostly
the years that followed Intel went Arm-native programs that only
through a period of stagnation, use emulation for OS components
while Arm chips became yet faster that aren’t directly supported on
and more energy-efficient, making Arm, allowing for easy
them impossible to ignore. In 2019 performance gains without
Microsoft unveiled a new sort of requiring deep refactoring. If
Windows device dubbed the you’re curious as to which mode a
Surface Pro X. Rather than serving program is running in you can
as a lightweight cousin to the open up the Task Manager and
Surface Pro, as the original Surface check the “Architecture”

42
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Emulation

HOW APPLE BRIDGED THE GAP

It’s almost impossible to talk about platform emulation without talking about
Apple, a company that has used emulator technology not once but three times in
its history to pull off major platform moves. The most recent, of course, was with
the launch of its own-brand M-series processors, based on a licensed
implementation of the Arm architecture. The new design offered better
performance and power consumption than the Intel chips the company had
previously been using – but since the Intel architecture had been the status quo for
the previous 15 years, when the M1 came along in 2020 it was incompatible with
almost every Mac application in existence.
Apple’s solution was to
create a new emulation
framework built into the
Arm-based version of macOS,
which enabled existing apps to
run on the new hardware by
dynamically translating Intel
code into Arm-compatible
instructions and calls. Strictly
speaking this is an optional
component of the OS, which is ABOVE Apple’s proprietary emulation system
downloaded the first time you runs Intel apps at near-native speed
run an Intel application, but we
doubt there are many Macs out there that don’t have it installed.
The decision to use emulation wasn’t exactly a shock: Apple had previously
made a similar move back in 1994, when it chose to migrate away from the
Motorola 68000 architecture that had powered the first generation of Macintosh
computers, switching to the newer PowerPC platform developed in partnership
with IBM and Motorola. A decade later, Apple switched again, from PowerPC to
Intel – and again provided an emulation component called Rosetta, in honour of
which the current emulation framework for Arm is often referred to as Rosetta 2
(although Apple itself just calls it Rosetta).
The clever thing about Rosetta 2 is that it’s not purely a software solution. As
well as using clever code-translation routines, Apple has taken advantage of the
fact it creates its own chip designs, to build in custom hardware that replicates
the way Intel processors handle memory access. This slashes the amount of data
reordering that needs to be done in software, so legacy apps generally feel as
smooth and responsive under emulation as they did on native Intel silicon.
Now in 2025, though, the significance of Rosetta 2 is dwindling. Since Apple no
longer sells Intel Macs in any form, almost every modern application is now
Arm-native, and it’s rumoured that Apple will stop supporting Rosetta 2 next year.

column: this will show “x86” for ABOVE Apps such (see tinyurl.com/365armapps). A can greatly accelerate specific types of
emulated code, “ARM64” for native as Affinity Photo, Microsoft survey found that more data operations while reducing energy
processes or “ARM64 (x64 Slack and Zoom are than 90% of “total app minutes” on an consumption by using dedicated
compatible)” for Arm64EC. available for WoA Arm-based Copilot+ PC were spent hardware. Microsoft’s support pages
using Arm-native software. on emulation also tantalisingly note
And things continue to improve. that “some performance features
GETTING BETTER ALL THE TIME While no official partnership has been within Prism require hardware
As well as a new emulation platform, announced, it’s notable that from the features only available in the
Windows 11 has seen an explosion of original Surface Pro X to the latest Snapdragon X series”. In other words,
hardware options, with the first wave Copilot+ PCs, every WoA device has WoA is starting to benefit from
of Copilot+ PCs offering a choice of used a Qualcomm processor, and it’s hardware optimisations, similar to
Arm-based Windows laptops from understood that Qualcomm has been those found on Apple’s M-series chips.
both Microsoft and third-party closely involved in the development of There’s one big difference, though:
manufacturers, all based on the emulation layer. That means it’s while Apple has historically used
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X chips. But being developed by those best placed emulation to smooth over a wholesale
if you’re still dubious about buying to understand the chip architecture, switch from one platform to another,
an Arm-based Windows laptop, be and to continue to optimise there’s no suggestion that Microsoft
reassured that you might rarely even translation as far as is possible. is planning to ditch Intel support.
need emulation. Almost all the biggest As part of that optimisation, the Rather, the expectation is that
apps are available for Arm: Qualcomm’s Windows 11 24H2 update for Arm Windows will continue to support
website namechecks native WoA processors introduced a new version both x64 and Arm platforms
packages including Adobe Photoshop, of Prism, its emulation layer. As well indefinitely – so when choosing your
Affinity Photo, CapCut, Cubase, as supporting the basic Intel next laptop, you’ll be able to pick the
DaVinci Resolve, Dropbox, Slack, instruction set, Prism now emulates model that best suits your needs,
Zoom, most major browsers and a wide several optional x64 CPU extensions without having to worry about what
range of security and VPN software including AVX2, BMI and FMA, which sort of processor it has inside.

43
 IN ASSOCIATION WITH WIRED2FIRE

HOW WIRED2FIRE
BUILT THE WORLD’S
FASTEST DESKTOP PC
ONE OF THE UK’S MOST TRUSTED PC MAKERS WANTED TO BUILD SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR ITS
20th BIRTHDAY. HERE’S THE STORY BEHIND THE BFG, THE WORLD’S FASTEST DESKTOP PC

T
o mark 20 years of building custom PCs, LEFT Making plans: how the BFG’s design
Wired2Fire decided to build the world’s fastest took shape
PC. And that’s the story we tell here.
“We built it as a showcase for people who STORAGE
want a nice PC to go with their Bugatti or
SSDs with a PCIe Gen 5 interface are the fastest
helicopter,” said Peter George, Wired2Fire’s co- on the planet right now, and Crucial’s T705 is the
founder, his tongue firmly in cheek. “But we have sold quickest of them all. But we deemed even its
real PCs with a similar spec to games developers.” insane 14GB/sec performance inadequate
Here, we hand over to the experts behind the BFG for the BFG, so we striped three together in a
for their description. And no, Roald Dahl estate, the RAID0 configuration. This enabled a frankly
name has nothing to do with the Big Friendly Giant and ridiculous peak write speed of 24GB/sec in our
everything to do with the iconic weapon from Doom. benchmarks. To put the storage system into
perspective, a really fast PCIe Gen 4 SSD,
the flagship just a few months ago, delivers
CPU particular demands could only be met by a kit with a paltry 7GB/sec.
AMD has dominated the high-performance PC the right balance of speed and capacity: the
space for more than half a decade thanks to its Kingston Fury Renegade Pro DDR5 RDIMM POWER SUPPLY
Threadripper range. Its latest 256GB kit. Not only does this It was vital to us that the BFG be a usable system;
flagship, the Ryzen Threadripper support AMD EXPO memory therefore, a single PSU must power it. Multi-PSU
Pro 7995WX, was the natural mode, and a jaw-dropping speed systems are notoriously problematic and can also
choice for the BFG, featuring a of 6,000MT/sec, it also supports overwhelm standard domestic power sockets.
gargantuan 96 cores and 192 the processor’s native octo- We ultimately chose the Phanteks Revolt 1600W
threads. Each of these cores can channel memory mode – that’s PSU – an 80 Plus Titanium certified unit. Phanteks
boost up to a maximum of 5.1GHz, right, the BFG has EIGHT doesn’t provide cables as standard, allowing the
with AMD’s Precision Boost channels of DDR5 memory. user to choose what colours they want. We chose
Overdrive technology allowing black for this unit as we wanted the water cooling
for even higher clocks with ABOVE Speed up: AMD’s Ryzen GPU to take centre stage.
sufficient cooling. Threadripper Pro 7995WX The Nvidia RTX 4090
is the most powerful CASE
MOTHERBOARD GPU ever constructed. With its Considering the hardware inside,
Wired2Fire uses Asus motherboards in its jaw-dropping 16,384 CUDA cores the BFG is housed within a relatively
high-end PCs and workstations due to the quality and 24GB of ultra-fast GDDR6X compact chassis. No “supertower”
and consistency of its products for decades. For memory, even the mighty RTX 6000 requiring a two-man lift in sight.
the BFG, we chose the manufacturer’s top-shelf Ada can’t dethrone it when it comes The Phanteks NV7 is nevertheless a
Pro WS WRX90E-Sage SE – a socket TR5 monster to raw content creation or gaming full-tower case, and perhaps the
with eight memory slots, seven PCIe 5 slots, dual workloads. For the BFG, we chose smallest case on the market
10GbE ports and built-in overclocking support. It the Asus ROG Strix RTX 4090 OC that will accommodate the
looks incredible, too! Edition. This mighty card is factory- incredibly large Asus WRX90
overclocked and features beefed-up SSI EEB-sized motherboard.
MEMORY power delivery circuitry to maintain Despite this, it still has ample
If Asus is the king of motherboard makers then stability under load. space for the system’s dual
Kingston is surely emperor of the memory 360mm radiators and houses
manufacturers, with a dizzying array of qualified RIGHT The Phanteks water-cooling 12 (!) low-noise 120mm fans. So not
memory solutions for almost any conceivable PC. system keeps everything chilled, only does this system break
The BFG is not just any PC, though, and its very even with such powerful components benchmarks, it’s quiet too.

44
 Advertorial

THE BFG IS AN EFFECTIVE

SHOWCASE DEMONSTRATING THE
KIND OF PCs OUR TALENTED
ENGINEERS CAN BUILD
STOCK vs OVERCLOCKED PERFORMANCE
3,410
Sisoft GFLOPS
2,746
4,675
Sisoft GIPS
3,638
28,756
3DMark CPU Max
25,621
9,685
PC Mark
9,247
28,241
Geekbench Multi
25,447
2,867
Geekbench Single
2,766
Cinebench 2024 Multi
8,362
6,223
Cinebench 2024 Single
113
109
OVERCLOCKED STOCK

TWEAKING PART 2: GPU

We use MSI’s quintessential tweaking software
when optimising the BFG: Afterburner. Arguably,
COOLING overclocking the RTX 4090 is like drawing a
The water-cooling system keeping beard on the Mona Lisa, but given we have gone to
the BFG tamed is nothing short all the trouble of removing the stock cooler and
of a masterpiece, with lovingly fitting a water block, it would be a shame to not
hand-bent acrylic tubing and ABOVE Wired2Fire’s BFG, in all its see what the RG Strix OC can do!
top-quality CPU and GPU blocks dazzling, superpowered glory First, we unlocked voltage control and forced
from Phanteks . We’ve also gone constant voltage to keep the card’s boosting
to Phanteks for the pump/ behaviour at its most consistent. We then boosted
reservoir unit, which takes centre Threadripper CPU. AMD the default card voltage from the default 0.95V to
stage at the front of the machine. introduced its curve optimiser 1.1V. When overclocking a video card we like to find
With two ultra-thick radiators, the feature as part of its Precision Boost out what the peak GPU and memory clock speed
water cooling loop is more than up to the Overdrive 2 (PBO2) suite. This allows are without artefacts, then combine the two and
task of keeping the mammoth CPU and GPU granular control over the voltage applied to dial it back. We ended up with +165MHz on the GPU
tamed, even with the substantial overclocking individual CPU cores, enabling fine-tuning of the frequency and +1,450MHz on the VRAM.
we have performed. performance and efficiency of each. We started
with a negative curve optimiser per core of -15 WANT TO BUILD YOUR OWN BFG?
BUILDING THE BFG and then tested each one, further reducing the The BFG is an effective showcase demonstrating
Hard line water cooling is a meticulous process, input on stable cores and increasing it on less the kind of PCs our talented engineers can build. If
as the tolerances are incredibly fine. The old stable cores. This ultimately feeds the less you want a BFG of your own, you can buy this very
adage “measure twice, cut once” definitely performant cores with more juice, making PC at wired2fire.co.uk/product/bfg. If you would
applies here. Once the water-cooling pipes have them more stable at the cost of extra heat. prefer to build your own dream PC, then please
all been cut and measured we pressure-test the Running a multicore workload like Cinebench reach out to us, and we can work collaboratively to
loop. If it passes, you can be confident the resulted in all 96 cores sitting consistently at build your ultimate PC from scratch. Want a more
machine won’t leak once filled. With the loop filled 4.8 to 4.9GHz, an insane result. gaming-oriented build? No problem at all. Want a
with our signature Fire Orange coolant, we then As you can see from the graphs above, we sleeper build without the fancy lights and coloured
extensively bleed the loop by running the pump ended up with performance that was anywhere coolant? That’s fine! Rest assured our team can
overnight, periodically removing air bubbles by from a modest 5% in lightly threaded workloads help you build your own ultimate PC today!
strategically rocking the machine back and forth. such as Geekbench single core, all the way up to
With the loop finally complete and filled, we test an astonishing 34% boost on rendering with
the CPU and GPU under
load, ensuring the CPU
Cinebench. But running
an overclocked profile About Wired2Fire
Wired2Fire is a British PC maker established in
cores are all well within doubles the power
their tolerances and that consumption compared 2004. Based in Dorking, Surrey, it’s committed
the GPU is free to the same chip at its to delivering not only fantastic custom PCs but
of thermal hotspots. We default settings, so we satisfied customers – as shown by its 5-star
can finally declare the deliver the BFG with rating on TrustPilot.
beast complete! multiple BIOS profiles,
allowing you to run
TWEAKING PART 1: CPU at stock for everyday
Now begins the usage, and a
painstaking process supercharged OC profile
of optimising and ABOVE MSI’s Afterburner was used to for when you need to
overclocking the tweak the RTX 4090 bring the big guns out.

45
Reviews
Reviews @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO

Looking
for a particular
The biggest, best, most exciting products in technology – reviewed and rated past review?

HP OmniBook
Visit our index
pcpro.link/indeatx

Ultra Flip
A stylish 2-in-1 packed with the
latest technology, and the local AI
tool shows signs of promise, too RECOMMENDED

powerful NPU. HP isn’t fussed which ABOVE HP’s new to separate them, I doubt I could tell
SCORE one: the rather boring OmniBook X laptop brand is aimedthe difference in real-world use. That
PRICE As reviewed, £1,416 (£1,699 inc (see issue 362, p54) uses a Qualcomm at professional usersisn’t surprising, as they share the
VAT) from hp.com Snapdragon SoC, the non-flipping same eight cores (and eight threads, as
OmniBook Ultra – not yet tested – a the Core Ultra 200V doesn’t support

N
Ryzen AI 300 series, and this Ultra Flip Hyper-Threading) and an identical
ame a famous HP laptop brand. one of Intel’s Core Ultra 200V series. Arc 140V graphics chip.
Tricky, isn’t it? Dell has its XPS In the world of integrated graphics,
range, Lenovo the ThinkPad Ultra difference the Arc 140V is an excellent 3D
and Apple the MacBook Pro, but most This makes the Ultra Flip only the third accelerator. It’s the first I’ve
people would struggle to name an HP laptop I’ve tested to include a processor “The first real reason to seen to break the 4,000 mark
laptop brand that exudes the same from Intel’s Core Ultra 200V family; choose the OmniBook in 3DMark Time Spy, which
high-end class. The Pavilion is a solid
budget range and I’ve seen plenty
the Dell XPS 13 (see p51), which landed
on my desk two weeks earlier, was the
Ultra over laptops based brings light gaming and
acceleration in supported
of attractive mid-range HP Envy second, while Asus’ excellent Zenbook on first-gen Core Ultra apps (including daVinci
laptops, but HP’s top-end Spectre S 14 (see issue 362, p46) was the first. chips is battery life” Resolve, which we cover on
range never landed a killer punch. I tested an Ultra Flip with a Core p36). This doesn’t mean the
And now it never will, for the Ultra 7 256V inside, which is identical OmniBook Ultra Flip is the right
OmniBook Ultra is here to replace it. to the Core Ultra 7 258V in the Dell XPS choice for gamers, with 27fps at 1200p
But where the Spectre was pitched as a 13. The only reason that they have a High in Dirt 5 and 37fps in Shadow of
luxury consumer brand, the different model number is memory the Tomb Raider at 1080p High, but
OmniBook Ultra takes aim at support, with the 256V maxing out at expect a solid 15% improvement over
professional users. HP’s OmniBook 16GB and the 258V at 32GB. The Asus previous generations.
Ultra Flip is leading the charge, with a Zenbook S 14 I tested packed a Core
fresh design, striking angled corners Ultra 9 288V chip with 32GB of RAM. Battery boost
(carried across from the Spectre You can see how each chip compares The first real reason to choose the
family) and all the AI trimmings. in the graphs opposite. Although the OmniBook Ultra over laptops based
Every HP OmniBook will support Core 9 Ultra has a respectable lead on on first-gen Core Ultra chips (such as
Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC update as they its siblings, they all live in the same the Ultra 7 155H) or older Core CPUs
will include a CPU with a sufficiently ballpark. If I didn’t have benchmarks is battery life. By fundamentally

46
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Reviews
changing its architecture, it has GEEKBENCH 6 (SINGLE-CORE) GEEKBENCH 6 (MULTICORE)
massively closed the gap with chips
Asus Zenbook S 14 (Intel 200V) 2,859 Dell XPS 13 (Snapdragon) 17hrs 26mins
14,739
based on Arm technology. These still Core Ultra 9 288V, Arc graphics, 32GB RAM X1E-80-100, Adreno GPU, 16GB RAM
hold the advantage, but what’s most Dell XPS 13 (Snapdragon) Asus Zenbook S 16 (AMD)
2,830 13,239

HIGHER IS BETTER

HIGHER IS BETTER
crucial to laptop buyers is that you can X1E-80-100, Adreno GPU, 16GB RAM Ryzen 9 HX 370, Radeon 890M, 32GB RAM
expect a full day of battery life without Asus Zenbook S 16 (AMD) Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro
Ryzen 9 HX 370, Radeon 890M, 32GB RAM 2,805 12,118
needing to find a power source. Core Ultra 7 155H, Arc graphics, 16GB RAM

I put this to the test by taking the Dell XPS 13 (Intel 200V) Dell XPS 13 (Intel 200V)
Core Ultra 7 258V, Arc graphics, 32GB RAM 2,736 Core Ultra 7 258V, Arc graphics, 32GB RAM
11,083
Ultra Flip with me when I visited IBM’s
HP OmniBook Ultra Flip Asus Zenbook S 14 (Intel 200V)
European research centre (see p14), 2,436 Core Ultra 9 288V, Arc graphics, 32GB RAM 11,063
Core Ultra 7 256V, Arc graphics, 16GB RAM
and deliberately keeping it switched Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro HP OmniBook Ultra Flip
on during the day’s sessions. By the Core Ultra 7 155H, Arc graphics, 16GB RAM
2,345 Core Ultra 7 256V, Arc graphics, 16GB RAM 10,170
time I reached six hours of continuous
use it hadn’t even hit 50%. I simply 3DMARK TIME SPY BATTERY LIFE (LIGHT USE)
didn’t worry about charging it.
Asus Zenbook S 14 (Intel 200V) 4,470 Dell XPS 13 (Snapdragon) 23hrs 20mins
Obviously, what you do will have a Core Ultra 9 288V, Arc graphics, 32GB RAM X1E-80-100, Adreno GPU, 16GB RAM
big impact. Play games and the battery HP OmniBook Ultra Flip Asus Zenbook S 14 (Intel 200V)
4,161 19hrs 6mins

HIGHER IS BETTER
HIGHER IS BETTER
gauge drops more quickly (100% to Core Ultra 7 256V, Arc graphics, 16GB RAM Core Ultra 9 288V, Arc graphics, 32GB RAM

87% after quarter an hour of playing Dell XPS 13 (Intel 200V) HP OmniBook Ultra Flip
Core Ultra 7 258V, Arc graphics, 32GB RAM 4,153 Core Ultra 7 256V, Arc graphics, 16GB RAM 14hrs 17mins
Dirt 5), while streaming Netflix video
Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro Dell XPS 13 (Intel 200V)
saw it seep away at a steady 7% per Core Ultra 7 155H, Arc graphics, 16GB RAM 3,751 Core Ultra 7 258V, Arc graphics, 32GB RAM 13hrs 55mins
hour. In PCMark’s Modern Office Asus Zenbook S 16 (AMD) Asus Zenbook S 16 (AMD)
benchmark, which puts the laptop to Ryzen 9 HX 370, Radeon 890M, 32GB RAM 3,469 Ryzen 9 HX 370, Radeon 890M, 32GB RAM 12hrs 16mins
light use in videoconferencing and Dell XPS 13 (Snapdragon) Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro
X1E-80-100, Adreno GPU, 16GB RAM 1,920 Core Ultra 7 155H, Arc graphics, 16GB RAM 8hrs 26mins
office apps, it lasted 14hrs 17mins.
To put this into perspective, the Dell
XPS 13 lasted for 13hrs 55mins and the however, so if you need guaranteed Twist the laptop round and this is a
Asus Zenbook S 14 an incredible 19hrs accuracy then you’re better off with a respectable makeshift Windows tablet,
6mins. And I’ve seen up to 24 hours true creative workstation such as however. I say makeshift for two
from Windows laptops powered by a Asus’ ProArt PX13 (see issue 361, p50). reasons: the 16:10 aspect ratio makes
Qualcomm Elite chip. So, in If you prefer the sRGB space, this sense for laptops, but 10:16 is narrow
comparison, the OmniBook Ultra Flip setting again does a great job, locking when you’re using it as a tablet in
isn’t anything special. However, I the panel to 100% out of a 103% portrait view. For perspective, an A4
come back to my key point – that it volume, so you can trust what you see page is roughly 10:14. The second
can last a full day per charge. Which is on screen. Add superb whites and an reason is simply because Windows
fortunate, as HP still provides a slim average Delta E of 0.39, with a peak of remains a dreadful
but annoying “rat and tail” charger, 0.86, and I can find nothing to fault “Add superb whites and an platform for tablet-friendly
which takes up space in a bag. The about the panel’s colour coverage. average Delta E of 0.39, apps compared to Android
good news: when I did charge it, it
went from zero to 80% in an hour. Tablet talent and I can find nothing to or iPadOS.
Many Windows
It’s a touchscreen, and HP supplies its fault about the panel’s convertibles also suffer due
Brilliant display MPP2.0 Tilt Pen for onscreen drawing. colour coverage” to weight, but at 1.3kg I
I performed all my battery tests with This locks magnetically and securely found the OmniBook Ultra
the screen set to 150cd/m2, which can to the right-hand side of the chassis, Flip comfortable to hold in one hand.
seem dark on a laptop with an IPS but sadly there’s no wireless charging That’s twice the weight of the 12.9in
display. Here, though, HP wisely mechanism: sliding the end reveals a iPad Pro, but if it means you only need
includes an OLED panel, and that USB-C charging port. The pen and to carry one device on your travels
means it’s more than bright enough at panel together support 4,096 pressure then you may accept the compromise.
this setting. Other panels go brighter levels, but graphic designers won’t get
– the HP peaked at 373cd/m2 too excited: there’s a slight lag when BELOW The Ultra Flip Laptop strength
compared to 472cd/m2 for the XPS 13 you draw on the screen, so it’s better can be used in tent It’s as a laptop that this machine
– but you’ll rarely find yourself suited to signing documents, doodles mode, and comes with excels, helped by a superb keyboard.
wanting more. The only potential and annotations than artistic work. HP’s own stylus Start typing and you’re rewarded with
irritant is the glossy finish, as a firm press against a backplate that
despite the anti-reflective coating doesn’t buckle, while the main keys
you will see overhead lights and are well delineated, large and easy
it’s not great in the sun. to hit. And unlike Dell’s XPS 13, HP
I recommend you head provides a proper row of function
into the display settings and keys, including a mic mute button
experiment with the different with a tiny orange indicator light.
colour profiles. There are eight I would have liked a double-
to choose from, including height Enter key and properly
Entertainment, Low Blue separated cursor keys without
Light, Photos and Videos function doubling, but these
(basically DCI-P3), Web are quibbles.
(sRGB) and even Printing and HP follows the trend of
Imaging. The latter locks it haptic touchpads, but its
to an Adobe RGB profile: I execution is so good that I
measured 91% out of a 95% double-checked the specs
volume, which is an to make sure. For example,
excellent figure. There’s I found it just as easy to
no Pantone certification, drag and drop using this

47
 Reviews @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO

pad as I did a normal touchpad, while your name and contact details, flip the repairers all the information needed to
the XPS 13 often “dropped” my view from mirrored to normal (or even replace hard-to-repair components
left-click. This is a big touchpad, too, upside down) and choose whether to such as the display and touchpad.
measuring 138 x 86mm. So large that I stream at 2K, 1080p or lower. Where things become more
wondered if I could use the stylus on it After all this I expected Oscar- confused is who HP expects to buy
to turn the touchpad into a mini winning video quality, but the results this laptop. It isn’t part of
graphics tablet, but I was out of luck. are strong rather than exceptional. “Anyone looking to buy a HP’s Elite range, aimed
There’s no room for USB-A ports. You’ll look and sound professional on premium business laptop at larger businesses, but
Instead, you must make do with three calls – the microphones are excellent should consider the it’s clearly targeted at
USB-C connectors. Two of these sit on – but the setup is still no match for a
corners that have been cut into the dedicated 4K webcam.
OmniBook Ultra Flip. I’d professionals. You also get
a consumer version of its
chassis at 45° angles to the side and The speakers fall into a similar opt for the top-end model” Wolf security product,
rear. The left one supports USB-C 3.2 category. Music is bearable, but the which here means “a
Gen 2, so 10Gbits/sec transfers, but treble is so dominant that it can hardened HP BIOS with HP Sure Start
head to the right-hand side if you drown out vocals – for example, in and Endpoint Security Controller”
want USB 4 and Thunderbolt 4 speeds “Englishman in New York” the rather than the full suite of security
(40Gbits/sec). There’s a mirror to the saxophone tramples all over Sting and management tools.
left-hand port, cut into the corner, and the other instruments. Despite this, anyone looking to buy
plus a second USB-C/Thunderbolt a premium business laptop should
port. Aside from a 3.5mm jack on the Final thoughts consider the OmniBook Ultra Flip. I’d
left, that’s it – unless you count Wi-Fi There’s a huge amount to like about the opt for the top-end model with a Core
7 and Bluetooth 5.4. HP OmniBook Flip Ultra. One of which 7 Ultra 258V processor, 32GB of RAM
is that it simply looks good, especially in and a 2TB SSD, which brings the price
Poly more us its blue finish. With sleek dimensions to £1,899 inc VAT. Also consider
HP includes one more feature to attract and a compact metal chassis built to adding HP’s three-year Care Pack,
modern workers, and that’s a high-end high standards, there’s no doubt that which guarantees pickup, repair and
webcam system. Badged Poly Camera you’re buying a premium laptop. return of your system within seven
Pro, this incorporates a 9MP webcam, HP also throws more than a bone in working days for £129. While it’s not
two tweeters, two woofers and a pair of the direction of sustainability. It meets a business laptop in name, it certainly
top-mounted microphones. It’s worth the EPEAT Gold standard, with 85% is by nature – and may just be the
firing up the Poly Camera Pro app, as recycled metal and 50% PCR plastics breakthrough laptop that HP has
this gives you control over the image used in the keycaps, bezel and speaker been waiting for. TIM DANTON
used in your videoconferencing app of enclosures. If you have a Torx
choice (it supports Teams, Zoom and screwdriver you can replace the SSD BELOW The slim SPECIFICATIONS
web-native apps such as Google Meet). and battery, while HP’s usual superb chassis has no room 8-core Intel Core Ultra 7 processor 256V
For example, you can create tiles with documentation gives professional for USB-A ports Intel Arc 140V graphics 16GB LPDDR5X-
8533 RAM 14in 120Hz OLED touchscreen,
2,880 x 1,800 resolution 1TB M.2 PCI-E Gen4
SSD Wi-Fi 7 Bluetooth 5.4 9MP IR
webcam 2 x Thunderbolt 4/USB-C 4 64Wh
battery HP Tilt Pen Windows 11 Home 314
x 216 x 14.8mm (WDH) 1.3kg 1yr RTB
warranty part code 14-fh0005na

HP AI COMPANION APP LEADS THE WAY FOR LOCAL AI… OR DOES IT?

O
ne of the defining characteristics of HP’s new PDFs, Word or PowerPoint docs and text files – and it of the library or when I was querying it. Instead, the
OmniBook range is that it includes an NPU will create a library that you can interrogate. For main work is done in the cloud. The libraries may be
powerful enough to support Microsoft’s example, let’s say you’ve been sent a presentation and a local, but the AI analysis is happening who knows where.
Copilot+ PCs initiative. And HP doesn’t care whether Word doc detailing a product your company is Right now, the results are distinctly mixed, too.
that’s AMD’s Ryzen AI, Intel’s AI Boost or the NPU built launching. Upload them to the AI Companion and it will I’ve seen excellent results where it created genuinely
into Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X range: it simply needs create a library that you can interrogate. Ask it to useful insights, but the AI is prone to hallucinations.
to meet the 40 TOPS threshold set by Microsoft. suggest a short presentation about the new product Just as ChatGPT-4o is. So while I welcome the AI
On top of Microsoft’s own tools – Recall, Paint’s and it won’t create the document, but it will break it Companion, don’t expect miracles.
Cocreator, Live Captions and Windows Studio Effects down into slide titles with
in video calls – HP is shipping its own AI Companion. bullet points. Of course, you
Anyone can download this app from the Windows can do all of this online, but
Store, but it will only work on HP laptops that include an HP’s promise is that the
NPU meeting the 40 TOPS threshold (I tried running it library is kept locally so
on the Dell XPS 13 overleaf, but no dice). there’s no chance of leaks.
HP’s pithy description is that it’s “your own personal There are smoke and
assistant on your PC that learns and grows with AI”. It mirrors here, though. I
splits into three main categories: Discover, where you checked NPU usage in Task
ask questions exactly as you might ChatGPT or Copilot; Manager, and it wasn’t
Perform, which is essentially a troubleshooter for your touched during the creation
HP laptop – ask it a question and it should provide
advice. It can also take direct control; for example, you RIGHT HP’s AI Companion
can tell it to mute your microphone. app is a promising start,
And then there’s Analyze. Here, the idea is that you but its accuracy can be
can upload your own files – currently restricted to questionable

48
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Reviews

How we test
Laptops and PCs What our awards mean
We run a selection of benchmarks on all the
PCs and laptops we test. Where possible, we Recommended
use a cross-platform test so we can compare
Windows and macOS machines, which is This, quite simply,
where both Geekbench and Cinebench come is a product we
into play. Both push the CPU to its limit, recommend
exposing how well cooled a system is.
you buy – if it meets
We run extra tests for Windows systems. RECOMMENDED
We use PCMark 10 to benchmark systems in your needs.
office tasks, content creation and basic
tasks such as web browsing and video
calls. We also run 3DMark Time Spy and
A-List
Shadow of the Tomb Raider as a The best buy in its
minimum. We test laptops and PCs that include discrete graphics with a range ABOVE We put PCs category right now.
of games, such as Metro Exodus Enhanced and Dirt 5. and laptops through
The product will also
For laptops, we test battery life with Wi-Fi on and the screen brightness set to our intensive set of
150cd/m2. We fully charge the laptops and drain them until they reach 5%. For benchmarks
feature on our A-List,
Windows laptops, we will use a mix of PCMark 10’s light-use and video-based starting on p14. It’s
tests, or a web surfing benchmark where a laptop automatically visits sites updated each month.
until the battery dies. We also use this test for MacBooks.

Labs Winner
Screen quality
LEFT We use a Display Each month we run a
we run Geekbench 6. i1 colorimeter to
group test, or Labs.
This is a good test of measure sRGB gamut
In each laptop, the processor and coverage and Delta E This product has
phone, tablet and memory in managed to beat all
monitor review, particular, and others to top position.
you’ll see our include both a
conclusions about test for single-core
the screen quality. and multicore Tinyurl.com links
Some of this will be performance. See Throughout the magazine you’ll see
subjective, but we also below for a selection BELOW We play a
test each screen using a of scores to provide a video with the screen
tinyurl.com shortcuts. Enter these into
X-Rite Display i1 Plus reference of what’s good... set to 150cd/m² to the address bar of your browser and it
colorimeter. We measure and what’s not so good. test battery life will take you to a particular page, which
maximum brightness, colour We also run 3DMark Wild Life
will either be too long or awkward for
accuracy and (for monitors) test to give a measure of gaming
consistency – there may be performance. us to publish or will take you to the
a difference in, say, We test tablet battery precise shop from which to buy. If it’s
brightness from the life by playing a full- Amazon, note that we may have an
middle and the screen video until the
affiliate deal in place so we will receive a
edges of the panel. battery runs out with the
We also device. To simplify the commission from each sale. This will
measure Delta E, test, we use Airplane never affect our verdict of a product,
which is a guide to mode. We set the and if another reputable vendor is
how accurately brightness to as close to
panels display 150cd/m2 as we can get in the selling the product cheaper then we
colours. Anything device’s settings. We also put will use that instead.
under 1 is excellent and phones through a set of real-world
likely to be difficult for the human eye and labs-based tests.
to distinguish; between one and two is Prices will vary
still strong; above this suggests a GEEKBENCH 6 (SINGLE CORE) Prices we publish are correct on the day
panel that you shouldn’t trust for Google Pixel 8a we publish, but we often see prices
Tensor T3, Mali-G715s graphics
1,581
colour-accurate photo editing.
Google Pixel 7a change, especially on sites such as
HIGHER IS BETTER

Tensor T2, Mali-G710 graphics

1,408
Amazon. However, we do work with
Phones and tablets Samsung Galaxy A55
Exynos 1480, Xclipse 530 graphics
Samsung Galaxy A35
1,161
British PC retailers to ensure the prices

Exynos 1380, Mali-G68 graphics

1,015 we quote for their systems are correct.
We run a selection of publicly
available benchmarks on all the Samsung Galaxy A54 996
If the price isn’t being honoured, contact
Exynos 1380, Mali-G68 graphics
phones and tablets we review. First, us via [email protected].

49
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Reviews

Dell XPS 13 (Core

include a similarly powerful
NPU, which means they

Ultra 200V) qualify as Copilot+ PCs.

All Dell’s new XPS 13

Intel’s second-generation laptops run quietly, and you

can always prioritise quietness
Core Ultra 200V chips over speed in the MyDell
Console. However, it takes
prove an excellent fit for quite some effort to hear much
noise from the 9345 system,
the ultra-compact XPS 13 while Intel’s Core Ultra chip
needs more cooling; games in
particular force the fans into
SCORE
noisy action. Fortunately,
PRICE As reviewed, £1,645 (£1,974 Dell provides a fine pair
inc VAT) from dell.co.uk of speakers, with
enough depth to bring

I
without being plugged in. I had ABOVE The XPS 13 vigour to films and music. The webcam
admit to a senior moment when I around 40% left after a seven-hour with Intel inside and microphones are equally strong,
unpacked the latest Dell XPS 13. day on one occasion, 50% after six comes with a lovely making this a fine choice for hybrid
Didn’t we meet a few months ago, I hours. This was with the usual mix of OLED screen workers, though you should probably
muttered? Kind of, the laptop replied, office work, video calls and occasional choose Windows 11 Pro rather than
but that was with a Qualcomm breaks. However, if battery life is your the supplied Home. And you might
Snapdragon X inside (see issue 361, only concern, the Snapdragon version want to upgrade the warranty from a
p58); this time I’m packing a sweet is a better choice as shown by single year of ProSupport (which
Core Ultra 7 258V, part of the 200V PCMark’s light-use office test: the includes next-business-day on-site
series that you praised for its balance Core Ultra lasted 13hrs 55mins, the repairs after remote diagnosis). This
of speed and battery life (see issue 362, Snapdragon 23hrs 20mins. isn’t a laptop designed for end users to
p46). We stopped talking after that, There’s one other big difference replace items, but if you
as things were getting weird. between the two. The Intel machine “This is an excellent do fight past the tiny Torx
The laptops – identified on Dell’s has a lovely OLED panel, while the laptop packed with top- screws the only “easy”
website as XPS 13 9345 for a Snapdragon Snapdragon-powered XPS 13 used a upgrades are the M.2 2280
and XPS 13 9350 with a Core Ultra chip lacklustre but low-power IPS panel.
quality components. SSD (a speedy unit hitting
– are physically In terms of quality, the two live Where it struggles is 5,027MB/sec reading
identical, down to the on different planets. At the value for money” pace) and battery.
USB-C port sitting on OLED’s panel default The crisp keyboard
either edge. With setting, it covered with its solid backplate is another
Intel inside, though, 100% of the DCI-P3 plus, as is the double-height Enter key.
they support gamut with a Delta E Dell sticks with its light-up function
Thunderbolt 4 as of 0.57. Whites row, rather than physical keys, which
well as USB 4, look perfect, I’m not a fan of as you don’t get any
giving a fraction too. That feedback as you tap. However, I’m
more flexibility. compares to coming round to the invisible but large
If you miss off-kilter haptic touchpad, which stretches from
having a whites and 69% of the Windows key to the left cursor.
USB-A port the DCI-P3 gamut for LEFT The USB-C ports Overall, this is an excellent laptop
your best option is a port the XPS 13 9345. They’re support Thunderbolt 4 packed with top-quality components.
replicator or docking station. both bright panels, but OLED as well as USB 4 Where it struggles is value for money,
The compensation for the lack of is easier to read in all conditions due because if you want the OLED panel
ports comes in the design. It isn’t the to its perfect contrast – and you can and Core 7 Ultra chip then you’ll pay a
lightest 13.4in laptop at 1.2kg, but with get away with lower brightness if you minimum of £1,899. The £1,974 price
a 14.8mm height and 199 x 295mm need to eke out battery life. of my system is due to 1TB of storage
footprint – less than this magazine – it So let’s call that one-all at half- rather than that model’s 512GB. With
will squeeze into the tightest of spaces. time. Now we come to performance, so much competition in this area – the
But will you need to bring your where the Snapdragon scores excellent £1,500 A-Listed Asus Zenbook S 14
power supply? Anecdotally, no. I results in the multicore section of (see issue 362, p46) comes to mind
thrust this laptop into my bag for two Geekbench 6 and Cinebench 2024: – that’s tough to justify. TIM DANTON
trips into London and it lasted all day 14,739 and 958 compared to 11,083 BELOW The keyboard
and 577 for the Core Ultra system. But makes typing a SPECIFICATIONS
BENCHMARKS things aren’t that simple, as any app speedy, comfortable 8-core Intel Core Ultra 7 processor 258V
Geekbench 6 single-core that takes advantage of the GPU will experience Intel Arc 140V graphics 32GB LPDDR5X-
2,736
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000
find far more power 8533 RAM 13.4in
Geekbench 6 multicore
in Intel’s offering. 60Hz OLED
11,083 That’s reflected in its touchscreen, 2,880 x
0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 4,153 in 3DMark Time 1,800 resolution 1TB M.2
3DMark Time Spy Spy, twice that of the PCI-E Gen4 SSD Wi-Fi 7
4,153 Snapdragon chip, and the Bluetooth 5.4 1080p IR
0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000
point is hammered home webcam 2 x Thunderbolt 4/
by 44fps in Shadow of the USB-C 4 55Wh battery
BATTERY LIFE Tomb Raider at 1080p and Windows 11 Home 295 x 199 x
Light use 13hrs 55mins Low settings; its sibling 14.8mm (WDH) 1.2kg 1yr
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
returned 26fps. Both chips Premium on-site warranty

51
Raspberry Pi 500
A brilliant update to the Pi 400, this “all in one” keyboard
computer makes the most of the Raspberry Pi 5’s power

RECOMMENDED

Having the ports at the back makes ABOVE The Raspberry easy, but the thermal pad holding the
SCORE sense. It tidies up the cables, and means Pi 500: a modern-day aluminium heatsink to the SoC was
PRICE £71 (£85 inc VAT) there’s only need for one thick edge; Commodore 64? stuck solid. A little heat, some plastic
from thepihut.com the rest can be as thin as possible. pry tools and patience won the battle.
The keyboard is a membrane When putting it all back together,

W
offering. Its chiclet keys are responsive ensure that the heatsink is touching
hen the Raspberry Pi 400 and work well even under fast typing. the thermal pad, otherwise the chip
(see issue 316, p58) was It has a power button in the top right, won’t be cooled.
released in 2020, it evoked but don’t fret: it takes a long press to The PCB is very similar to the Pi
nostalgia for anyone who used trigger the power-off process. 400 (a theme that
Commodore or Sinclair machines in “The USB-C input is there to permeates this review) but
the 1980s. Evidently the idea of a Heading inside supply power, and there are with the GPIO and USB
computer in a keyboard retains Held together by a series of clips,
also dual 4K micro-HDMI ports swapped around.
similar appeal in the 2020s, as again just like the Raspberry Pi 400, Looking around the board,
Raspberry Pi has followed it up with the Pi 500 is relatively easy to open. ports, a GPIO interface and it’s hard to miss the large
the Pi 500, based on the current Just take your time, use plastic a gigabit Ethernet port” M.2-shaped space. A space
flagship Raspberry Pi 5. spudgers, and carefully apply heat that could accommodate
You can buy the computer on its from a hairdryer. up to 2280-sized NVMe SSDs, or even
own for £85, or as part of the Desktop Once in, I was greeted by a huge an AI accelerator, but there’s a catch:
Kit for £113. Both come with a 32GB A2 piece of aluminium covering the there’s no connector.
SDR104-compatible microSD card, entire PCB and cradling the keyboard. I asked Raspberry Pi CTO Gordon
but the Desktop Kit also includes a This is the same setup as the Pi 400 Hollingworth about this, and his
27W USB-C power supply, micro- and explains why the Raspberry Pi BELOW It’s pretty response was that it was a trade off
HDMI-to-HDMI cable and The Official 500’s thermal performance is so simple to open the Pi between functionality and
Raspberry Pi Beginner’s Guide book. good. Removing the aluminium was 500, which is held performance versus cost. Another
As with the Raspberry Pi 400, all of a little tricky. The four screws were together by clips reason for omitting support for NVMe
the ports sit on the back of the SSDs is that it’s not exactly
case, including a single USB-A 2 child’s play to open the case. The
port for your choice of mouse, two plastic could be easily broken,
USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports and a leaving you with a cosmetically
microSD card slot (so the same as damaged Pi 500.
the Raspberry Pi 5). The sole I also spotted an RP2-B2 chip
USB-C input is only there to next to the keyboard FFC
supply power, and there are also connector. The RP2 is the
dual 4K micro-HDMI ports, a GPIO RP2040, and the B2 stepping is
interface and a gigabit Ethernet the latest. This is acting as a
port. Finally, there’s a spot to lock keyboard controller, given its
your Pi 500 to a desk with a proximity to the keyboard FFC.
Kensington lock. Hollingworth’s explanation was:

54
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Reviews
was still idling at LEFT All the ports are would have preferred a faster storage
1.5GHz. Running the at the back, but you’ll option. The branded A2 class cards are
stress test, the CPU hit need a breakout board excellent, and Raspberry Pi OS was
3GHz and 65°C, well to access the GPIO snappy and responsive. I could
under the 82°C thermal happily use the Raspberry Pi 500 like
throttle point. this. But deep down I really wanted
Obviously power something extra under the hood.
consumption went up, Just like the Raspberry Pi 400, the
to 8.8W, but was still Pi 500 needs a breakout board to
well within the 25W access the GPIO. Luckily, the pinout is
capability of the official the same, so you can reuse an older
Raspberry Pi 5 PSU. breakout board. The port is covered by
The thermal a rubber stopper, easily removed with
performance of the a pair of tweezers. Essentially you
Raspberry Pi 500 BELOW Ports include have the same GPIO pins as the
“Yes - why use a random bit of preserves the legacy of the Pi 400, and dual 4K micro-HDMI, Raspberry Pi 5, and because of the
hardware when we can use our own?” proves that with good passive cooling, a GPIO interface and changes to how Python software is
Finally, there’s a large section of the mighty BCM2712 can be tamed. gigabit Ethernet installed (PEP668) and Raspberry Pi’s
the PCB that’s unpopulated, without a decision to use the RP1 “Southbridge”
surface mount component to be seen. Real-world performance for the GPIO, you’ll have the same
I spotted a place for a surface mount With no support for SSDs, it’s experience. All you need to do is
capacitor, but other than that, the inevitable that aspects of the use the aforementioned
only clue is “PoE” lettering next to a Pi 500’s performance will be breakout to correctly route
marked-out area. So evidently Power held back by the microSD the pins for use with a HAT.
over Ethernet was another feature card. Boot time is still
that didn’t make the cut, for the same impressive at 19.9 Pi 500 use cases
reason as M.2 PCI-E support. seconds, but that’s in As with the Raspberry Pi
You’ll also notice that there are no line with other 400, the Pi 500 is here to
connectors for the official Touch Raspberry Pi-branded be a 21st century
Display 2 (see p76) or the many A2 microSD cards that equivalent to the home
Raspberry Pi cameras. The Pi 400 and I’ve tested on the computers of the 1980s.
500 both lack these connectors, but Raspberry Pi 5. You plug in to a wedge-
you can easily connect a USB camera Where I see the biggest shaped keyboard, hook up to
and two HDMI displays to the Pi 500, difference is in read and write your display and start work.
so it isn’t a huge loss. performance, and I’m sad to say But the Raspberry Pi 500 has
that microSD cards are the slowest much more processing power than
Thermal and power way to run a Raspberry Pi. To the Pi 400, and that means it can be a
performance demonstrate this, I compared the viable desktop computer for those
Following in the footsteps of the Pi performance of the Pi 500 to the that don’t need an RTX 4090 or a
400 is no bad thing when we’re recent Raspberry Pi Compute Module power-hungry CPU.
talking thermal performance. It’s all 5, which has both eMMC and NVMe I do have my criticisms,
thanks to that huge piece of metal storage options. “The Raspberry Pi 500 has most notably the lack of
that sits under the keyboard, acting
as a heatsink. Passive cooling
Using dd to read the entire 32GB
microSD to /dev/null, I recorded the
much more processing instant GPIO access,
support for PCI-E-based
performance is remarkable, even Raspberry Pi 500 reaching 89MB/sec; power than the Pi 400, and storage and camera
when overclocked to 3GHz. not a slouch, but way slower than that means it can be a viable display ports, but the
First up was the stock speed test. NVMe at Gen 3 speed (768MB/sec). desktop computer” bottom line is that the
At idle, the system runs at 1.5GHz, Sequential write speeds were Raspberry Pi 500 is a
and 31.2°C. Despite only having recorded using Raspberry Pi surprisingly powerful machine in a
passive cooling, the Pi 500 remained Diagnostics, part of the OS. I saw pleasant package. I’m old enough to
cool even under a full five-minute 32MB/sec with the A2 class microSD, remember the 1980s home computer
stress test. Compared to the Raspberry while NVMe Gen 3 reached 703MB/sec. craze, and the Pi 500 reminds me of
Pi 5’s idle temp of 39.5°C (passively So does this mean that Raspberry BELOW The PCB is that time, only with more power.
cooled using the Active Cooler’s Pi OS on the Raspberry Pi 500 is an very similar to the Enough to make it a great all-rounder.
heatsink) the Pi 500 is chilly. And it awful experience? Not at all; I just Raspberry Pi 400 The Raspberry Pi 500 is the kit that
only sips 2.6W of power. you buy as a gift for someone who
During the five-minute stress test, would never use a bare board, or as a
all four cores ran at their maximum child’s first computer. But more than
speed of 2.4GHz and this saw the that, I can also see it being used in
SoC hit 51°C, 8°C cooler than the schools and maybe even in offices
Raspberry Pi 5’s peak of 59°C. Power around the world. LES POUNDER
consumption under stress hit 6.4W,
but that was nothing to worry about. SPECIFICATIONS
Buoyed by this success, I 2.4GHz 64-bit quad-core Broadcom
overclocked the Raspberry Pi 500 BCM2712 Arm SoC 800MHz VideoCore VII
to 3GHz. I did have to adjust the GPU 8GB LPDDR4 RAM Wi-Fi 5 Bluetooth
voltage to keep everything stable, 5 2 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, USB-A 2 1GbE
but once I found the magic 40-pin GPIO header 2 x micro-HDMI
numbers, the system performed outputs microSD slot DSI display port
remarkably well. The idle CSI camera port stereo output and
temperature was 33°C and using composite video port USB-C (power only)
only 2.65W of power as the CPU 286 x 122 x 23mm (WDH) 1yr RTB warranty

55
 Reviews FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO

PCSpecialist
It’s tricky to spot the power
efficiency of the new Intel chip

Nebula Goliath in a PC with an RTX 4080 Super

inside, as even when doing

PCSpecialist gives the best nothing this demands watts.

Given this, it’s impressive to see
possible platform for Intel’s the Goliath idling away at 60W
and peaking at 541W – both
Core Ultra desktop chips, lower figures than the
Wired2Fire PC. Note that
and the result is a fine PC PCSpecialist can use an 850W
power supply while its rival
chose an 950W unit.
SCORE
That’s despite the fact this is a
PRICE £1,999 (£2,399 inc VAT) larger system with much more
from pcspecialist.co.uk/configure- expandability thanks to the
review/629/ top-end Asus TUF Gaming
Z890-Plus WiFi motherboard.

T
This offers four DIMM sockets
hese are challenging times for (two of which are free), one
Intel, with the sudden departure PCI-E 4.0 x4 slot and two
of CEO Pat Gelsinger (see p10) laptop chips. For the first time, it also ABOVE The Nebula available PCI-E 4.0 x1 slots, plus three
and a tough debut for its Arrow Lake includes an NPU – but it’s Intel’s first Goliath packs Intel’s unfilled M.2 sockets. The one that’s
Core Ultra 200K series chips. These generation one, rated at 13 TOPS, so most powerful Core full packs a fast 2TB SolidIGM SSD that
were meant to be a triumph, this PC doesn’t meet Microsoft’s Ultra 285K processor returned 7,149MB/sec sequential
bringing a clever Copilot+ PC criteria. reads and 6,577MB/sec writes. There’s
architectural design and When it comes to plenty of space inside the large but
an NPU to desktops at gaming, benchmarks classy Fractal Design Focus 2 chassis
last, but enthusiasts don’t lie. An AMD for adding more storage, too.
weren’t impressed Ryzen 9800X3D or In fact, “classy” is a great word to
by its focus on Core i9-14900K LEFT An RTX 4080 describe this PC as a whole. Despite its
performance-per- system will have a Super graphics card thunderous power, it runs quietly –
watt rather than slight edge, but it’s provides plenty of there’s a low hum at idle, mainly due
sheer performance. incredibly rare that gaming oomph to the liquid cooling system, but it
For the first time in this edge will make isn’t distracting, and while the fans
recent memory, that a notable difference inevitably ramp up to meet
means you can’t expect in games. If you have a demanding situations it’s never an
a bump in speed merely favourite, check the inferno of noise. And for those who
because you’re upgrading to benchmarks online, but want to overclock, the Asus
the latest Intel family. with an RTX 4080 Super graphics motherboard has all the
Not all these criticisms are merited. card in tow the Nebula Goliath is a “Backed up with PC Pro- software tools you need,
Doing the same, and sometimes more, storming machine for 4K gaming. award-winning customer along with support for
while using less electricity is surely At Ultra/Highest settings, it returned
service and reliability and Wi-Fi 7 and a 2.5GbE port.
the right way forward. And while it 190fps in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Back this up with PC
may not make sense to upgrade your 142fps Dirt 5, 105fps in Borderlands 3 Intel couldn’t have asked Pro-award-winning
three-year-old Intel system – not and 69fps in Cyberpunk 2077. So, for a better debut” customer service and
least because you’ll need a new around 20% more than the reliability and Intel
motherboard, and even the basic ones Wired2Fire HAL 9000 (see p59). couldn’t have asked for a better debut.
are expensive right now – there is a It’s also a great performer in You’re paying for all this quality, but
better argument to buy an Intel Core demanding productivity tasks, be that you could argue that the jump in
Ultra PC from scratch. You’re video editing, software development speed is worth the £500 over the
investing in a new generation of Intel or 3D rendering. Geekbench 6’s Wired2Fire system, for example. My
systems, with room for upgrade. multicore test is perfect for comparing BELOW There’s lots of only caveat is that we expect to see
Not that there will be much need to raw CPU power, and 21,894 in the space inside the large new Nvidia cards shortly, so if gaming
upgrade for a while. PCSpecialist opts multicore test versus 16,315 for the but classy Fractal is your priority it’s worth delaying
for Intel’s most powerful Core Ultra HAL 9000 tells a clear story (although Design Focus 2 chassis your purchase until we see exactly
285K processor, which features eight the Ryzen took the lead in how fast these are. TIM DANTON
“Lion Cove” P-cores and 16 “Skymont” the single-core
E-cores for a total of 24 cores and 32 test). Or consider SPECIFICATIONS
threads. The aim is to bring raw speed Cinebench 2024, 24-core Intel Core Ultra 285K processor
when you need it and power efficiency an incredibly Asus TUF Gaming Z890 Plus WiFi
when you don’t, much like Intel’s tough rendering motherboard 32GB Corsair Vengeance
test, where the DDR5-6000 RAM 16GB Zotac GeForce
BENCHMARKS Nebula Goliath RTX 4080 Super Trinity graphics PCS
Geekbench 6 single-core produced 2,265 FrostFlow 240 Series Liquid Cooler 2TB
3,281
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000
in the multicore SolidIGM P44 Pro PCI-E Gen 4 SSD Wi-Fi 7
Geekbench 6 multicore
test and 138 for Bluetooth 5.4 Fractal Design Focus 2
21,894 single-core tasks. chassis 850W Corsair RMx Series Plus Gold
0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 That compares to PSU Windows 11 Home 215 x 472 x 451mm
3DMark Time Spy 1,203 and 134 for (WDH) 3yr warranty (6 months C&R plus 6
26,552 the Ryzen 7900X- months RTB parts & labour, 2yr RTB labour
0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000
powered HAL 9000. only) power: 60W idle, 541W peak

56
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Reviews

Wired2Fire HAL 9000

The only downside to
the Wired2Fire’s figures

Compact PC are its power demands,

with 62W at idle and a

Don’t be fooled by its size; peak of 746W. You can

switch to a more
this is a powerhouse for conservative BIOS profile,
however, and I only saw
gaming and all-round tasks that peak when I
simultaneously ran
– and it runs quietly, too 3DMark and Cinebench.
In games, it typically
demanded around 400W.
SCORE
Before you decide
PRICE £1,583 (£1,900 inc VAT) whether to buy the HAL
from wired2fire.co.uk 9000, make sure that you
can cope with the

T
relatively few upgrade
he Wired2Fire HAL 9000 What you can’t see is the options. There are no spare
follows a pattern of compact incredibly fast 2TB Kingston Fury PCI Express slots, and the
gaming/creative PCs to land at Renegade SSD – 7,375MB/sec and backplate leaves little room for ports:
PC Pro recently, including the 6,985MB/sec sequential reads and ABOVE The HAL 9000 five USB-A (three of which offer
PCSpecialist Torpedo R (see issue 363, writes respectively – which fills one of packs an awful lot of 10Gbits/sec), one USB-C 3.2 Gen 2x2
p56) and HP Omen 35L (see issue 364, the two M.2 slots on the MSI B650I power inside its (20Gbits/sec), three audio outputs
p60). They cost a similar amount to Edge WiFi board. To access the empty diminutive chassis and a 2.5GbE Ethernet port are your
the HAL 9000, too, at £1,799 and M.2 slot you’ll need to remove the lot. At least wireless connectivity is
£1,800 respectively. But where the graphics card, and there are two covered by an integrated Wi-Fi 6E
Torpedo and Omen included RTX mounting positions for 2.5in SSDs as and Bluetooth 5.3 chip, with a pair of
4070 Super graphics, Wired2Fire ups well. But it will be tight. aerial connectors on the rear.
the ampage with an RTX 4070 Ti while The final core component is AMD’s You’re well covered when it comes
making the package smaller: its total Ryzen 9700X processor, and it’s a to the warranty, too, with five years in
volume is 18.25L compared to 25L for superb choice for this system as it total. The first two years are collect
the Torpedo and 35L for the Omen. provides plenty of single-core power RECOMMENDED and return cover that includes parts
The Cooler Master NR2300P Max for games that need it – you don’t and labour, with the remaining three
V2 chassis is finished in an anodised want the CPU to hold the RTX 4070 Ti years being labour-only where you
grey that looks much better in the back – while its eight powerful Zen 5 will need to pay courier
flesh than it does in photos, and sits cores mean that it also excels in tasks “This is the best compact costs. Wired2Fire also
squat on a desk with a 185 x 295mm that will take advantage. We saw gaming PC we’ve seen, and promises lifetime
footprint. Measuring 377mm high,
you could even pop it onto a shelf; the
this in the multicore sections of
Geekbench 6 and Cinebench 2024,
naturally those skills will telephone support. And
while we didn’t get
front-mounted USB ports, (two USB-A where it stormed to 16,315 and 1,203 extend to creative enough feedback in our
and one USB-C) sit neatly next to the respectively. It’s also the first system applications as well” annual reliability and
power switch and 3.5mm audio jack at I’ve tested to break the 10,000 barrier service survey to rate
the front. Most of the time this PC runs in PCMark 10, with a 10,220 return. Wired2Fire’s support, we’re reassured
near silently, with the fans disturbing It isn’t too shabby at playing games to see a five-star verdict on TrustPilot.
the peace only when I pushed the CPU either. Sure, the PCSpecialist Nebula All of which means this is the best
in benchmarks or the GPU in games. Goliath (see p56) has the advantage BELOW The backplate compact gaming PC we’ve seen, and
The chassis includes a choice of thanks to its RTX 4080 Super card, but leaves precious little naturally those skills extend to
side panels: one tempered glass, the that PC also costs £500 more. The HAL room for ports creative applications as well; switch
other a decorative selection of holes 9000 is a strong 4K to Nvidia’s Studio drivers and expect
backed by mesh that offers a glimpse gaming choice, with superb results in supported CAD and
of what’s inside. In this case, that averages of 161fps in 3D design software. I can’t fault the
means you’ll see the pair of glowing Shadow of the price, either, with £1,900 being more
RGB DIMMs – a 32GB G.Skill Trident Tomb Raider, 118fps than fair for the components and
Z5 Neo DDR5-6000 kit – and that’s it, in Dirt 5, 87fps in build quality on offer. The quiet
with Wired2Fire focusing on Borderlands 3 and running – most of the time – is the
performance rather than bling. A huge 57fps in Cyberpunk final bonus, making this an easy PC
Palit Super Infinity 3 OC graphics card 2077. Those were all to recommend. TIM DANTON
dominates the innards, but look at Ultra or Highest
closely and you’ll find Cooler Master’s settings; dropping SPECIFICATIONS
280mm liquid cooler and powerful to High increased 8-core AMD Ryzen 7 9700X processor MSI
850W Gold PSU sitting behind. those results to B650I Edge WiFi motherboard 32GB G.Skill
180fps, 136fps, Trident Z5 Neo DDR5-6000 RAM 16GB Palit
BENCHMARKS 97fps and 96fps. RTX 4070 Ti Super Infinity 3 OC graphics
Geekbench 6 single-core Collectively, Cooler Master MasterLiquid 280mm AIO
3,346
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000
those results are Water Cooler 2TB Kingston Fury Renegade
between 10% and PCI-E Gen 4 SSD Wi-Fi 6E Bluetooth 5.3
Geekbench 6 multicore
16,315 20% more than the Cooler Master MasterBox NR200P V2 chassis
0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 PCSpecialist and 950W Cooler Master V SFX Gold PSU
3DMark Time Spy HP systems that are Windows 11 Home 185 x 295 x 377mm (WDH)
21,491 the HAL 9000’s 5yr warranty (2yr C&R, 3yr RTB labour only)
0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000
natural rivals. power: 62W idle, 746W peak

59
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60
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Reviews

Eizo FlexScan
EV3450XC
A slick curved monitor that
comes with all the docking
features you need, but wait
for the price to drop
SCORE
PRICE £888 (£1,036 inc VAT)
from photospecialist.co.uk

E
izo’s FlexScan EV3450XC is here
to solve a problem. If your
workspace is cluttered with a the edges of the screen are a fraction connected via USB-C or USB-B. The
webcam, speakers and cables, it can closer to you than a flat monitor. latter brings the two USB-A
swoop in and replace them all. Along As ever, Eizo’s onscreen display ports and a USB-C
with an RJ45 port, you’ll benefit makes changing settings easy. Press 3.2 Gen 1 port into
from a 5MP webcam that supports the bezel next to the central power play; these all sit conveniently on the
Windows Hello for automatic logins, switch and up pop context-sensitive left-hand side of the screen.
while the USB-C port delivers up to icons. For example, to switch between Power demands range from 13W
94W of power – enough to juice up inputs, adjust the audio (the pair of ABOVE The monitor is at its lowest brightness setting (a
even the most demanding laptops. powerful 4W speakers are fine for easily big enough to barely credible 0.5cd/m2), 30W at
And why put up with two 24in or speech radio and conference calls but view two or even three 200cd/m2 and 39W at its 300cd/m 2
27in monitors when a curved 34.1in not balanced enough to make music a windows side by side peak. You can also let Eizo’s EcoView
monitor delivers 3,440 x 1,440 pixels? joy) or switch between colour modes. detect ambient light levels and adjust
That’s more than enough to display Two modes are available to the the screen’s brightness.
two or even three windows next to tweakers of this world, but there’s not The final piece of good news is that
each other, and thanks to a Picture by a huge amount to play with here. You the webcam, neatly integrated into
Picture option you can view two can adjust the gain for red, green and the top of the bezel, is good enough
outputs at the same time. There’s a blue, change the gamma (1.8 to 2.4 in to use for web calls. That height
generous dollop of inputs, too, with 0.2 increments) and switch between adjustment also comes in handy to
two HDMI ports and a DisplayPort colour temperature presets from find the right camera angle. You can
sitting next to the USB-C connector. 4000K to 10000K, but the EV3450XC select 1440p in the camera
Eizo has clearly put thought into isn’t designed for creative users.
“Why put up with two settings, but don’t expect
the design, with a sleek, stylish look Most will be better off choosing 24in or 27in monitors image quality to match a
and a choice of white or black finishes. from the preset colour options: sRGB, when a curved 34.1in dedicated Logitech or Tiny
The sturdy stand offers 195mm of Paper, Movie and DICOM. I stayed in
monitor delivers 3,440 webcam; low light is a
smooth height adjustment, so you’ll sRGB mode in day-to-day use, which challenge, with lots of noise. I
have no problem finding the right locks to 93% of that space without x 1,440 pixels?” also found the noise-cancelling
position, and there’s further good news overspill. With an average Delta E of microphones over aggressive, so
for IT admins: remote management is 0.62 you can be confident of the suggest sticking with the mics in your
possible via its InStyle Server colours you’re seeing, even if they laptop. But I don’t want to be too
software. Then there’s Eizo’s excellent lack the impact of wider gamut critical. The webcam does the job, and
reputation for reliability, with the panels. The Paper option is great for it’s great that it supports Windows
reassurance of a five-year warranty. relieving pressure on your eyes while Hello for easy logins.
All this is reflected in the price, but reading long documents – it’s a Until the price drops, I wouldn’t
the gently curved FlexScan EV3450XC sepia-like mode – while Movie recommend anyone rushes out to buy
will surely drop significantly from its maximises the colours. At most, you this monitor, but if you’re looking to
current £1,036 listing. I expect its can see 79% of the DCI-P3 space. upgrade your office workspace then
price to follow the same trajectory as You can also switch between BELOW The sturdy get in touch with an Eizo reseller to
the Labs-winning FlexScan EV3240X settings using Eizo’s Screen InStyle stand offers plenty of negotiate a deal when they become
(see issue 357, p91), a 32in flat 4K software, but for this you must be height adjustment more widely available. TIM DANTON
monitor that cost £1,448 inc VAT at
the time of review but is now £863. SPECIFICATIONS
So let’s focus on the hardware 34.1in 3,440 x 1,440 IPS panel up to 60Hz
rather than the price. Most curved refresh rate 6-bit + FRC (16.8 million colours)
monitors use MVA panels, which 5ms response time DisplayPort (HDCP
aren’t always fantastic at showing 2.3/1.3) 2 x HDMI (HDCP 2.3/1.4) USB-C
whites. Instead Eizo has chosen upstream (94W power delivery) USB-B
an IPS panel, and as a result whites upstream USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 downstream
look perfect. The drawback of IPS (15W) 2 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 downstream
technology is that – to use a 1GbE RJ45 3.5mm headphone jack 2 x 4W
technical term – it isn’t as bendy speakers 5MP webcam 90° swivel -5° to
as a 34in MVA curved monitor. You 35° tilt 195mm height adjustment 820 x 250
still reap the benefits, though, as x 415-610mm (WDH) 12.1kg 5yr warranty

61
Amazon Kindle
elegant solution to writing
in e-books. Rights issues

Scribe (2024) mean you can’t alter the

work directly, which Kobo

Genuinely useful AI tools gets around by letting you

add annotations – but when
make this update difficult you return, you have to be in
the same orientation at the
to resist, even if the price same text size. Amazon
instead uses a “canvas” tool
diminishes its appeal concept, where the Scribe
draws a box on the page in
which all your writing is
SCORE
contained; the size of the
PRICE 16GB, £317 (£380 inc VAT) box is dictated by how
from amazon.co.uk much you write. Crucially,
the box stays near the point

W
in the page where you
e need to address the added it. This means you
obvious: the Amazon can’t underline words or
Kindle Scribe now costs circle terms, but it’s a
more than an iPad. It’s also almost great compromise.
twice the price of the original 2022 Then we come to
Scribe, which starts at £235. But don’t the AI tricks. First up,
turn the page on this note-taking paper, the Scribe falls somewhere ABOVE The new Kindle handwriting recognition – Amazon
wonder just yet, because there are between the reMarkable 2 and Koba Scribe demonstrates calls it refining your notes – which
genuinely strong reasons to buy it. Elipsa. So, a fine writing experience. how useful AI can be works better than I’ve seen on any
It’s not just a little better than its The 7in E Ink screen is similar to writing tablet before. In fact, the
predecessor, it’s a whole new level of that of the Paperwhite Signature Scribe could read my handwriting
better. This is no longer a big e-reader Edition opposite, but it’s worth better than I could. The second is note
with doodling features tucked away. mentioning its 300ppi text. That summaries. This automatically
This is a fully fledged writing tablet, compares to 264ppi on an iPad Pro recognises what you’ve written and
and it does some things better and 226ppi on the reMarkable then creates a summary, which is
than any other writing 2. This is also the brightest perfect for meetings or classes.
tablet I’ve seen. writing tablet you’ll The only annoyance is the delay
So what has Amazon find, and the light can RECOMMENDED when you activate the AI tools. The
improved? Is it become warm if you Scribe must communicate with the
thinner and lighter? want to read at night cloud for every request and response,
Nope. Bigger screen? and avoid blue light. and it took the Kindle Scribe up to 40
By a decimal point. There are a seconds to read a full page of my bad
Oh, it must be in couple of neat handwriting and return a typed version.
colour now? Sorry! touches that also lift LEFT Handwriting At least the AI’s power demands
The improvements the new Kindle recognition is are offloaded from the Scribe, which
are all down to AI. But Scribe, such as the incredibly good means you can expect nigh-on
don’t be put off by the white border around the identical battery life to the
buzzword: it’s so good that I display. The device looks Paperwhite opposite. Reading-wise,
almost wish Amazon hadn’t told me more like an electronic notebook that means 12 weeks for half an hour a
the Scribe uses AI. I could just think it than it did before, and an incredibly day. Writing-wise, it’s 30 minutes per
got much better at handwriting slender one at that (the reMarkable 2 day for three weeks. Charging is slow,
recognition because my writing had is 4.7mm to the Scribe’s 5.7mm, but though, taking two-and-a-half hours
improved. Another reason for the doesn’t include a light). Kudos too to go from empty to full
price hike is the Premium Pen, which that the old cases fit the new tablets. “The improvements are all using the 9W charger.
features a rubbery eraser tip. In terms But it’s the software that makes the down to AI. But wait: it’s So is the new Scribe
of replicating the feel of writing on new Scribe stand out, including an
good! So good that I almost worth the money, when
you’re basically paying for
wish Amazon hadn’t told me AI features and a better
the Kindle Scribe uses AI” stylus? I have to say yes.
But rather than the dull
Tungsten Grey version, opt for the
Jade Metallic option. It only comes
with 64GB of storage, which ups the
price to £430, but trust me when I say
it’s worth it. PHILIP BERNE

SPECIFICATIONS
10.2in E Ink Paperwhite screen 300ppi
8-core 1GHz MediaTek MT8113 SoC 1GB
RAM 16GB/32GB/64GB storage Wi-Fi 5
LEFT The Premium Bluetooth 5 battery capacity not stated
Pen replicates the feel USB-C connector Kindle Premium Pen
of writing on paper 196 x 5.7 x 230mm (WDH) 433g 1yr
pretty closely limited warranty

62
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Reviews

Amazon Kindle
biggest difference
you’ll notice is how

Paperwhite Signature quickly the pages turn.

That’s due to a

Edition (2024) dual-core processor,

which is more than

Minor upgrades add up to powerful enough to

cope with the basic
a big improvement, with a interface. The display
also does an impressive
boost in performance and job of keeping up with
the improved
a brighter screen performance inside; I
expected to see more
ghosting and residual
SCORE
characters as I zoomed
PRICE £158 (£190 inc VAT) in and out of a page,
from amazon.co.uk but the new
Paperwhite offers a

T
lighter version of
he new Amazon Kindle screens while panning,
Paperwhite Signature Edition before flashing briefly
(SE) has three clear advantages and producing a
over the plain £160 Paperwhite, The visual darker, final version
which has also just been updated. quality is just as when I stopped.
First, it comes with 32GB of storage good as previous The only area where
rather than 16GB. Second, it supports Paperwhites, and the Kindle lags behind
wireless charging. And third, you you’ll appreciate modern technology is
aren’t hit by any ads (the ad-free the extra inch if you’re moving up ABOVE Text is easier in touch sensitivity. I still felt a delay
Paperwhite costs £170). Add an from a 6in Kindle. The front light to read, and a metallic between tapping the screen, such as
auto-adjusting front light and there reaches bright heights, and with an finish gives the device when I needed to enter my Wi-Fi
really is no good reason to consider auto-adjusting light sensor it will a classy look password, and when the character
the Paperwhite, other than Amazon seamlessly respond to changing appeared. Menus were faster while I
often slashes its price in flash sales. conditions in your room. If you’re in a was navigating, but still not totally
You also benefit from a metallic well-lit room you won’t need any reliable when tapping through them.
finish to the paint, with three options light at all, but those who read in bed There’s little else to say about the
available: black, green and pink. I far and rely on the light will appreciate interface (let’s not call it an OS). There
prefer this look to the basic matte the full set of amber and white LEDs is a web browser, but it’s so simple
finish you’ll find on the plain that eliminate blue light. RECOMMENDED that it can’t cope with modern sites.
Paperwhite. The downside is that it Amazon claims that the At least you won’t be distracted and
made me mourn for the Kindle Oasis, Paperwhite SE will last for 12 weeks start browsing time-sapping websites
which felt truly premium with its between charges, which assumes that on this e-reader. And, naturally, if
metal chassis and real page-turn you’re reading at half brightness and you’re looking for annotating abilities
buttons. The latter are also a reason to for half an hour each day. That then you should consider
choose a Kobo alternative as buttons translates to around 40 hours of “The front light reaches the new Kindle Scribe
remain easier than swiping or tapping screen time, and the battery won’t die bright heights, and with an opposite or the Kobo
on the correct spot when you want to
turn a page. There’s only one
if you put the book down for a couple
of weeks. For a typical person
auto-adjusting light sensor Libra Colour (see issue
357, p70).
button on the Kindle reading a typical book, it will seamlessly respond So, should you buy the
Paperwhite SE, and it’s that means you should to changing conditions” Paperwhite Signature
the unfortunately be able to read a Edition? If your current
placed power couple of novels offering is tired, then yes. The bigger,
button. If you rest before you need to better screen alone is reason enough
the Paperwhite on recharge the to upgrade. Plus, with an IPX8 rating,
a desk while Paperwhite. it can be immersed in 2m of water for
reading, you That’s exceptional an hour; but note the lack of dust
might turn off the for any modern ingress resistance and Amazon’s
screen by accident. electronic device. limited one-year warranty. If you
Both new And, as LEFT There’s support aren’t locked into the Kindle library
Paperwhites use the mentioned, the for wireless charging of books then it’s always worth
latest E Ink black- Signature Edition – not that you’ll need to investigating what Kobo has to offer
and-white Carta 1300 features wireless charge it very often – the Clara Colour is £40 cheaper than
display. This doesn’t offer charging. There’s no charger the Paperwhite Signature Edition –
more sharpness than past Kindle in the box, only a USB-C charging but if you’re Amazon through and
screens, but it does increase contrast cable, and if you don’t happen to through then this is now the best
ever so slightly. That helps text stand own a charger that meets the 9W Kindle out there. PHILIP BERNE
out, making it easier to read without specification then Amazon will be
straining. Pictures look surprisingly happy to sell you one for £18. SPECIFICATIONS
good in 16 levels of grey, but if you Alternatively, you can buy Amazon’s 7in E Ink 16-level greyscale touchscreen
want a Kindle with better graphics wireless charging dock for £38. 300ppi 32GB storage IPX8 2.4GHz/5GHz
then you should consider the £270 These are all nice improvements Wi-Fi Bluetooth USB-C connector 128 x
Kindle Colorsoft. over what came before, but the 7.8 x 177mm (WDH) 214g 1yr RTB warranty

63
Huawei Watch GT 5
designed for the circular interface,
with clean and attractive graphs and

Huawei’s best mid-range figures, so you’ll have no problem

keeping track of your performance.
offering so far thanks to GPS tracking worked well, mapping
my running route with admirable
accurate tracking and accuracy. The watch picked up my
location as soon as I stepped outside,
measurements and didn’t drop out once thereafter.
As well as programmed exercises,
the GT 5 can auto-detect when you’re
SCORE
exercising. I found this hit and miss: it
PRICE £191 (£230 inc VAT) from never thought I was exercising when
consumer.huawei.com/uk I wasn’t, but it didn’t always pick up
when I was exercising. Still, if you

H
forget to tell it you’re starting an
uawei’s latest mainstream activity, at least there’s a chance the
smartwatch comes in 41mm watch will start recording on its own.
and 46mm sizes, both of which For the end of an active day, the GT
are cheaper than their counterparts 5 has no shortage of sleep-monitoring
from Apple, Google and Samsung. tools, with trackers for your sleeping
First impressions are fantastic: the heart rate, SpO2 and respiratory rate.
stainless-steel case looks less like a The watch is small and light enough
modern smartwatch and more like not to be a bother at night (especially
something a stylish grandparent RIGHT The the 41mm version), and its collected
might have worn. On the right-hand stylish Watch data can be easily accessed through
side you’ll find the crown and the GT 5 looks like a the Huawei Health app, available for
secondary function button; these are classic timepiece both iOS and Android. As well as a
set well apart from each other to avoid spot analysis of your previous night’s
any accidental operation, and the sleep, this can show
angled positioning of the crown keeps greater range of options, including a “The face is a beautiful long-term trend analysis
it neatly out of the way.
In practice, I rarely reached for
Milanese metal strap, which suits the
classy watch much better.
1.43in AMOLED colour and statistics based on
how well you’ve slept.
either of the physical controls: the In terms of software functions, the screen that’s big, bright It’s all topped off with a
touchscreen works so well, and the GT 5’s big selling point is Huawei and impressively smattering of the usual
interface so intuitively designed, that TruSense, a new sensor system that fingerprint-resistant” smartwatch features.
they’re hardly necessary. The face is a measures “more than 60 health and Incoming messages and
beautiful 1.43in AMOLED colour fitness indicators, covering six of the notifications pop up automatically
screen that’s big, bright and body’s major systems, and also on your wrist, and you can even tap
impressively fingerprint-resistant. includes an emotional wellbeing out replies using a tiny onscreen
I do have gripes with the design. component”. I’m dubious about this keyboard. Unfortunately, the GT 5
While it’s hard to make a smartwatch last part: I don’t mind checking in can’t display images or play voice
that’s slim enough to fit discreetly on from time to time, but I can’t see messages, and you can’t use your
the wrist, it would have been great if myself relying on a watch to voice to dictate a response
Huawei had shaved a millimetre or monitor my emotional state. except with a Huawei phone.
two off the thickness. I’m also not For more traditional There’s one area where
enamoured by the strap. There are activity tracking, the GT 5 the Watch GT 5 indisputably
eight variants; I tried the blue offers plenty of analysis, wins over the big-name
fluoroelastomer band on a 46mm especially for runners and wearables, and that’s battery
watch and never warmed to it. After cyclists. As well as the usual life. As with the GT 4, you
some adjustment I had it sitting measurements of distance, can expect around seven days
comfortably on my wrist, but the speed and so forth, runners can of typical usage between
material looks and feels cheap, track time in contact with the charges; if you’re sparing with
undermining the upmarket vibe of the ground, balance and vertical your usage you could get as much
body. The 41mm version offers a oscillations, while cyclists benefit as 14 days of use out of a full battery.
from a selection of When it comes to messaging, the
real-time data on the ABOVE Huawei’s GT 5 isn’t as slick and capable as a
go. Other supported TruSense sensor premium smartwatch, but if you’re
workout types include system keeps tabs on primarily interested in activity
walking, swimming and key health indicators monitoring it’s a great choice for
skiing, with metrics the price. PAUL HATTON
tailored for each.
I tested the watch SPECIFICATIONS
across a variety of Shared: Mic and speaker GPS Bluetooth
workouts – including 5.2 heart-rate sensor gyroscope
running, cycling, geomagnetic sensor air-pressure sensor
walking, hiking and temperature sensor 5ATM water
playing football – and resistance IP69K HarmonyOS 2yr RTB
encountered no glitches warranty. 41mm: 1.32in 466 x 466 AMOLED
or weird results. The LEFT Activity data is display 41.3 x 9.5 x 41.3mm (WDH) 35g.
on-watch metrics have presented in a clear, 46mm: 1.43in 466 x 466 AMOLED display
been thoughtfully visually attractive way 45.8 x 10.7 x 45.8mm (WDH) 48g

64
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Reviews

Huawei Watch D2
concerns about durability – although
Huawei doesn’t name which brand

Blood-pressure monitoring provides the screen protection – but

it’s always reassuring to see IP68
marks this smartwatch out support and a two-year warranty.
A rotating crown and
from the crowd, but it’s function/ECG button complete

bulky as a result
its physical attributes, and both
perform well. I used the
touchscreen more than the
buttons, but they’re handy
SCORE
when you want them.
PRICE £292 (£350 inc VAT) The Watch D2 would benefit
from consumer.huawei.com/uk from a thinner bezel, especially at
the top and bottom of the display.

H
The watch is chunky with a 48 ×
uawei introduced the concept 38mm footprint (armprint?), and
of smartwatch blood-pressure it’s 13.3mm at its thinnest point.
monitoring with the Watch D That excludes the sensor area, which
back in 2022, but this was a quiet, pushes the watch even higher on your
limited release. With the D2, it’s going wrist– and that’s my biggest criticism
mainstream. The idea remains the of this watch, which is that it’s
same: it delivers ambulatory blood- simply too thick.
pressure monitoring (ABPM) through Huawei provides two watch
a 26.5mm airbag attached to the inside strap options, including “Black
of the watch strap. This inflates played football or cycled, the D2 ABOVE Huawei’s new Fluoroelastomer” and “White
quickly and easily, capturing this picked up GPS without issue. Likewise smartwatch offers Composite Leather”. I tested the
vital health metric whether you’re all the other health metrics this watch accurate health former. The material looks great and,
working, exercising, relaxing or tracks, and as ever the Health app measurements more importantly, feels nice on the
sleeping. You can even create a provides a faithful companion for wrist. This surprised me, as the
24-hour auto-monitoring plan to digging deeper into those. blood-pressure monitor airbag strip is
check trends across day and night, Naturally, it comes with regular directly connected to the watch strap,
but prepare to be rudely awoken. smartwatch features, too: and it looked uncomfortable; in
The obvious question is how notifications, the ability to make and practice, it simply provided an extra
accurate it is. I ran the same tests receive calls, and you can listen to level of cushioning.
numerous times and gained similar music offline. But there are significant “There’s a huge amount Huawei promises six
results, delivering results within my limitations compared to Android of data here to help you days of battery life for the
normal blood pressure spectrum. Wear and Apple watches, including Watch D2 under normal
Extra reassurance comes from no support for contact
identify the presence – or use, and that’s exactly
certification by the EU’s payments, listening to otherwise – of common what I found. However, I
Medical Device music through Spotify heart conditions” squeezed out more when
Regulation body. or WhatsApp audio I only used it for exercise
The only problems I messages. The US tracking and basic smartwatch
hit were when it ban on Android features, rather than regular blood-
refused to take a support for pressure monitoring. The watch ships
measurement at all, Huawei isn’t such with a wireless USB-A charger,
but this was down a limitation for magnetically connecting with no need
to my incorrect watches as it is for LEFT The rotating for a particular orientation.
positioning of phones, but the crown and function/ If you don’t need blood-pressure
the watch. experience isn’t as ECG button both monitoring there’s no point buying
Huawei has slick as rivals. work well this watch; the Huawei Watch GT 5
improved its ECG analysis As ever, Huawei (opposite), Pixel Watch 3 (see issue 362,
with this update, producing delivers the goods when it p61) or Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 are
more accurate and responsive results. comes to hardware design. The 1.8in all slimmer and pack more features.
There’s a huge amount of data here to AMOLED display takes centre stage, Nor can I ignore the comparatively
identify the presence – or otherwise – providing a big screen for showcasing high price. But if you do want to track
of common heart conditions. watch faces, health data and your blood pressure, there’s simply
Huawei’s sleep mode includes heart notifications. A resolution of 480 x nothing else like the Huawei Watch
rate, SpO2, respiratory rate and 408 translates into 347ppi, and text D2 – and you’re still buying a
abnormal breathing tracking, giving and graphics look fantastic with a respectable smartwatch that excels
you a detailed report in the morning high level of definition and vibrancy. for health monitoring elsewhere.
through the Huawei Health App The display is surrounded by a BELOW At 13.3mm PAUL HATTON
(available for Android, iOS and stylish black or gold aluminium alloy thick, the Watch D2 is
HarmonyOS, Huawei’s phone OS). case, and exudes quality. I have no a chunky beast SPECIFICATIONS
The Watch D2 also provides white Custom chipset 1.8in 480 x 408 AMOLED
noise, natural soundscapes and touchscreen 32GB storage Bluetooth
relaxing music to help you sleep, 5.2 GPS IP68 loudspeaker body
while sleep tracking accurately temperature sensor blood-oxygen sensor
detected all my awakenings as heart-rate sensor gyroscope barometer
well as times that I was in deep differential pressure sensor 524mAh
or light sleep. During the day, battery HarmonyOS 38 x 13.3 x
whether I walked, ran, 48mm (WDH) 40g 2yr RTB warranty

65
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Xiaomi
Mix Flip
Delivers for display and camera quality as
well as performance, but the software
offering falls behind rival flip phones
SCORE
PRICE £749 (£899 inc VAT)
from amazon.co.uk

W
hile other big names have phone up in an “L” shape or tent ABOVE The Mix Fold for protection against dust and
grabbed the publicity, format – ideal for watching content has a look all of its own water – so handle with care.
Xiaomi has been quietly without a stand, or taking snaps – and plenty of power
mastering the art of making foldable without a tripod. within the clamshell Double display
phones. The Mix Fold handset is The design does strike a few The outer display is a striking 4in
in its fourth generation, and the bum notes, in my view. The volume AMOLED screen that covers the
manufacturer now debuts its first rocker is uncomfortably high up the full front of the phone, flowing
clamshell design, the Mix Flip. phone’s right edge when unfolded, luxuriously around the dual cameras.
With an RRP of £1,099 inc VAT as is the side-mounted fingerprint It looks great, and quality remains
it would be competitive with sensor. And while the front is consistent when you open
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip6 (see issue protected by Xiaomi’s tough Shield “A challenge with clamshell up the bigger 6.9in main
360, p73), but the usual flurry of Glass, there’s no IP certification phones is how to fit in a display: both panels offer
cut-price deals means you can solid viewing angles with
currently buy it for £899 from
decent camera array, but brilliant colour depth,
Amazon. And while the Motorola the Mix Flip manages better brightness and contrast.
Razr 50 Ultra is cheaper (see issue than any rival I’ve seen” A pixel density of
360, p68), starting at £699, the 460ppi keeps everything
Xiaomi includes a more powerful perfectly sharp, and the refresh
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, not to rate on both displays automatically
mention a generous 512GB of storage. scales from 1Hz to 120Hz to suit
whatever you’re doing. And it’s
Desirable design BELOW A microphone tuned to the DCI-P3 gamut, giving
The Mix Flip has a look all of its own, in the hinge lets you noticeably punchier colours than,
with pillowed glass and a body that make calls when the say, the Razr 50 Ultra.
– although thicker than other phone is closed To top it off, the phone’s settings
clamshells – still feels pleasingly slim give you heaps of control over
and comfortable both in the pocket things such as colour balance,
and in the hand. It’s offered in black app-specific appearance and
or a rather lavender-looking purple; always-on display options,
the lightly textured glass on the back which make the Mix Flip a great
provides a classy contrast to the nightstand companion.
polished metal frame and glossy
outer screen, and the hinge cleverly Disappointing distro
contains a microphone that’s exposed This all runs on Xiaomi’s Android-
when the phone is closed, so you can based HyperOS, which works fine
make and receive calls without but is far from my favourite spin on
unfolding the case. When you do the platform. In some places
open it up, the action is smooth but it feels too rigid: for
sturdy, so you can happily prop the example, there’s no quick

68
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Reviews
LEFT The striking 4in outer screen can host full
apps as well as showing the time and weather

digital film stocks, along with a set of

Leica-approved filters that can be
applied at or after capture.
The trade-off is detail and
sharpness, which can’t quite match
the crispness of “flagship” camera
phones. But you can still take great
shots with the Mix Flip, and the flip
format means you can stand it up
without a tripod, hold it half-open
like an old-school camcorder or shoot
full-quality selfies using the outer
screen as a viewfinder.

Direct debit?
Despite the phone’s small
size, Xiaomi has also
managed to fit in a
capacious 4,780mAh
cell, yielding up to
around seven hours of
screen-on time –
enough to get you
through the day if you’re
not driving it too hard.
Honestly I’d expected more
access to native Android features such summarising. These features from a battery of this size,
as automatic brightness and extra don’t always deliver perfect but I guess the display setup
dimming, although you can install results on their first try, but no eats a fair bit of power. Thankfully,
third-party apps that resurface such doubt this will improve over time. a snappy 67W charger is included in
controls. More egregious is the ABOVE The flip format the box, which allowed me to top up
growing commercialisation of Dynamite delivery is brilliant for video to two-thirds full in only 30 minutes,
Xiaomi’s own apps: the App Mall, General app performance is very chats, watching films or to a full charge in under an hour.
Theme Store and Game Center all good, thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Gen and taking selfies It’s just a shame that there’s no
repeatedly bugged me with unwanted 3 chipset and plenty of RAM. Apps support for wireless charging.
notifications and ads during testing, spring open quickly, and split-screen It’s tricky to get a flip phone right,
pushing me to buy assets or apps that or floating window multitasking is but the Xiaomi Mix Flip nails the
I had no interest in. fast and fuss-free. There’s plenty of fundamentals. It boasts a pair of great
There are plus points, too, though. storage for big downloads, too, BELOW The 6.86in displays, excellent app performance
The Theme Store isn’t just a cash-grab although I wouldn’t necessarily main display provides and cameras that are as good as you
– it’s packed with free user-made recommend the Mix Flip for gaming; lots of depth, contrast could expect. Just remember, if
submissions for endless and effortless while it can happily handle high- and brightness you’re coming from a regular “candy
personalisation. And the design team quality graphics, there’s very bar” handset, that you may
has done a great job of adapting the little space inside for cooling, need to adapt to the shorter
OS to the Mix Flip’s almost square so after a spell of intensive battery life, and handle the
outer display, by effectively dividing gaming you’re likely to see phone with more care than
it into two sections. The portion next performance throttle down you’re accustomed to. Be
to the cameras shows the weather, to prevent overheating. prepared, too, to spend time
time, recent apps and so forth, while Another challenge with silencing and tweaking
the remaining rectangular space can clamshell phones is how to fit system features to tame the
host full apps such as Google Maps, in a decent camera array, but worst irritations of the
Instagram, Spotify, TikTok and here the Mix Flip manages software. ALEX WALKER-TODD
YouTube. Since the app area is quite better than any rival I’ve
close to 16:9 in shape, this works very seen. Its main and telephoto SPECIFICATIONS
nicely – but be warned that only cameras both use 50MP 8-core 3.3GHz/3.2GHz/3GHz/
approved apps are allowed to appear sensors with pixel binning to 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 8
on the outer display. You can’t just create clean 12.5MP stills – or Gen 3 12GB RAM Adreno 750
throw anything on there, as you can video footage at resolutions graphics 6.9in foldable 120Hz
with the Razr 50 Ultra. up to 8K – and the results look AMOLED screen, 1,224 x 2,912
The other main thing that’s new in great. Colour and tone are resolution 4in AMOLED 120Hz
this version of HyperOS is – surprise, well handled, producing cover screen, 1,392 x 1,224 resolution
surprise – a set of AI features. The solid contrast without the 512GB storage dual 50MP/50MP
photo-editing tools now include AI heavy-handedness you rear cameras 32MP selfie camera
Expand (which lets you crop sometimes get from the latest 5G Wi-Fi 7 Bluetooth 5.4
outwards on a photo, generating iPhones and Pixels. Xiaomi’s USB-C 2 connector 4,780mAh
new detail around the edges) and long-standing partnership battery Android 14 with HyperOS
object removal, while elsewhere with Leica gives you the open, 74 x 7.6 x 168mm (WDH);
you’ll find speech-to-text option to shoot in Leica closed, 74 x 16 x 74mm (WDH) 190g
transcription, translation and Vibrant mode or authentic 1yr warranty

69
 Reviews

Oppo Find X8 Pro

LEFT The curved chip. It’s an unusual choice, but you
display makes the can’t argue with results: in Geekbench

An “ultra” phone in all but Oppo Find X8 Pro

comfortable to hold
the Find X8 Pro beat the Snapdragon 8
Gen 3-powered OnePlus 12 in both
name, this is an excellent single-core and multicore tests, and
even beat the iPhone 16 Pro Max in the
alternative to Apple’s multicore test. It also outperformed
its rivals in the Wild Life Extreme
and Samsung’s flagships Unlimited GPU test, so whether it’s
productivity apps or graphics-heavy
games you want, you’re well covered.
SCORE
Another unusual feature is the
PRICE £874 (£1,049 inc VAT) silicon-carbon battery. This has a high
from oppostore.co.uk 5,910mAh capacity, and the Oppo ran
down more slowly than other phones:

O
playing three hours of YouTube videos
wned by the same firm as RECOMMENDED ran down the charge by 14%, while the
OnePlus, Oppo isn’t a Galaxy S24 Ultra dropped by a huge 21%
huge name in the UK, but in the same time. You can recharge at
the Find X8 Pro demands attention up to 55W via a USB PD-compatible
with a big, bright display, four charger, or splash out on the 80W
rear cameras, a huge battery and SuperVOOC wired charger; this
a surprisingly reasonable price. refilled the phone from empty to 46%
That’s not to say it’s cheap. At full in only 15 minutes. 50W AirVOOC
£1,049 inc VAT we’re in premium wireless charging is supported too.
territory, but that includes 16GB The Find X8 Pro runs Oppo’s
of RAM and 512GB of storage, Android-based ColorOS,
which is more than you’ll find on “The Find X8 Pro demands and comes with a promised
rival phones in this price range. attention with a big, five years of updates, plus
Two colour options are offered:
sensible Space Black and the
bright display, four an extra year of security
updates. Inevitably, the
more characterful Pearl White, which 50MP resolution, so you can expect cameras, a huge battery latest version includes all
has a unique texture on every handset. consistent levels of detail. and a reasonable price” the usual AI features,
The big camera block at the back Image quality tends toward the including summarisation,
reflects the OnePlus connection, and dramatic, with dark shadows and translation, audio transcription, text
Oppo has also borrowed the physical bright highlights. The results aren’t as generation and photo-editing tools.
alert slider from OnePlus, which is natural as images from, say, the However, Oppo does better than most
handy for quickly switching between Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, but it’s a in making them conveniently
regular, silent and vibrate-only modes. bold style that doesn’t look bad available, via an AI toolbar that
The display is curved on all edges, at all. There’s plenty of detail swipes in from the side of the
making it comfortable to hold both too, although the Oppo’s screen with context-based
vertically and horizontally. The 6.8in preference for strong tool suggestions.
AMOLED panel is perfectly sharp at contrast can crush Overall the Oppo Find
449ppi, and Oppo claims an details in scenes with X8 Pro is a compelling
impressive peak brightness of up to lots of light and shade. alternative to the latest
4,500cd/m2, along with an adaptive The X8 Pro also held up Google and Samsung
1-120Hz refresh rate. Toughened well in my zoom tests, phones. You won’t find a
glass and aluminium rails ensure doing a fine job of picking up quad-camera array
everything’s sturdy, and an IP69 detail at 6x magnification. anywhere else for this price,
rating indicates an unusual degree of You can go further with digital and it comes with strong
waterproofing – this isn’t just a phone zoom: Oppo claims its new “AI battery life, a handsome screen,
you can take swimming, it will survive Telescope Zoom” mode produces clear competitive performance and bags of
high-pressure water jets at up to 80oC. photos even at 10x magnification and ABOVE The quad- storage. Since it’s arrived late in the
Another notable design feature is greater, and I found the Find X8 Pro camera set up is season, you might consider waiting to
the touch-sensitive Quick button on produced cleaner, more detailed better than anything see how it measures up against the
the side. This works similarly to the images at 10x zoom than the Samsung else at this price next generation of competing
iPhone 16’s Camera Control, allowing Galaxy S24 Ultra. handsets – but the Find X8 Pro has
you to open the camera, swipe to One last thing I like about the Find enough going for it that you’re very
zoom and tap to fire the shutter. It’s X8 Pro camera is its minimal shutter unlikely to regret buying it now.
not as versatile as Apple’s version, but lag. I found it responsive even when RICHARD PRIDAY
it’s arguably easier to use. rapidly firing off multiple shots,
The cameras comprise a regular which makes the photographic BELOW A touch- SPECIFICATIONS
main shooter, an ultrawide module experience easy and enjoyable. sensitive Quick button 8-core MediaTek Dimensity 9400 SoC 16GB
and two telephoto units offering 3x Inside, the Oppo Find X8 Pro is lets you open the RAM Immortalis-G925 graphics 6.8in
and 6x magnification. All have a driven by a MediaTek Dimensity 9400 camera in an instant 120Hz AMOLED screen, 1,264 x 2,780
resolution 5G 512GB storage dual
nano-SIM IP68 quad 50MP/50MP/50MP/
50MP rear cameras 32MP front camera
Wi-Fi 7 Bluetooth 5.4 NFC 5,910mAh
battery USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 connector Android
15 (5 major updates) with ColorOS 15 77 x 8.2
x 162mm (WDH) 210g 2yr warranty

70
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Reviews

ThinkPhone 25
in will you realise that there’s a lack
of detail to back up the strong first

by Motorola impression. The other two cameras

feature fewer megapixels, but the

A great choice for a business 13MP ultrawide camera is handy for

group shots, and surprisingly good
phone due to its size and at macro-style photos, while it’s
always handy to have a 3x optical
quality, and it’s reassuringly zoom to call upon.
Motorola opts for a pinhole
secure, too approach to accommodate the 32MP
selfie camera, but it still performs
better than most webcams – which I
SCORE
mention because if you download
PRICE £375 (£450 inc VAT) Smart Connect to your Windows PC
from motorola.co.uk then the phone’s camera becomes
an option during calls. You can also

L
use the rear camera, or switch
ast month I gave a largely between them. It’s a nifty feature.
positive review to the Moto The screen is yet another high-
G75 5G Business Edition (see quality inclusion, using OLED
issue 364, p72), a great-value phone technology to produce colour-
for business but one that I warned drenched images. In its Vivid mode, it
might be too large to act as a second covers 100% of the DCI-P3 gamut with
phone. As if reading my mind, an average Delta E of 0.69, but
Motorola sent me the new shake to activate switching to Natural mode locks the
ThinkPhone 25 – which is a pocket- the torch. These colour space to sRGB (100% coverage,
friendly phone for business, albeit quickly become 107% volume, 0.81 Delta E). It’s also
one that comes in at almost twice instinctive. incredibly sharp, with 1,260 x 2,670
the G75’s price. The business pixels converting to 462dpi.
It certainly looks like a business angle comes via the Pushing the brightness up to its
phone, with a patterned rear that integration of ThinkShield and Moto ABOVE Business class: maximum of 507cd/m2 means it’s easy
echoes Lenovo ThinkPads; a move Secure. ThinkShield includes the ThinkPhone 25 is to read outside, but you’re better off
that makes sense not only due to the hardware features such as secure designed to last for a keeping it in adaptive brightness
ThinkPhone name but because booting – making it more difficult for good few years mode. This also conserves battery life,
Lenovo owns the Motorola brand. anyone to physically hack into a which is a semi-precious resource.
With so many phones growing larger device – and what Motorola describes Push this phone heavily – 5G, GPS,
– just look at the three other phones as “elevated security features”. It gaming, videos – and you’ll be
we review this month – the fact the should also fit neatly into any mobile fortunate to have much left at the end
ThinkPhone 25 includes a 6.4in screen device management solution you’re of the day. Luckily it comes with a
and measures a trim 154 x 71 x 8.1mm currently running. Moto Secure 68W charger that takes the phone
is welcome. It will fit comfortably, revolves around privacy features, from zero to 50% in 11 minutes, and it
snugly even, in most people’s such as being able to tuck supports 15W wireless charging, too.
RECOMMENDED
hands, and barely makes an impact sensitive data or apps into a In the UK, Motorola is only selling
in a jacket or jeans pocket. PIN-protected folder. the 8GB/256GB version of the
While mini, it’s built for You get these services until ThinkPhone, and there’s no microSD
rough and tumble. The display is 2029, and as always nothing is slot to add more storage. Also, it only
protected by Corning Gorilla Glass free. While you won’t pay comes with one nano SIM slot. With
7i, which isn’t a match for Gorilla another penny, the £450 price Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.4 on board,
Glass 7 but – according to Corning of this phone is higher than though, it’s tough to moan
– is twice as scratch-resistant as the specs would suggest. For “The screen is yet another about this phone’s
competitors’ glass and can survive example, MediaTek’s Dimensity high-quality inclusion, using connectivity. In fact, it’s
drops onto asphalt-like surfaces
from a metre. The ThinkPhone
7300 scores almost identically to
the Qualcomm Snapdragon 6
OLED technology to produce hard to moan about the
ThinkPhone 25 at all. It’s
25 has also been certified as Gen 3 chip in the G75, and while I colour-drenched images. expensive when you
MIL-STD-810H compliant by SGS, have no complaints about this It’s also incredibly sharp” consider the mid-range
an independent testing, inspection phone’s speed – in fact, it’s specification, but there’s
and certification company, while incredibly quick to respond to still enough power to last for its likely
the usual IP68 protection is commands – you could buy a five-year life. And it comes with the
promised against water and dust. significantly faster phone for this right pedigree of software to keep it
Motorola also promises that price. Nor is it geared to avid safe throughout. TIM DANTON
this dinky phone will receive a gamers, as a 3,167 (19fps) result
reassuring five OS upgrades during in 3DMark Wild Life indicates. SPECIFICATIONS
its life, along with security updates The same is also true for 8-core MediaTek Dimensity 7300 SoC 8GB
into 2029. Which brings me to the photographers, but if you’re going RAM Mali-G615 MC2 graphics 6.4in 120Hz
software itself, which is essentially to be taking snaps – whether for AMOLED screen, 1,220 x 2,670 resolution 5G
native Android 14 with a bunch of work or pleasure – then it’s up to 256GB storage nano-SIM IP68 triple
useful Motorola customisations. the job. Choose the main 50MP 50MP/13MP/10MP rear cameras 32MP
These are well worth investigating rear camera and colours look front camera Wi-Fi 6E Bluetooth 5.4 NFC
if you’re new to Moto phones, with natural, it produces nice portraits LEFT The dimensions 4,310mAh battery USB-C 2 connector
gestures such as a three-finger and also copes well in lower light of the phone make it Android 14 (5 major updates) 71 x 8.1 x
screenshot and a sharp double- conditions. Only when you zoom easy to hold and carry 154mm (WDH) 171g 1yr RTB warranty

71
Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro
browsing on a full charge, beating
the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max by

A new chipset and excellent over three hours, and the

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra by
cooling make this the most almost four. When it’s time to
recharge, the included 65W
powerful phone we’ve charger topped up the battery
from empty to 74% in half an hour,
tested – it’s great for gaming and there’s also support for 15W
wireless charging.
Although the ROG Phone 9 Pro
SCORE
is based on regular Android 15, it
PRICE £917 (£1,100 inc VAT) comes with an extensive Asus
from rog.asus.com/uk skin that adds various game-
oriented visuals and tools. New

A
AI-powered gaming features
sus’ ROG phones are intended include X Sense AI, which
to be the best gaming choices can automate in-game tasks such
around, and the ROG Phone 9 as setting up auto skill upgrades
Pro comes with an amazingly powerful or skipping through cut scenes,
new Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, a and X Capture, which detects big
huge 16GB of RAM and 512GB of moments and automatically
storage – not to mention the longest- records the screen. There’s also
lasting battery we’ve ever tested. AI Grabber, as previously seen on
Naturally those features aren’t of the ROG Phone 8 series, which
interest only to gamers, and the ROG reads and remembers onscreen
Phone 9 Pro looks low-key enough to text so you can review it later
make a respectable everyday phone. for details and hints.
The matte glass back and aluminium There’s a familiar set of
side are tasteful, as is the sober non-gaming AI features, too,
Phantom Black finish. The only real including AI call translation, voice
giveaways are the subtle ROG logos look distinctly note transcription, prompt-based
dotted about the case and the dull and grey. wallpaper generation and
programmable “AniMe” LED display You can edit your semantic search for photos, along
on the rear – but you can keep that images to improve the results, but it’s ABOVE Despite being with the Circle to Search feature that
turned off when not in use. a pain that you have to. a gaming phone, the was previously exclusive to Samsung
One quirky feature is the off-centre Inside the phone you’ll find the powerful ROG Phone 9 and Google phones. The only catch is
USB-C port on the bottom edge, while new Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, Pro looks classy that the ROG Phone 9 Pro is only
a second USB-C port on the side means which is probably the best chip that guaranteed two years of full Android
you can keep it plugged in while any Android phone will get in 2025. updates; while you do get five years of
gaming in landscape mode. There’s a The ROG Phone 9 Pro came close to security support, it’s a letdown when
wired headphone socket, plus IP68 the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max in our Google and Samsung
dust and water resistance and Gorilla CPU benchmarks, and beat it on “Even if you’re not a phones promise seven
Glass Victus 2 to protect the display. graphics performance. That’s in gamer you might well be years of full updates.
That display is a big 6.8in AMOLED
screen, which is gloriously bright and
standard mode, too; there’s also a
performance-boosting “X Mode” that
attracted by its awesome bestIfgaming you’re looking for the
phone you can
colourful. It’s also exceptionally unleashes the full power of the chip, performance, sharp looks buy right now, the Asus
smooth, with an adaptive refresh rate beating Apple’s and Samsung’s finest and excellent battery” ROG Phone 9 Pro is
of 1-120Hz, plus an ultra-fast 185Hz with ease. To maximise your battery undoubtedly the one. Even
mode. So far I haven’t found a game life you may not want to use X Mode if you’re not a gamer you might well
that runs at that speed, but hopefully all the time, but you can set it to kick be attracted by its awesome
one may come along in the future, and in automatically when opening performance, sharp looks and
when it does the ROG Phone 9 Pro will certain games and apps. excellent battery. Unfortunately its
be ready for it. Even if you do hammer the lacklustre photos, limited software
At the rear of the phone is a 50MP hardware, a huge 5,800mAh support and high price make it a
main camera with a new sensor and battery gives the ROG Phone 9 Pro BELOW You can turn questionable choice as an all-round
enhanced gimbal stabilisation, excellent stamina in everyday use. off the programmable mobile companion; you’re probably
alongside a 13MP ultrawide and a 32MP We measured an astonishing LED display on the best to think of it as a great gaming
telephoto with 3x magnification. A 20hrs 34mins of continuous web rear if you wish phone, and consider any other use a
nice touch is that the capacitive bonus. RICHARD PRIDAY
“AirTrigger” sensors on the edge of the
ROG Phone, primarily intended as SPECIFICATIONS
shoulder buttons for gaming, can also 8-core Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC 16GB/24GB
release the shutter. RAM Adreno 830 graphics 6.8in 120Hz
You can’t fault the main camera for AMOLED screen, 1,080 x 2,400 resolution
detail: I found my test snaps compared 5G 512GB/1TB storage dual nano-SIM
well even to the Samsung Galaxy S24 IP68 triple 50MP/32MP/13MP rear
Ultra’s 200MP sensor. However, cameras 32MP front camera Wi-Fi 7
whichever camera you use, the ROG Bluetooth 5.4 NFC 5,800mAh battery 2 x
Phone 9 Pro’s colour reproduction USB-C connectors Android 15 (2 major
is much less vibrant than the updates) 77 x 8.9 x 164mm (WDH) 227g
Samsung’s, to the point that things 1yr warranty

72
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Reviews

RedMagic 10 Pro
delivered around 40% better CPU
performance than phones using

Only worth considering if older Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chips,

and 24% better GPU performance.
your priorities are gaming Even better, it can keep this up
all day without throttling. In 3D
and battery life, but you Mark’s Solar Bay Stress Test, the
Red Magic 10 Pro scored a
can’t argue with the price near-perfect 99.8% – thanks to
that built-in active fan – and the
huge 7,050mAh battery should
SCORE
easily see you through a full day,
PRICE 256GB, £483 (£579 inc VAT) even with intensive gaming
from redmagic.gg sessions. Recharging is swift, too:
the bundled 80W charger took me

W
from empty to full in a mere 40
hile Asus aims high with its minutes. However, there’s no
ROG Phone 9 Pro opposite, wireless charging.
the RedMagic 10 Pro opts Nubia’s Android-based
for affordability. It runs on the same RedMagic OS is a mixed bag.
Snapdragon 8 Elite silicon as its classy The initial experience isn’t great,
competitor, and while the experience with blocky icons, a cluttered
is nowhere near as polished, it’s one notification menu and a needlessly
heck of a performer for the price. huge widget for turning the fan on
That starts at just over half the cost and off, not to mention preinstalled
of the Asus phone: you’ll pay £579 for bloatware. On the plus side, the
the Shadow finish with 12GB of RAM whole thing feels snappy, and I
and 256GB of internal storage, or £709 appreciated the option to choose
for the Moonlight and Dusk finishes, Still, the full-frontal between gesture and virtual
which come with 16GB of RAM and AMOLED screen navigation at the outset. Buried in
512GB of storage. There’s also a presents a glorious the Themes settings, there’s an
range-topping Dusk Ultra model, canvas for gaming, option to switch to regular round
which ups the specs to an absurd 24GB with punchy colours and deep blacks. ABOVE The RedMagic Android icons too.
of RAM and 1TB of storage, but at £879 Its maximum refresh rate of 144Hz is 10 Pro is an affordable The other positive is the
it’s still much cheaper than the Asus. higher than most games can currently gaming phone with an aforementioned Gamespace tool for
The 6.9in screen dominates the support, and brightness is great, too, enormous battery tweaking things such as screen
front of the phone, with tiny bezels with a localised peak of 2,000cd/m2. sensitivity and resolution settings.
measuring 1.25mm. A selfie camera is One area where costs have been cut You can manage plug-ins for
hidden under the display, and the is the cameras. The primary sensor individual games, too, and access
camera section at the rear doesn’t captures good shots in favourable cheat-like features such as enhanced
protrude, so the only likely pocket lighting conditions, but it struggles zoom and sound equalisers. It’s just a
snags are from the circular power with blown-out highlights and can shame that Nubia only promises one
button and the physical slider on the exaggerate colours. The ultrawide major OS upgrade, to Android 16,
right that launches the Gamespace camera has a smaller sensor, so it with three years of security updates
utility – about which more later. picks up less detail and also has a – nowhere near the industry leaders.
Also on this side of the phone are rather pale tone. There’s no optical If you’re looking for huge gaming
two capacitive trigger controls and a zoom, and while 2x digital zoom shots performance on a small budget, the
vent for the internal cooling fan, one of look respectable, things quickly RedMagic 10 Pro is a brilliant deal.
the distinguishing features of a true become soft if you push further. Sure, the physical design is
gaming phone. These are all positives, The 16MP front camera, meanwhile, “The full-frontal AMOLED hit and miss, the camera
but I have a few practical issues with has its own problems: its placement screen presents a system is uninspiring and
the design. The tiny bezels mean your behind the screen reduces the amount
glorious canvas for the general OS experience
hands can get in the way when gaming of light reaching the sensor, resulting can be clunky. Even so, this
in landscape mode, and audio is in noisy selfies. Overall it’s hard to gaming, with punchy phone has all the necessary
uneven as the earpiece serves as the drum up much enthusiasm for the colours and deep blacks” power to play high-end
left speaker, while the right one points RedMagic 10 Pro as a camera phone. games for hours on end, with
out of the bottom edge. The sole USB-C Still, the most important thing for a programmable trigger buttons and
port is also on the bottom, so it’s not gaming phone is performance, and the neat extra software features.
convenient to charge while you game, RedMagic 10 has that in bags thanks to Considering the price, that’s very
and the open vents mean the handset Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC. hard to complain about. JON MUNDY
isn’t water-resistant. Across multiple benchmarks it
SPECIFICATIONS
8-core Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC 12GB/16GB
RAM Adreno 830 graphics 6.9in 144Hz
AMOLED screen, 1,216 x 2,688 resolution 5G
256GB/512GB storage dual nano-SIM
IP68 triple 50MP/50MP/2MP rear cameras
16MP front camera Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.4
LEFT Two trigger NFC 7,050mAh battery USB-C 3.2 Gen 2
controls and a slider connector 3.5mm audio jack Android 15 (1
to launch Gamespace major update) with RedMagic OS 10 77 x 8.9
adorn the phone’s side x 164mm (WDH) 229g 2yr warranty

73
Pimoroni Pico Plus 2 W
A powerful, versatile board
that brings Wi-Fi to the
RP2350B while retaining the
familiar Pico form factor
SCORE
PRICE £14 (£17 inc VAT)
from shop.pimorini.com

I
was impressed by the Raspberry the RM2 wireless and Bluetooth ABOVE The Pico Plus 2 with no hitches when pulling data
Pi Pico 2 W (see opposite), but if breakout board is mounted on the W is even more in from online JSON feeds and
you want to explore more underside of the Pico Plus 2 W, so if versatile than the publishing my own content to the
ambitious projects, take a look at this you want to mount it directly onto official board internet. I even managed to connect
third-party remix. Based on the same another board you’ll need to cut a the Pico Plus 2 W to Bluesky, and use
RP2350 chipset, Pimoroni’s Pico Plus section out of the PCB. a custom MicroPython script to post
2 W replicates everything that’s good The extra GPIO connections for and receive messages.
about the official board, while adding QW/ST and SWD debug meanwhile The Pimoroni Pico Plus 2 W won’t
extra resources and capabilities for connect to ports on the top of the unit, be the right choice for everyone.
even more versatility. next to the boot select button. Though it’s loaded with good points,
The first change you There’s a reset button RECOMMENDED the specifications are excessive for
might spot is that the here, too – a handy typical Pico-scale projects, while the
main SoC is much addition that you processor is more limited
larger than the one won’t find on “The Pico Plus 2 W is a than a full-sized Pi board.
on the Raspberry Pi an official Pico great little board with It’s also around three
Pico 2 W. In place
of the basic
board – and
another neat
oodles of potential and times the price of a
standard Pico, so for the
RP2350A chip, enhancement is some nice quality-of-life same money you could get
Pimoroni has used the use of USB enhancements” a Pi Zero 2 W that’s
the RP2350B, Type-C for the capable of running the
which has the same power and data Raspberry Pi desktop OS.
twin-architecture connection instead LEFT A white Make no mistake, though, the Pico
design (dual Arm of micro-USB. silkscreen print Plus 2 W will find its niche. For
Cortex-M33 cores plus a This doesn’t make a makes it easy to example, the original Raspberry Pi
pair of RISC-V cores) but practical difference to the identify each pin Pico is already popular as a retro
supports 48 GPIO pins versus the 30 of working of the board, but the cables gaming device, emulating old
the standard version. The Pico Plus 2 are easier to come by these days, computers such as the Sinclair ZX
W also comes with a relatively huge and aren’t finicky about which way Spectrum, and with the RP2350B it’s
8MB of extra memory in addition to round you plug them in. LEFT The main SoC is possible to play more demanding
the base 520KB of RAM, and the To get the most from the Pico Plus 2 much larger than the games like Doom at slick frame rates.
onboard storage is boosted from 4MB W you’ll need to use Pimoroni’s one on the Pi Pico 2 W I can’t wait to see how enterprising
to 16MB. This is a board that’s ready custom firmware, which creators harness the power that’s
for big things. provides access to the full on hand here to emulate more
While the extra GPIO connections 16MB of storage. In practice advanced machines.
are a handy extra, they won’t cause this works just like the regular In short, the Pico Plus 2 W is a
compatibility problems, as the first 30 Pico firmware: the board is great little board with oodles of
pins are the same as on the standard programmed in the same potential and nice quality-of-life
Pico. Indeed, the all-black PCB manner, using MicroPython or enhancements, in a form factor
features a white silkscreen print that other languages on a host that’s cleaner and more compact
identifies each pin – a wonderfully computer, and the code for than a standard Pi. For many
useful piece of design that really helps accessing the GPIO hardware purposes you’ll be fine with the
you get on with projects without and making Wi-Fi connections standard Pico 2 W board, or even
needing to stop and check which pin is exactly the same. an old-school Pico W, but
does what. It’s a shame that SPI, That last part should be no for anyone seeking to push the
UART and analogue pins aren’t surprise, as the Pico Plus 2 W uses envelope with their Pico projects
marked, but there’s only so much the same wireless module as the it’s a superb choice. LES POUNDER
space on the board. official Pico 2 W. This means
Like a regular Pico board, the you needn’t worry about SPECIFICATIONS
Pimoroni Pico Plus 2 W comes without compatibility, but don’t expect RP2350B SoC with 150MHz dual-core
physical GPIO pins installed, so if you lightning-fast transfers; as I’ve RISC-V processors 520KB SRAM
want to use these you must solder noted opposite, this is an 8MB flash memory 2.4GHz Wi-Fi 4
them in place yourself. This is a breeze unassuming Wi-Fi 4 chip, and Bluetooth 5.2 26 x Digital IO 2 x UART
with a standard soldering iron, and has no external antenna to help 2 x SPI 2 x I2C 26 x PWM 4 x 12-bit
the castellated edges mean the board with range or performance. ADC channels USB 1.1 controller and
can also be surface-mount soldered to Still, once I got connected I PHY 12 x PIO state machines 21 x
a carrier board. Note, however, that found everything ran smoothly, 51mm (WD) limited warranty

74
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Reviews

Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W
I tested the latest
MicroPython release and

This drop-in replacement for found it worked out

of the box with
the Pico W provides a higher- seamless Wi-Fi
support on the Pico
spec microcontroller for RECOMMENDED 2 W. I also tried out a

more demanding projects

pre-release version of
CircuitPython and again had
no problem using Wi-Fi features.
Finally, I turned to the third-party
SCORE
Arduino-Pico board library from Earle
PRICE £5.50 (£6.60 inc VAT) F Philhower; this doesn’t yet have
from thepihut.com Wi-Fi support, but it should be a
simple matter for the maintainer to

L
ABOVE The Pico 2 W add it – that’s the upside of using the
aunched in 2021, the dirt-cheap has a more powerful same wireless hardware as the Pico W.
Raspberry Pi Pico was a processor, more RAM That continuity carries over to
departure for the Pi ecosystem: and storage and Wi-Fi accessories and peripherals; as a rule,
rather than using a general-purpose if it worked with the original
Arm processor from Broadcom, it was changes. The big silver square at the Raspberry Pi Pico boards, it’s likely to
based on Raspberry Pi’s own RP2040 bottom of the board contains the same work on the Pico 2 W. For example, I
microcontroller. While not powerful CYW43439 wireless package as found tried the Pimoroni Pico Display 2.0
enough to run a full Linux desktop, on the Raspberry Pi Pico W, which and Display 2.8, and in both cases I had
this tiny board was perfect for simple means you’re limited to 802.11n (or a series of animated balls bouncing
project duties at an almost laughably Wi-Fi 4) on the 2.4GHz band. By around the screen like a DVD
low price, with the Pico W version modern standards this is very slow – screensaver in moments.
adding integrated Wi-Fi. you’re unlikely to get more than “With its dual-architecture For the few add-ons that
A follow-up came earlier this year 10Mbits/sec – but it’s fast enough for chipset and integrated don’t work on day one, it
in the form of the Pico 2, which almost any Pico-scale project, and shouldn’t take long for
offered a more powerful processor will work with any wireless router. Wi-Fi, the Pico 2 W is developers to make the
plus more RAM and storage, Similarly, power and data the most versatile Pico necessary updates.
and the latest update are still provided over a board around” So, should you buy the
brings Wi-Fi on board 12Mbits/sec micro-USB Pico 2? As usual with
as well, giving you connector, which in Raspberry Pi hardware, it’s a case of
the freedom to 2025 is starting to horses for courses. If you want to run
situate the board feel ancient. And a full desktop interface you’ll need a
more or less the only physical more powerful Pi with a Broadcom
wherever you control remains chipset; conversely, if your project
want it. For under the BOOTSEL requires nothing more than basic data
£7 it’s incredibly button that puts collection or GPIO control, you could
versatile. the board into happily stick with the original Pico
It might seem firmware upload and Pico W boards, which are still
silly to talk about the mode – please, LEFT The new model available for less than £4. If you don’t
“design” of a single- Raspberry Pi, can we includes a dual-core require wireless connectivity, the
board computer that have a reset button on the Arm Cortex-M33 CPU standard Pico 2 might be a better fit.
measures only 21 x 51mm, but next model? Clearly, though, with its dual-
for what it’s worth the Raspberry Pi Like full-sized Pi boards, the Pico 2 architecture chipset and integrated
Pico 2 W looks just like the original Pi W can be programmed in Python, but Wi-Fi, the Pico 2 W is the most
Pico W. The only visible differences are first you’ll need to flash its firmware versatile Pico board around. It’s ideal
the branding text and the arrangement with a microcontroller-compatible for any task that involves pulling in
of the surface mount components; edition such as MicroPython or data from sensors or remote sources,
happily, you still get those wonderful CircuitPython. The actual coding is processing it on the board and
castellated edges, making it easy to then done on a host computer forwarding it to (for example) a
mount the board without the need to connected by USB, which could be a full-fat Pi running the main project
modify the receiving PCB, and holes Raspberry Pi or a full-sized desktop code. That might mean data-science
for soldering in GPIO pins if required. running Windows, macOS or Linux. BELOW Power comes applications, robotics or basic
What sets the latest Pico 2 boards You can also use the Arduino C++ from a 12Mbits/sec machine learning – and even if it’s
apart from the original Pico models is derivative, or many other languages. micro-USB connector overkill for your current needs,
the core silicon. In place of the old for just a few quid more than the
RP2040 chip, which was based on a original board the Pico 2 W gives
dual-core Arm Cortex-M0+ CPU, the you plenty of scope for repurposing
new models introduce the much in the future. LES POUNDER
souped-up RP2350. As well as
including a more capable dual-core SPECIFICATIONS
Arm Cortex-M33 processor, this RP2350A SoC with 150MHz dual-core RISC-V
features a pair of Hazard3 RISC-V processors 520KB SRAM 4MB flash
cores, which you can switch to if memory 2.4GHz Wi-Fi 4 Bluetooth 5.2 26
you’re interested in trying out the x Digital IO 2 x UART 2 x SPI 2 x I2C 24 x
open RISC architecture. PWM 3 x 12-bit ADC channels USB 1.1
I wouldn’t have minded if controller and PHY 12 x PIO state machines
Raspberry Pi had made a few more 21 x 51mm (WD) limited warranty

75
Raspberry Pi Touch
of 480 x 800, the new one is 720 x 1,280,
so you get well over twice as many

Display 2 pixels for a much sharper image.

The other new feature is the

A great upgrade to the onscreen keyboard. This put me in

mind of an Android tablet, and I found
original Touch Display, it generally responsive and precise. It
makes it possible to fully operate the
especially if you need five- Pi without plugging in an external
input device – but I do have one caveat
point touch and an HD screen here. While you can use the
touchscreen to swipe around the Pi
OS, just as on a tablet, this doesn’t
SCORE
work in all apps: in the
PRICE £47 (£56 inc VAT) Chromium and Firefox web
from thepihut.com browsers, I couldn’t drag web
pages up and down, and had

T
to use the razor-thin scroll
he original Raspberry Pi Touch RECOMMENDED bar. This isn’t exactly a fault of
Display debuted in 2015, the Touch Display 2 – clearly these
enhancing the standard Pi with third-party applications need an
a tablet-like interface for digital thick, so an accidental drop onto a hard ABOVE The 7in touch update to work with the touchscreen
signage, interactive displays and surface could break it. For the price, display has a sharp – but until that arrives, it greatly
entertainment. Now, after a decade, though, you can’t complain too much. 720 x 1,280 resolution reduces the usefulness of the display.
this new model brings a higher Software support for the Touch If you’re thinking of using the Pi
resolution and useful extra features Display 2 is built into the latest as an always-on dashboard, you
for the same price as before. version of the Raspberry Pi OS, so might be wondering how much
At first glance it looks very similar once the cables are connected you power the Touch Display 2 consumes.
to the old version, with the same simply need to update your existing As a baseline, with the display
chunky bezels and the same 7in installation, or flash a fresh image disconnected, I found my
display format (although this model using Raspberry Pi Imager, and you’re “The Touch Display 2 works Raspberry Pi OS drew
has a slightly wider 16:9 aspect ratio, ready to go. I tested the display with a
very well. It’s effortless to 4.4W of power, settling
rather than the 5:3 shape of Raspberry Pi 5, but it will down to 2.6W once
the original). work with any full-sized install and use, so you can everything had finished
Hooking up is Pi board from the 2014 focus on the functional loading. When I added the
easier than before, Model B+ onwards. aspects of your projects” Touch Display 2, with
however. Where When you first brightness set to 100%,
the original Touch power up with the the peak boot power load went up to
Display required display attached 7.5W, settling down to 5.3W once the
an external driver it defaults to desktop appeared. In other words, the
board, the new portrait mode. screen raises consumption to just over
model has that This feels a little double that of a headless board. It’s
built in, and retro – with the not going to wreck your electricity
connects directly large bezel it bills, but it’s worth knowing if you
via a ribbon cable to reminded me of the LEFT Your Pi attaches want to integrate the Touch Display 2
the CAM/DISP1 port on old Google Nexus 7 – to the rear of the into a battery-powered build.
your Pi, with power but a new configuration screen like a backpack In all, the Touch Display 2 works
coming from a second cable tool called raindrop lets you very well. It’s effortless to install and
connected to the Pi’s GPIO header. rotate it in 90° increments, and adjust use, so you can focus on the functional
The Pi attaches to the rear of the the brightness to suit your aspects of your projects, and while
screen like a backpack, using the environment. Raspberry Pi hasn’t it would have been nice to see an
included M2.5 machine screws. published any official figures for official external power option, makers
You couldn’t really ask for a neater brightness, but I found the display should get along with it just fine. It’s
design. I love how the cables neatly perfectly clear and readable even at BELOW Power comes not ideal as an everyday screen for
tuck away, and the screen and Pi 60%. It helps that, where the old via a cable connected your Raspberry Pi: aside from
become one unit that can be mounted Touch Display had a native resolution to the Pi’s GPIO header inconsistent support in third-party
in an enclosure. The use of the apps, it’s too small for regular
GPIO for power does cramp your desktop use. But for applications that
creative options, though, as it means need a touchscreen in a compact,
you can’t combine the display with a self-contained package, this is the kit
HAT+ board. There’s no obvious to get. I can immediately see its appeal
reason why it couldn’t have used for home automation and data
one of the Pi’s four USB ports for monitoring, 3D printer monitoring,
power instead, or given you the home lab setups and any number of
option of using an external brick. other projects. LES POUNDER
Still, if you’re the sort of person who
wants to use HAT+ boards, I’m sure SPECIFICATIONS
your maker mind will already have 7in capacitive touchscreen, 720 x 1,280
come up with a workaround. resolution 5-touch support compatible
The assembly also feels a little with all models of Raspberry Pi from the B+
fragile. The bezel extends well beyond (incompatible with Pi Zero range) 120 x 8.6 x
the casing at the rear, and is only 2mm 189mm limited warranty

76
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Reviews

Raspberry Pi SSD
microSD cards come in at 22.71
seconds. There isn’t much

If you want guaranteed difference between the two.

Using a test that uses dd to
SSD compatibility for your read the entire drive to
/dev/null, it read data at an
Pi 5, pay the premium for impressive 837MB/sec, in
line with all the other M.2
this speedy drive NVMe drives I’ve tested
with the Raspberry Pi.
I used the Raspberry
SCORE
Pi Diagnostics
PRICE 256GB, £23 (£28 inc VAT); 512GB, application to test
£35 (£42 inc VAT) from thepihut.com sequential write speeds, where it ran
at 723MB/sec; plenty of speed for the

R
Raspberry Pi, and again, in line with
aspberry Pi released a torrent microSD card with the latest OS. ABOVE Transfer other drives that I’ve tested.
of accessories and add-ons in I then powered up the Raspberry Pi 5 speeds are impressive All of which means that you’re
the final weeks of 2024, and copied the install from the card for such a tiny drive paying a few pounds more for the
including its own-branded SSDs. to the SSD using the SD card copier Raspberry Pi brand, but that extra
These take advantage of the tool. It barely took five minutes. money is well spent as it ensures
Raspberry Pi 5’s dedicated PCI-E I then set the Raspberry Pi that the drive will work on the Pi
connection, into which you must to boot from NVMe, and set 5. Sure, you can save £10 and
slide a Pi M.2 HAT+ (£11.50 inc VAT) the PCI-E speed to Gen 3. pick up an M.2 2230 drive
or one of its third-party alternatives A quick reboot and I was from Amazon, but you’re
(such as the excellent £9 Pinboards ready for testing. taking a compatibility risk.
HatDrive! Nano). If you have one The 256GB Raspberry LES POUNDER
already, buy the “naked” SSD; if not, Pi SSD boots to the
you can buy it as part of the SSD Raspberry Pi OS desktop SPECIFICATIONS
bundle: £37 for 256GB, £51 for 512GB. in 19.92 seconds. That’s M.2 2230 NVMe SSD PCI-E
I used the Raspberry Pi M.2 HAT+ faster than a microSD card, Gen 3 256GB: 40K IOPS (4KB
as part of the SSD kit. To install but the new Raspberry Pi A2 random reads), 70K IOPS (4KB
Raspberry Pi OS to the NVMe SSD, random writes) 512GB: 50K IOPS
I installed the SSD, connected all RIGHT The drive attaches to your Raspberry (4KB random reads), 90K IOPS (4KB
of the peripherals and inserted a Pi 5 via an M.2 HAT+ add-on random writes) limited warranty

Say goodbye to
WiFi frustrations

NWA130BE

Experience seamless connectivity with our fastestt

access points yet, powered by WiFi 7.
zyxel.com
77
Printers
for PROs
We put 14 inkjet and laser printers through their
paces in our exhaustive tests for quality and
speed so that you can buy with confidence
78
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Labs Printers

W
e’d love to tell you that you could
buy a brilliant printer for £100. CONTENTS
One that would last for years, INKJETS
that would product great-quality Epson EcoTank ET-2865............................ 84
prints for extraordinarily low prices, that would HP OfficeJet Pro 9135e............................... 85
be so easy to use that you’d laugh with joy every Canon Pixma TR7650.................................. 86
time you pressed Print or Scan. But reality is a features. And you can see exactly how much Epson WorkForce Pro WF-C4310DW...... 86
harsh mistress. you’re paying for them. There’s an honesty to Epson WorkForce WF-2960DWF..............87
Things are improving. Mostly. The growing this we like. HP Smart Tank 7005....................................87
maturity of ink tank printers means that these are Eight out of the 14 printers use laser
now strong contenders. And they also lift the technology. Traditionally this has been seen as LASERS
mask on an ugly fact: that the cost of all those Canon i-Sensys LBP243dw........................ 88
a natural business choice, and there remains
luxury features, such as colour touchscreens and Kyocera Ecosys PA4000wx...................... 89
much truth to that. One of our award winners
automatic document feeders, is borne through Brother HL-L2865DW.................................90
is purely aimed at business users. But more
the tax of ink cartridges. Brother MFC-L2980DW.............................90
demanding buyers, for small businesses or even
We can’t review every ink tank printer on the HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 3302fdw.......91
a busy household, should also consider this
market, but even if the Epson EcoTank ET-2865 HP LaserJet M209d.....................................91
excellent technology for its low running costs
and HP Smart Tank 7005 don’t quite meet your Lexmark MS331dn....................................... 92
and excellent text results. Some things, it turns
Xerox C410.................................................... 92
requirements, then you can make an informed out, don’t change.
decision about their siblings with more or fewer To accompany the reviews, we hope you find Feature comparison table.........................80
the feature comparison table overleaf and the Buyer’s guide: how to buy the right
buyer’s guide on p82 useful. They’re all there to printer for you.............................................. 82
help you make the most informed decision How we test ................................................. 83
possible. Happy printing (and yes, it can happen). Graphs ........................................................... 94
View from the Labs...................................... 95
CONTRIBUTOR: Simon Handby

79
 INKJETS
RECOMMENDED LABS WINNER

Canon Pixma Epson EcoTank Epson Epson HP OfficeJet Pro HP Smart Tank
TR7650 ET-2865 WorkForce Pro WorkForce 9135e 7005
WF-C4310DW WF-2960DWF
Print technology THERMAL INKJET PIEZO INKJET PIEZO INKJET PIEZO INKJET THERMAL INKJET THERMAL INKJET

Overall

Information
Price (inc VAT) £151 (£181) £194 (£233) £96 (£115) £67 (£80) £161 (£193) £183 (£220)

Supplier printerbase.co.uk uk.insight.com printerland.co.uk printerland.co.uk printerbase.co.uk amazon.co.uk

Manufacturer canon.co.uk epson.co.uk epson.co.uk epson.co.uk hp.co.uk hp.co.uk

Warranty 1yr RTB 1yr/30,000 pages RTB 1yr onsite 1yr RTB 1yr RTB 3yr exchange (with
registration)

Dimensions (WDH) 438 x 350 x 190mm 375 x 347 x 179mm 425 x 378 x 164mm 375 x 347 x 231mm 496 x 377 x 489mm 428 x 364 x 199mm

Weight 7.9kg 3.9 5.8kg 6.4kg 11.9kg 6.4kg

Printing
Max print resolution 4,800 x 1,200dpi 5,760 x 1,440dpi 4,800 x 2,400dpi 4,800 x 2,400dpi 4,800 x 1,200dpi 4,800 x 1,200dpi

Mono speed (claimed/ 15ppm/11.1ppm 10ppm/8.8ppm 21ppm/19.7ppm 14ppm/14ppm 25ppm/22.1ppm 15ppm/13ppm

tested)

Colour speed (claimed/ 10ppm/3.6ppm 5ppm/2.7ppm 11ppm/5.4ppm 7.5ppm/4.9ppm 20ppm/8ppm 9ppm/3.6ppm

tested)

Paper input (capacity) Cassette (100), tray (100) Tray (100) Cassette (250), tray (80) Cassette (150) Two cassettes (500) Cassette (250)

Paper output Not stated 30 250 Not stated 100 100

Maximum paper size A4/legal (300gsm) A4/legal (300gsm) A4/legal (255gsm) A4/legal (300gsm) A4/legal (280gsm) A4/legal (250gsm)
(weight)

Double-sided printing

Black cartridge (pages) PGI-580PGBK XXL (600) 104 (3,600) 408L (2,200) 503XL (550) HP 937e (2,500) 32XL (6,000)

Colour cartridge (pages) CLI-581BK black (6,360), 104 cyan, magenta and 408L cyan, magenta and 503XL cyan, magenta and HP 937e cyan, magenta 31 cyan, magenta and
CLI-581C cyan (820), yellow (6,500 each) yellow (1,700 each) yellow (470 each) and yellow (1,650 each) yellow (8,000 each)
CLI-581M magenta (760)
and CLI-581Y yellow (824)

Cost per mono page 2.9p (3.5p) 0.2p (0.2p) 1.7p (2p) 3.6p (4.3p) 2p (2.4p) 0.1p (0.2p)
(inc VAT)

Cost per colour page 6p (7.2p) 0.3p (0.3p) 11.7p (14.1p) 10.8p (13p) 6p (7.2p) 0.3p (0.4p)
(inc VAT)

Monthly duty cycle (pages) Not stated Not stated 33,000 max 3,000 recommended 30,000 max, 2,000 5,000 max, 800
recommended recommended

Other functions
Max scan resolution 1,200 x 2,400dpi 1,200 x 2,400dpi N/A 1,200 x 2,400dpi 1,200 x 1,200dpi 1,200 x 1,200dpi

Automatic document 20 sheets 30 sheets 35 sheets

feeder

Fax

Mobile/cloud features AirPrint, Android, iOS, Android, Epson Connect, AirPrint, Android, Epson AirPrint, Android, Epson AirPrint, Android, Chrome AirPrint, Android, iOS,
Mopria, Pixma Cloud Link, iOS Connect, iOS Connect, iOS OS, iOS, Mopria Mopria
WLAN PictBridge

Interface
Display 7.5cm colour touchscreen None 6.1cm colour screen 6.1cm colour touchscreen 10.9cm colour Mono LCD
touchscreen

Front connections None None None None USB-A host None

Rear panel USB-A USB-A USB-A, 10/100 Ethernet USB-A, 10/100 Ethernet USB-A, 10/100 Ethernet USB-A

Wireless Wi-Fi 4 Wi-Fi 4 Wi-Fi 4 Wi-Fi 4 Wi-Fi 5 Wi-Fi 4

Power
Sleep (W) 0 0 0 0 1 1

Standby (W) 4 4 4 3 6 4

Active (printing or 13 15 21 13 22 16
copying, W)

80
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Labs Printers

LASERS
LABS WINNER RECOMMENDED

Brother Brother Canon HP Color HP LaserJet Kyocera Lexmark Xerox C410

HL-L2865DW MFC- i-Sensys LaserJet Pro M209d Ecosys MS331dn
L2980DW LBP243dw MFP 3302fdw PA4000wx
MONO LASER MONO LASER MONO LASER COLOUR LASER MONO LASER MONO LASER MONO LASER COLOUR LASER

£94 (£113) £268 (£322) £155 (£186) £292 (£350) £100 (£120) £275 (£330) £135 (£162) £343 (£412)

printerland.co.uk printerland.co.uk printerbase.co.uk printerbase.co.uk hp.co.uk printerbase.co.uk printerbase.co.uk printerbase.co.uk

brother.co.uk brother.co.uk canon.co.uk hp.co.uk hp.co.uk kyoceradocument lexmark.co.uk xerox.co.uk

solutions.com

1yr RTB 1yr RTB 1yr RTB 3yr exchange (with 1yr RTB 2yr RTB (drum 1yr RTB 1yr onsite
registration) guaranteed for
3yr/100,000 pages)

444 x 449 x 366mm 410 x 421 x 319mm 399 x 373 x 249mm 418 x 420 x 342mm 355 x 280 x 205mm 375 x 393 x 272mm 368 x 363 x 222mm 455 x 423 x 318mm

7.1kg 12.4kg 9.5kg 17.1kg 7.3kg 14kg 9.3kg 20.6kg

1,200 x 1,200dpi 1,200 x 1,200dpi 1,200 x 1,200dpi 600 x 600dpi 600 x 600dpi 1,200 x 1,200dpi 2,400 x 600dpi 1,200 x 1,200dpi

34ppm/26.8ppm 34ppm/26.8ppm 36ppm/32.6ppm 25ppm/18.5ppm 29ppm/26.3ppm 40ppm/31.3ppm 38ppm/28.8ppm 40ppm/26.8ppm

N/A N/A N/A 25ppm/13.1ppm N/A N/A N/A 40ppm/11.9ppm

Cassette and MP slot Cassette and MP slot Cassette and tray (350) Cassette and MP slot Tray (150) Cassette and tray (350) Cassette and tray (350) Cassette and MP slot
(251) (251) (251) (251)

150 120 150 100 100 250 150 125

A4/legal (230gsm) A4/legal (230gsm) A4/legal (199gsm) A4/legal (200gsm) A4/legal (163gsm) A4/legal (220gsm) A4/legal (217gsm) A4/legal (200gsm)

TN2510XXL (5,000) TN2510XXL (5,000) 070H (10,200) 219X (3,200) 135X (2,400) TK-1260 (10,000) MS/MX331 (15,000) 006R04685 (10,500)

N/A N/A N/A 219X cyan, magenta N/A N/A N/A 006R04686 cyan,
and yellow (2,500 006R04687 magenta
each) and 006R04688
yellow (7,000 each)

1.8p (2.1p) 1.8p (2.1p) 1.2p (1.4p) 2p (2.4p) 2.2p (2.6p) 1.1p (1.3p) 1.9p (2.2p) 1.4p (1.7p)

N/A N/A N/A 9p (10.8p) N/A N/A N/A 7.8p (9.3p)

2,500 recommended 3,500 recommended 80,000 max, 4,000 40,000 max, 2,500 20,000 max, 2,000 Not stated 50,000 max, 5,000 125,000 max, 10,000
recommended recommended recommended recommended recommended

N/A 1,200 x 1,200dpi N/A 1,200 x 1,200dpi N/A N/A N/A N/A

N/A 50 sheets N/A 50 sheets N/A N/A N/A N/A

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Android, iOS Android, iOS, scan to Android, iOS, Mopria Android, iOS None Android, iOS, Kyocera AirPrint, Mopria AirPrint, Android,
email/SMB, Sharepoint Cloud Access, Mopria Chrome OS, Mopria,
iOS

Mono LCD 8.8cm colour 5-line mono LCD 10.9cm colour None Backlit mono LCD Backlit mono LCD 10.9cm colour
touchscreen touchscreen touchscreen

None None None USB-A host None USB-A host None USB-A host

10/100 Ethernet USB-A, 10/100 Ethernet USB-A, 1Gb Ethernet USB-A, 1Gb Ethernet USB-A USB-A, 1Gb Ethernet USB-A, 10/100 Ethernet USB-A, 1Gb Ethernet

Wi-Fi 4 Wi-Fi 4 Wi-Fi 4 Wi-Fi 5 Wi-Fi 5 Optional

0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0

2 2 5 8 2 6 5 37

955 948 665 675 647 789 833 580

81
Buyer’s guide: how to buy
the right printer for you
A printer should last you for years, so read this guide to make sure that you won’t pay the
price – literally and figuratively – of making a rushed decision

L
et’s face it, printers and
multifunction peripherals aren’t
the most interesting items of
technology you’ll buy. And we know
it’s tempting to simply buy something
on Black Friday or with a giant 40%
off sign at the supermarket, but we’re
here to say one thing: don’t.
More than almost any other piece
of IT equipment, it pays to make an
informed decision. Speed, quality,
price and running costs can all vary
considerably between models: buy
the wrong device and you could find
yourself paying over the odds, or
even having to buy again.

Get the basics right

As always, the first place to start is
with a good understanding of what
you’ll use it for. If you need scans,
copies or faxes, you’ll need to buy a
multifunction peripheral (MFP). We’d
generally recommend one
anyway for a home or micro
office, but if you only need to ABOVE If your printer will be used in a business
print, a single-function device environment, an MFP is your best bet
might prove better value.
If you’re buying for general By duplex, we simply mean that it
use in the home, look no prints on both sides. This saves paper,
further than an inkjet MFP. but it can also look more professional
These will handle prints, scans if you’re producing reports or
and basic copies, while you can handouts. On an MFP, look for a
pay more to get an automatic duplexing ADF – this lets you make
document feeder (ADF), which double-sided scans, prints, copies and
supports multi-page copies and faxes. The cheapest printers and MFPs
scans. Most home-orientated have only one paper input, which can
devices will make a decent fist be a pain if you often print photos or
of text, graphics and even use headed papers. Devices with two
photos, although you’ll only trays can save a bit of hassle.
enjoy looking at your snaps if
you use coated photo paper. ABOVE Inkjets with focused more on office use. If it’s an Inks, tanks and toner
If you’re buying for business, it’s refillable tanks are the inkjet, it might use pigment inks Conventional wisdom has it that
better to seek out an MFP with an ADF most economical (rather than dye-based inks), which inkjets are best for home printing
and fax modem. While few people still produce better results on plain paper. and lasers for the office, but that’s
use it, fax is still useful in certain It’s also likely to be more durable. been turned on its head somewhat
industries and regions. The presence For office work, the ideal printer is with the arrival of more durable
of fax is also a sign that an MFP is one with automatic duplex printing. inkjets. It’s still true that laser printers
are generally faster, and that they
PC PRO TECHNOLOGY EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2024: BEST PRINTER MANUFACTURER generally produce better black text.
The best colour lasers also produce
Customer Reliability Value inc Print quality Buy again? Overall
high-quality graphics on plain paper
support running costs
much more quickly than most inkjets.
Brother 81% 91% 89% 90% 98% 90% Don’t overlook inkjets for business
Xerox 86% 90% 86% 93% 97% 90% use, however. While lasers do tend to
be robust, it’s a myth that they’re
Epson 80% 88% 85% 88% 93% 87% necessarily cheaper to run. Inkjets
Canon 76% 84% 81% 86% 94% 84% with refillable tanks offer the cheapest
cost per page, and they can go for a
HP 73% 78% 77% 84% 83% 79% similarly long time without needing

82
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Labs Printers

How we test
We put every printer and MFP through a set of comprising magazine pages,
standard tests, designed to replicate real-world presentation slides and a set of ten web
printing. These range from everyday text jobs to pages. It’s a stern challenge, usually
tortuous multi-page graphical prints – if a emerging far more slowly than the
device has strengths and weaknesses, we’ll manufacturer’s stated speed even on a
quickly find them. mono printer, but it probes a device’s
We start by setting up every device, ability across a range of subjects.
connecting it to the internet where supported, On double-sided printers, we also
and downloading any firmware updates we’re duplex the first ten pages of this
offered. It’s increasingly rare to get a CD in the document to calculate a speed in
box, so in most cases we download the full images per minute (ipm). Finally, we
software package from the manufacturer’s measure how long it takes to produce
website, applying any other updates that come a first colour page, again repeating
up. Once set up, we perform any alignment or this test on laser printers once they’ve ABOVE We scan this Kodak reference image to test
nozzle checks if prompted, then print a set of been idle for an hour. every MFP’s scanner quality
documents designed to showcase basic text Our final routine print tests look at photo
and graphical quality. speed and quality. On an inkjet we’ll time how it supports duplex we’ll time a 10-page, 20-side
long it takes to print six 6 x 4in photos on glossy colour copy for good measure.
Print tests paper, without borders where available, and at Next, we’ll note how long it takes to preview
This done, we break out the stopwatch and set the highest possible quality. On a laser we print an A4 page, and to scan it at 150 and 300 dots
about seeing how fast a printer can move. The three A4 pages containing the same images, per inch (dpi). We also scan a 6 x 4in photo at
first test is to time 25 identical pages of black again at the best quality available. We print two 600dpi and 1,200dpi (where available), and
text, recording the first-page out time, and further A4 sheets containing 6 x 4in photos, finally we’ll use a Kodak Q60 colour target
calculating the overall speed in pages per minute again using the best quality settings, and coated to test the scanner’s colour accuracy and
(ppm). On inkjets, we’ll repeat this test in draft or paper on an inkjet. Finally, we time A4, A3 and dynamic range. While we’re working, we
economy mode, and on lasers we’ll repeat it A3+ borderless photos where possible, and measure every printer’s sleep, standby and
after an hour of idling to get a “first page from print a sample black and white image. peak power use, too.
cold” time. On office-focused devices we also You’ll find the results of all our tests either in
print a 50-page text document, which gives Photocopy and scan tests the feature table on p80 or the performance
faster printers a chance to get into their stride. We’re not finished yet with an MFP, on which graphs on p94. And where a printer is
Next it’s time to look at graphics we’ll time single black and colour copies. If particularly quick, slow, good or bad, we’ll
performance, with a 24-page colour document there’s an ADF we’ll also time ten copies, and if always talk about it in our review.

new consumables. Inkjets use how often you’ll need to change

less power, typically peaking its consumables. Many printers in
below 30 watts, compared to this test can go several thousand
several hundred watts for a pages before needing attention,
laser. They’re usually quicker which could save you hassle if
to start printing, too, even if you’re the only person who
a laser might overtake them knows how to fit new toner or
on longer jobs. top up an ink tank.
This brings us to the subject of
Better connected durability. In the feature
It’s important to consider how comparison table on the previous
many people will need access page, we print a line that shows
to your printer or MFP. If it’s how many pages each printer is
only for you, a simple USB designed to print. This may be a
connection will be fine – maximum number per month or a
although USB-only printers recommended number, and
like the HP LaserJet M209d sometimes there’s a lifetime limit.
miss out on cloud-based Also note that a few laser printers
features such as printing include replaceable elements such
from a Google Drive. as drums, so factor that into your
If you’re sharing pricing if you intend to use your
your printer, we strongly printer for the long haul.
recommend either wired or wireless ABOVE A USB port MFPs, also scan to – an inserted thumb Regular readers will also know
networking. With modern routers and means you can print drive. That’s a good way of ensuring that we gather information about how
protocols, the latter is generally from and scan to a confidentiality if you’re printing out satisfied people are with the brands
reliable in homes or offices, but it’s thumb drive something like pay slips, but it’s also a they buy. We print this in our annual
worth checking the signal strength simple way to let office visitors print. Excellence Awards (see table,
where you’re planning to put the opposite, and issue 363, p28). Brother
printer. On Android, you can use Durability has consistently been rated top for
Ubiquiti’s WiFiman, but Apple doesn’t While lasers do tend and reliability reliability, customer support and
allow apps access to this information. to be robust, it’s a If you’re expecting to value for money (which includes
None of the printers in this group
test has a memory card slot, but a few
myth that they’re print in high volumes, or
if you’re buying a printer
running costs), so this should be part
of your buying decision. Our reviews
of them have a USB host port. This necessarily cheaper to go in a colleague’s or on the next pages, however, focus on
allows you to print from – and with to run than inkjets relative’s house, consider the merits of individual products.

83
 Epson EcoTank ET-2865
INKJET PRINTERS

Much to like, from the

refillable ink tanks and thus
low running costs to decent
prints, scans and copies
SCORE
PRICE £194 (£233 inc VAT)
from uk.insight.com

I
f you’ve ever owned an inkjet
you’ve probably found yourself
cursing short-lived cartridges,
and the sheer cost of keeping the
replacements coming. Refillable ink
tank printers such as the Epson
EcoTank ET-2865 and HP Smart Tank
7005 offer a promising answer. verbose – for example, giving you a ABOVE The ET-2865 slower, with even a 1,200dpi capture
Although you’ll spend more to buy the lecture on what Wi-Fi passwords are, comes with a clever completing in just under a minute.
printer, you fill it with bottled ink where you might find yours, and refillable ink system All this would be for nothing if the
without the big markup, letting you what characters it might contain results weren’t any good, but here the
print high volumes without fear of a when you already know all that and ET-2865 begins to be more impressive.
steep cost per page. are impatient just to type it in. It’s a solid plain paper printer,
The ET-2865 arrives This makes it all the more producing reasonable text and colour
with a full set of Epson’s annoying that it doesn’t graphics, although they lacked impact
104 ink bottles. These mention where you compared to the best plain-paper
are rated for up to might find the devices. It’s also a fine, bordering on
4,500 black and printer’s unique excellent photo printer, delivering
7,500 colour password; we extremely detailed black and white
pages, but you’ll had to open a few RECOMMENDED photos in particular. While a little
lose a large flaps before we lacking in detail in the lightest areas,
proportion of got to that. it reproduced very accurate and
the first set to a When it comes convincing skin tones in portrait prints.
one-time priming to print and copy Our test unit had a fault that caused
process. With an speeds, the ET-2865 LEFT Filling the tanks a black band in scans and copies, but
anticipated subsequent can’t compete with is foolproof: you can’t we’re confident this was a one-off
yield of 3,600 black and similarly priced inkjet get it wrong issue. Outside this area, scans were
6,500 colour pages, the MFPs. Colour graphics inched good, if not the sharpest we’ve seen.
supplied ink alone lasts about ten to 15 out at just 2.7ppm. At 8.8ppm, text Mono copies were a touch too dark by
times as long as a typical “high-yield” printing was slow in the default mode, default, and colour copies a little soft.
inkjet cartridge. That makes the but switching to draft almost doubled Like most refillable printers, the
ET-2865 better value than many this to 15.3ppm. Unfortunately, it was ET-2865 really excels when it comes to
cartridge-based multifunctions even very faint, so strictly for draft use running costs. Epson’s 104 inks deliver
before you have to buy any ink. only. We had a much longer wait for BELOW With no a cost per page of only 0.5p, or 0.2p if
The flip side is that ink tank printers photo prints. Our two-page 10 x 8in screen, you’ll see this you’re solely printing in black. That
can be relatively basic, and that’s photo test took an incredible 18 dialog a lot makes for an almost unbeatable cost of
certainly the case with the EcoTank minutes, while each ownership, but there’s a
ET-2865. While it’s a three-in-one 6 x 4in borderless photo caveat: refillable printers
MFP supporting wireless networks, it needed nearly three become better value the
doesn’t support automatic double- minutes to emerge. more you print, and you’d
sided printing, and there’s no display At 15 seconds, mono need to consume most of
for using more advanced features. photocopies weren’t too the bundled ink before
Epson’s EcoTank system has been tardy, but each colour the ET-2865 was a more
around for a while, and it’s essentially copy took 37 seconds. sensible buy than a
foolproof: you simply upend each of Fortunately, there cheap cartridge-based
the bottles onto its associated ink wasn’t so long to wait for alternative. Despite this,
tank. We didn’t get on so well with scans. The ET-2865 could it only has a one-year
the comparatively new Smart Panel capture an A4 document in warranty; if the printer
mobile app, used to configure the 11 seconds, although this fails between the
printer and get it onto your Wi-Fi rose to 25 seconds at a warranty expiring and
network. This is designed to look like more detailed 300dpi. you running out of ink,
a chat session, and it’s unnecessarily Photo scans weren’t much you could be worse off.
JARGON
BUSTER

ADF: automatic document feeder, which sits atop a printer and feeds pages to be copied so you don’t need to put them in manually. All-in-one: another name
for an MFP, so it can print, scan and copy (and sometimes fax). dpi: dots per inch, the resolution at which scanners can capture images

84
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Labs Printers

HP OfficeJet Pro 9135e

INKJET PRINTERS
Another Labs, another
winning office inkjet from
HP. We just wish it would
calm down about cartridges
SCORE
PRICE £161 (£193 inc VAT)
from printerbase.co.uk

H
P’s printer range can be hit and
miss, but the US giant is pretty INKJETS
reliable when it comes to home
office and micro-office inkjets. A case
in point is the OfficeJet Pro 9135e, the
latest mid-range, mid-size inkjet MFP
to waltz across our desks. With a fairly
steep price tag and a big, boxy design,
it isn’t courting impulse home buyers;
this is an office workhorse, with a setup website. Throughout you’re ABOVE Two paper ADF, ten-page copies completed in 50
recommended monthly print volume assailed by data agreements, reminders trays, an ADF and and 74 seconds respectively.
of up to 2,000 pages. that third-party cartridges might not duplex – the 9135e Impressively, the ADF uses two sensors
The strong specification starts with work, and sign-up pages for HP+. excels at office tasks rather than mechanical duplexing,
paper handling. It has two 250-sheet If it’s not a particularly welcoming so a ten-page, 20-side copy was
cassettes, letting you stock up on a full start to life with the 9135e, things completed in just over four minutes.
ream of plain paper, or load quickly get better. This is a There’s not much to complain
headed or specialist media rapid printer, which about when it comes to quality.
alongside plain. delivered our 25-page This MFP produced excellent,
Automatic duplex black text document laser-rivalling black text, but plain
printing is at a laser-rivalling paper graphical prints were less
standard. On top 22.1ppm. It was authoritative than we would expect;
you’ll find a also unusually they were free of obvious banding or
35-page ADF that quick in colour, other inkjet vices, though. Mono
also supports printing our copies were excellent, as was the
duplexing, challenging exposure on colour copies, although
enabling double- 24-page colour these suffered from desaturated
sided scans and graphics test at LEFT HP’s newer colours. Even photos were satisfactory
copies. HP throws 8ppm – right at the touchscreen menus for occasional prints. We’ve complained
in faxing for good top end of what we’d seem less friendly before about HP scanners that seem to
measure. expect from an inkjet. than before digitally sharpen the image, whether
The OfficeJet Pro 9135e While duplex graphics weren’t you want it or not. This issue aside,
connects to either wired or wireless laser-quick, its 3.7 images per minute scan quality was more than good
networks. On its front panel there’s a was again brisk by inkjet standards. enough for any office application.
USB host port for scans to, or prints We still don’t love HP’s scan Fortunately, HP hasn’t dropped the
from, an inserted drive. The final software, which is oversimplified for ball when it comes to ink costs. The
thing of note is HP’s customary our tastes, and which doesn’t have an 9135e comfortably made it through
lipless scanner platen, which makes auto detect feature for the scan area. our tests on its starter cartridges.
it very easy to retrieve documents. Still, the OfficeJet Pro 9135e proved a When they’re empty, high-capacity
We can’t understand why other rapid scanner, completing a preview replacements work out at 2p per black
brands haven’t copied it. scan in only seven seconds – no page or 6p for colour – not the lowest,
We’re glad HP’s rivals are more further scanning is necessary to but acceptable for moderate use. This
relaxed about software and capture an image at resolutions up to is the part where we usually mention
cartridges, though. HP seems 300 dots per inch. This scanner was that you can pay less if you sign up for
hell-bent on its HP Smart app, to the quick in high-resolution scans of a HP’s Instant Ink service, but a price
extent you have to actively seek out 6 x 4in photo, completing a 600dpi increase means the lowest rate per
the conventional PC software capture in seven seconds, and needing page is now 3p; if you mostly print in
package, bringing to mind Arthur only 21 seconds at 1,200dpi. black, buying your own cartridges is
Dent’s struggles to find a planning The 9135e continued to demonstrate likely to work out cheaper.
application. Rather than helpfully its office chops when it came to Overall, aspects of using and
guiding you through the cartridge photocopying. It completed a one-page owning the OfficeJet Pro 9135e could
installation, the 10.9cm colour mono copy in eight seconds and a be annoying. Look beyond them, and
touchscreen curtly directs you to the colour copy in 11 seconds. Using the it’s an excellent device.
JARGON
BUSTER

Duplex: double-sided printouts; automatic duplex means you don’t need to turn over the pages yourself. Duty cycle: the maximum number of pages that a
printer is designed to cope with in a given amount of time, usually a month, without affecting wear and tear.

85
 Canon Pixma TR7650
control panel fouls the paper output
INKJET PRINTERS

unless you pull it almost fully

Canon’s Pixma TR7650 isn’t upwards and flat. The touchscreen is

so heavily recessed that it can be
sure whether it belongs in tricky to interact near its edges.
And finally, while it’s great that this
the home or an office. multifunction can do a multi-page,
double-sided copy, you need to
Luckily, it will be fine in either enable duplex printing and scanning
separately, rather than having one
simple “2-2” option.
SCORE Fortunately, there’s nothing much
PRICE £151 (£181 inc VAT) to criticise about the quality of the
from printerbase.co.uk from the cloud or scanning to it. ABOVE The Pixma results. The TR7650 has an excellent
Despite its generous specifications, TR7650 is a compact scanner, delivering sharp images

C
it’s not overly big, especially if you inkjet MFP that will with great colour accuracy and an
anon’s Pixma TR7650 is don’t often use its rear paper feed, suit a home or office impressive dynamic range. It’s also a
something of an oddity. It’s which can fold away entirely. good copier, particularly for black-
clearly geared up for a home The Pixma TR7650’s five ink only prints. With four dye-based
office, with business-like features cartridges aren’t keyed to prevent inks, it’s a capable photo printer,
such as a 20-sheet ADF, two paper you putting them in the wrong slot, BELOW You can print producing sharp snaps with a slight
trays, automatic duplex (double- although the printer will only prime from the cloud tendency towards oversaturation.
sided) printing and a fax modem. itself once they’re all in the And with a large pigment
At the same time, it’s equipped with right place. While the black ink cartridge, it also
five individual ink cartridges, which physical design of Canon’s produces impressive text.
together help it excel on plain paper, single-ink cartridges hasn’t It’s a shame, then, that
while still delivering good photos changed significantly in this isn’t an especially cheap
and graphics. years, for some reason this device, and it’s also pricey to
Whatever you want it for, the time they were more prone run. At 2.9p per page, black
TR7560 is well equipped for the job. to dripping on our hands prints in particular aren’t
It supports wireless networking, so and desktop. competitive, even for an
you can share it among colleagues or We found a few other inkjet. This isn’t a bad
family members. It’s also controlled minor irritations, too. The device for the home, but for
by a large colour touchscreen, default control beep is a home office, HP’s OfficeJet
offering features such as printing needlessly loud, and the Pro 9135e is much better.

Epson WorkForce Pro

suited to plain paper printing, the
WF-C4310DW isn’t really a photo

WF-C4310DW printer, but it will give it a go. It took

more than eight minutes to print

A single-function inkjet that two 10 x 8in photos on A4 paper,

and needed more than 15 minutes
doesn’t quite tick all the for six borderless, postcard-sized
photos. Pigment inks can’t fully
boxes, so we’d choose one penetrate glossy photo papers, so
while the results had good colour
of its rivals instead accuracy, they had a characteristic
semi-matte finish.
a decent 250-sheet input cassette, and ABOVE Epson’s Unfortunately, this printer didn’t
SCORE is even rated for a one-off monthly WF-C4310DW is an excel on plain paper, either. Its black
PRICE £96 (£115 inc VAT) duty cycle of 33,000 pages. It’s inkjet printer aimed text wasn’t as dark as the best, and
from printerland.co.uk relatively light and compact, too. at micro offices colour graphics were a little on the
Start printing and the WorkForce faint side with some banding. There

N
Pro WF-C4310DW is quick to impress. were even a couple of subtle ink
ot everyone needs a It churned out our 25-page mono text smears on our presentation slides.
multifunction peripheral: test at a rapid 19.7ppm – about the Just as importantly, the
Epson’s WorkForce Pro same rate as an entry-level laser. WF-C4310DW isn’t especially cheap
WF-C4310DW focuses on printing. Predictably for an inkjet, to run. Even sticking to large
It’s a cartridge-based device, offering colour graphics were much cartridges, you’ll pay around
a cheaper alternative to refillable slower, but at 5.4ppm they 1.7p per black page, and a
single-functions such as Canon’s still compared well to others whopping 11.7p in colour.
Maxify GX5550 (see issue 353, p89). in this class. It reached a That’s at odds with this
Although it doesn’t have much in the creditable three images per printer’s decent paper
way of bells and whistles, it does minute when duplex capacity, speed and
support automatic double-sided printing colour graphics – comparatively high duty
(duplex) printing, along with wired not bad for an inkjet. cycle, and makes it suitable
and wireless networking. As it’s equipped with only for those who mainly
Superficially, then, this printer pigment-based inks best print black pages. If you
has everything the home office might print lots of colour, or in
need if you’re just looking for a RIGHT There are few bells and higher volumes, consider
single-function device. It comes with whistles, but it can be networked the Maxify GX5550 instead.

86
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Labs Printers

Epson WorkForce decent, although black-only copies

INKJET PRINTERS
were a shade too dark.

WF-2960DWF Unfortunately, things started to

come undone when the supplied ink

This cheap multifunction ran out during our ten-page colour

copying job, by which point this MFP
peripheral has its moments, had printed only about 100 pages,
with roughly 35 of them in colour.
but despite the low price it’s That suggests a shockingly low
amount of starter ink, which might
not great value overall go some way to explaining this
printer’s “bargain” price.
Equipped with replacements, we
SCORE completed our tests with slightly
PRICE £67 (£80 inc VAT) underwhelming results. Photo prints
from printerland.co.uk were good, save for a lack of contrast
among the darkest shades. Duplex

A
lowered to draft, it even hit an ABOVE Epson’s graphics were too faint, the result of
t first glance, Epson’s impressive 18.8ppm. Colour graphics WF-2960DWF isn’t the printer using less ink to prevent
Workforce WF-2960DWF printed at a competitive 4.9ppm, and the bargain it seems smearing. Worst of all was normal
looks like great value. It’s an a duplex colour job progressed at quality black text that looked so faint
inkjet multifunction peripheral three images per minute – not as slow we initially mistook it for draft.
offering prints, scans, copies and fax, as it sounds. We’d be happy to overlook
and all for £80. It’s well specified, As we’d expect from Epson, much of this at this price if
too, with a colour touchscreen, this MFP has a good scanner. comparatively high ink prices
automatic duplex printing and a While a touch soft when didn’t put the boot in. Stick to
30-sheet ADF to help make light capturing photos, it excelled the XL replacements and you’ll
work of multi-page scans, copies and with great colour reproduction pay around 14.4p for each
faxes. It supports both wired and and a wide dynamic range, full-colour page, of which the
wireless networks, too. helping preserve detail from black component works out at
So it seems there’s not much to among the lightest and darkest 3.6p. That’s too much. Unless
count against it. The WF-2960DWF is shades. Photocopies were also you barely ever print, pay the
fairly rapid for the price, managing to extra for a more highly
produce our 25-page text test at RIGHT You’ll find yourself checking the specified rival such as the
14ppm. With the print quality ink supply levels regularly on this printer HP OfficeJet Pro 9135e.

HP Smart Tank 7005

Software setup comes courtesy of
the HP Smart app, which can be

A great-value refillable frustratingly slow. If you want a

full PC driver set, you’ll need to
multifunction peripheral search for HP Easy Start.
This is a decently brisk text
that’s let down by its poor printer, serving up 13 pages of black
text per minute. It’s more ponderous
scan quality over graphics, reaching 3.6ppm, or
2.2 images per minute when
duplexing. Scans weren’t especially
SCORE snappy at higher resolutions, with
PRICE £183 (£220 inc VAT) our 1,200dpi postcard photo needing
from amazon.co.uk two-and-a-half minutes. At 18 seconds
in black and 27 seconds in colour,

H
photocopies were leisurely, too.
P’s Smart Tank 7005 is a home The Smart Tank 7005’s print
office MFP with refillable ink some competitors, the 7005 is ABOVE This is a quality was a mixed bag, ranging from
tanks rather than cartridges. pre-charged with ink, so you straightforward, excellent black text to photos with an
Typically for an ink tank printer, it’s shouldn’t lose many pages to boxy-looking MFP orangey bias. Colour graphics were
basic despite its high price. There’s no the initial priming of the system. fairly good, as were photocopies.
screen here, but there is a single-line When the supplied ink runs out, What a shame, then, that this MFP’s
mono display and automatic double- you’ll pay only 0.1p per black page scans were disappointing. Photos
sided printing, which gives it an and 0.3p for colour – magnificent. showed signs of unwanted digital
advantage over Epson’s pricier Here, there’s a slightly more sharpening, while our
EcoTank ET-2865. This printer also involved setup than with the lower-resolution document
has a three-year warranty, although ET-2865. You’ll need to fit the scans bore what looked like
you need to register to activate it. print heads and top up the compression artefacts.
Like other refillable printers, the tanks with ink, remembering That’s not something we’ve
high initial cost is offset by extremely that HP’s system doesn’t seen before, and it didn’t
cheap ink. The Smart Tank 7005 prevent you accidentally help the legibility of smaller
arrives with two black bottles and a mixing up the colours. fonts. Although this is a
full set of colour inks that should last decent MFP overall, its good
for around 8,000 colour pages, or a RIGHT We love the lipless scanner value doesn’t fully make up
mighty 12,000 black prints. Unlike platen, less so the unkeyed colour tanks for its shortcomings.

87
 Canon i-Sensys
LASER PRINTERS

LBP243dw
Fast, high-quality prints and
low running costs, this is
everything you’d want from
a mono laser printer
SCORE
PRICE £155 (£186 inc VAT)
from printerbase.co.uk

I
t’s hard to get excited about a
mono laser printer, but Canon’s
i-Sensys LBP243dw gives you
more reason than most. Inside its
compact and unremarkable shell
lurks a truly capable printer that’s
extremely well suited to busy small
and micro businesses.
For the money, the LBP243dw of the printer when inserted. Happily, ABOVE It’s aimed at 14.6 images per minute – the second
offers a reasonable specification. It Canon has fitted a flap to prevent the businesses, but the fastest in this group.
combines a 250-sheet cassette with a top sheet being exposed to dust. LBP243dw isn’t too big Most people buy mono laser
100-page multipurpose (MP) feed, On the flip side, this might be the for a small home office printers for fast and reliable text, and
making it more flexible than cheaper only printer we’ve ever seen where the good news is that the i-Sensys
laser printers with only a single-sheet there’s no mark to show you how to LBP243dw doesn’t disappoint. It
MP slot. Duplex printing is orientate paper in the main produced exceptionally good black
standard, as is support for tray – a pain if you’re text, with extremely fine character
Wi-Fi networks. It’s reusing paper already outlines filled with bold black.
also good to see a printed on one side. Few people expect great graphics
gigabit Ethernet For reference, the from a laser, but here the LBP243dw is
port, although for LBP243dw prints a welcome surprise. It’s one of the best
printers we’re not on the underside mono lasers we’ve tested for graphics
convinced it offers of paper in quality, with no banding and barely
much advantage the cassette. visible dither patterns (used to create
over Fast Ethernet You’re welcome. LASERS different shades). With excellent
(100Mbits/sec). Mono laser shading control and accurate exposure,
This printer printers are usually photos and business graphics were far
doesn’t have the the fastest we test, LEFT The printer’s better than the average.
colour touchscreen and the LBP243dw was controls are very There’s a final – and important –
you’ll find on more particularly keen to get clear and easy to use piece of good news. This printer
expensive rivals, but its going. It could deliver a first arrives with only a 1,500-page starter
five-line mono display makes page of text in seven seconds, needing toner, but you can replace it with a
control easier than on more only one extra second when starting high-capacity cartridge that’s good
rudimentary devices. In particular, up from cold. It hit an impressive for 10,200 pages. It’s the only
it’s comparatively easy to enter a 32.6ppm over our 25-page text test, consumable, combining drum and
wireless password, which can be a which includes the time taken to toner, which means you get an
nightmare on text-only systems. It’s a spool the job. We retested this printer impressively long service interval for
shame this isn’t paired with a USB with a 50-page document, over which this class. Even better, it works out at a
host port, but perhaps not surprising its speed edged up to 33ppm – not far very reasonable 1.2p per page, making
at this price. Canon doesn’t sell much short of its rated 36ppm speed. this a cheap laser to run.
in the way of upgrades for the The i-Sensys LBP243dw wasn’t Canon says this printer has a
LBP243dw, but you can increase its quite so impressive when faced with 80,000-page lifetime duty cycle, with
paper capacity to 900 sheets with an our complex graphics test, which it a recommended monthly volume of
optional 550-sheet cassette. completed at a best rate of 21.5ppm. up to 4,000 pages. That makes it well
This is one of the few printers to still Our first attempt at this job was suited to a busy home office. Adding
arrive with a driver disc in the box, interrupted by a brief housekeeping the optional 500-page tray would help
although it’s also easy to find Canon’s pause, which lowered this to 20ppm. it grow with an expanding small
Master Setup program online. You’ll Despite not being especially quick on business. It’s certainly a printer you’ll
need to extend the paper cassette the graphical pages we use for our want to keep, combining fast text,
before it accepts A4 paper, after which test, this was a very competitive excellent print quality and low print
you’ll find it juts slightly from the rear printer when duplexing, managing costs in a near perfect package.
JARGON
BUSTER

ipm: images per minute, a measure of speed that includes text, graphics and images that we use to compare duplex printout speeds. MFP: multifunction
peripheral, so will always include a scanner as well as a printer (so they can also photocopy). Some MFPs also include a fax. ppm: pages per minute.

88
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Labs Printers

Kyocera Ecosys

LASER PRINTERS
PA4000wx
A fast mono laser printer
combining decent quality
with impressively low
running costs
SCORE
PRICE £275 (£330 inc VAT)
from printerbase.co.uk
RECOMMENDED

K
yocera’s Ecosys PA4000wx is
primarily aimed at small
workgroups and offices rather
than home users, but it’s compact
enough to fit in most home and micro
business scenarios. It’s a single-
function mono laser printer with high
specifications, not least of which is a
claimed 40ppm engine speed.
As you can probably guess, the
“W” in this printer’s name confirms it failed when we attempted the install ABOVE Kyocera’s waking up from cold. The PA4000wx
has wireless networking. It supports on our host PC, however. We couldn’t printers are reached a brisk 31.3ppm over 25 pages
standards up to 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5), get to the root of the problem, but we unapologetically of text. Unusually, at 32ppm it was
which should ensure fast and installed and used the PCL business-focused slightly faster on our challenging
robust connections, but mini driver without graphics test. It also managed the
you can use the gigabit further issue. fastest duplex performance in this
Ethernet port if you With no drum or group of printers, reaching 15.4
prefer. In the other consumables, images per minute over ten sides.
base you’ll find a this printer’s We give faster printers the chance
250-sheet input service intervals to stretch their legs over a longer
cassette, while are long. The 50-page print job, on which the time
its front panel PA4000wx taken to spool the job has less of a
has a 100-page arrives with a bearing. On this the PA4000wx hit
multipurpose feed; decent 3,600-page 36.6ppm, close to its stated maximum.
a boon if you often starter toner, but its In the past we’ve often been
print on headed replacement is rated LEFT The basic display disappointed by a slight softness to
paper or special media. for 10,000 pages, which is enough to help you prints from Kyocera printers.
Automatic double-sided might equate to a year or use the USB host port Happily, the PA4000wx didn’t have
printing is available when you more of moderate use. If you’re this issue, producing uniformly dark
want it, and there’s a USB host port buying for business, this could make text with crisp outlines. Its graphical
for walk-up prints. this printer a low-maintenance prints were quite good, too,
Manufacturers talk a lot of rot about device for home workers. demonstrating better shade control
sustainability, but Kyocera’s Ecosys In the office, the PA4000wx can and less obvious dithering than most.
range has more credibility than most. cope with a monthly workout of Some photos showed banding, and
The PA4000wx has a ceramic drum 2,000 pages or an 80,000-page many were a shade too dark, but
that, in normal use, is expected to last maximum. Kyocera states a robust overall this printer did a good job by
the lifetime of the printer. That cuts expected life of 200,000 pages, or five mono laser standards.
down on consumables, and hence years’ use. Although the standard There’s a final reason to like the
waste. It’s also boxed using cardboard guarantee period is two years, the Ecosys PA4000wx. Its 10,000-page
padding, so it’s a shame to find the drum itself is covered for three. If toner is priced at only 1.1p per page,
printer itself in a big plastic bag. your printing needs do grow, you giving it competitive print costs,
There’s not much other packaging to can expand this printer with up to especially when compared to
remove; you just need to pull off some another two 250-sheet paper feeders, similarly priced colour devices.
tape and lock the toner in place. for an 850-sheet total. Overall, it’s a very capable small
We haven’t previously had any That’s all very promising, so it’s a business printer, combining high
problems with Kyocera’s software, relief to discover that this is a good speeds with good quality and low
but in this test the setup program printer in practice. It’s quick off the running costs. We would have given
wasn’t able to install all the available mark, delivering a first page of text it a fifth star if Canon’s i-Sensys
drivers in the virtual machine we use just 13 seconds after we clicked Print. LBP243dw didn’t cost quite a bit less
for testing. Only one of the drivers It only needed a further second when and run it very close in most regards.
JARGON
BUSTER

Multipurpose feed: a tray that allows different sizes and types of paper/media to be fed in, as opposed to standard A3 or A4 paper in the main tray(s).
Platen: the scanning surface of a scanner. TWAIN: technology without an interesting name (yes, really). A protocol that helps apps control scanners.

89
 Brother HL-L2865DW
also managed a rapid 24.8ppm
performance when churning out
LASER PRINTERS

A great mono laser if detailed graphical prints.

The HL-L2865DW has a claimed
you churn out text, but maximum resolution of 1,200dpi,
but we weren’t so sure. It’s typical
it’s let down by poor for lasers to print at half the speed
when you double the print detail, but
graphical prints this one chucked out two 10 x 8in
prints in 26 seconds and six
postcard-sized photos on three A4
SCORE sheets in 30 seconds.
PRICE £94 (£113 inc VAT) Regardless, this isn’t a great
from printerland.co.uk choice if you plan to print lots of
graphics. Our test results were

F
uniformly too dark, with obvious
or all the appeal of the best need the printer’s password to ABOVE Brother’s banding running across the page.
inkjets, it’s hard to top a update its firmware. Annoyingly, HL-L2865DW isn’t a The printer didn’t show great shade
straightforward mono laser this is printed on the back panel and bad choice for text control, either, with smooth
printer if you plan to print a lot of contains the full range of mixed-case printing progressions rendered in distinct
text. Brother’s HL-L2865DW is letters and other characters. steps. Graphics aren’t usually a mono
an entry-level option, but it Otherwise, the HL-L2865DW is laser’s forte, but this one was
still offers a few useful features, easy to use. It’s not the especially lacking.
including wired and wireless quickest printer to Happily, the
networking, as well as automatic spring into action, HL-L2865DW printed
duplex printing as standard. needing 15 seconds to excellent text. It has
This printer has a 250-sheet print a first page, or 22 reasonable running costs
paper cassette, with a single-sheet seconds when doing so for this class, with each
bypass slot – useful if you want to from a cold start. It’s fast page coming in at 1.8p.
start a job on headed paper. There’s once up and running, That makes it a decent
also a basic mono LCD screen, though, hitting 26.8ppm choice if you print a
which makes it fiddly – but not over 25 pages of text. It reasonable amount of
unreasonably so – to enter a Wi-Fi good-quality text. But if
password manually. While it’s easy RIGHT The 250-sheet paper tray you want good graphics,
to set up Brother’s software, you’ll has a single-sheet bypass slot look elsewhere.

Brother MFC-L2980DW
MFC-L2980DW’s scanner. It could
return a preview image in 13 seconds,

An MFP version of Brother’s and needed a mere 15 seconds to

capture an A4 sheet at up to 300dpi.
HL-L2865DW laser printer It only became slow at 1,200dpi,
completing a 6 x 4in photo scan in 74
above. We’re not sure it’s seconds. The results weren’t the
sharpest we’ve seen, but they were
worth the premium otherwise well exposed across all but
the very darkest shades.
This MFP’s ADF supports duplex
SCORE scanning in a single pass, paving
PRICE £268 (£322 inc VAT) the way for fast two-sided scans
from printerland.co.uk and copies. We timed a single black
page at eight seconds, with a single-

B
sided ten-page scan needing 34
rother’s MFC-L2980DW is seconds. A double-sided 10-page,
a compact mono laser quality was near-identical, too: this ABOVE Only its 20-side copy completed in a
multifunction peripheral printer produced wonderful black mother could love this minute and a half. Unfortunately,
aimed at small and home offices. text but, while graphics suffered MFP’s top-heavy looks photocopies were all too dark, with
Its top-heavy design pairs a laser slightly less from banding, they were subtleties of the original source
printer with an A4 scanner and still too dark. often lost in translation.
ADF. Both the printer and scanner The similarity at the core of this The MFC-L2980DW uses the same
support duplexing, so you can make MFP throws its price into sharp relief. consumables and has identical
double-sided prints, scans, copies You’re paying almost three running costs to its single-
and faxes. Everything’s controlled times as much to add scan, function sibling, but they
via an 8.8cm colour touchscreen, copy and fax functionality, so become less competitive
although there’s no USB host port you’d want the extra when the device itself isn’t as
for walk-up prints and scans. functions to be worth having. affordable. While the
This MFP’s printer is essentially We’re not sure that they are. MFC-L2980DW is fine if you’ll
identical to the Brother HL-L2865DW. At least there’s not mostly work with text
Unsurprisingly, then, its print speed much wrong with the documents, it’s not a great
results were almost the same, save choice for graphical prints or
for slightly faster duplexing, at 11.5 RIGHT The large touchscreen helps copies, and will get expensive
images per minute. The output make this an easy MFP to use to run if heavily used.

90
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Labs Printers

HP Color LaserJet Pro – both some way short of the stated

25ppm engine speed.

LASER PRINTERS
MFP 3302fdw It’s a faster copier, completing a
single mono page in ten seconds and

HP’s MFP 3302fdw produces colour in 14 seconds, and taking 41 and

76 seconds over the equivalent
fine prints, scans and ten-page copies. It finished a 20-side,
ten-page colour copy in a reasonable
copies, but it’s a little slow 98 seconds. Scans were very brisk up
to a detailed 600dpi, but our 1,200dpi
and expensive to run postcard photo scan needed 70 seconds.
We were delighted with this
printer’s excellent text and near-
SCORE flawless colour graphics. Photos were
PRICE £292 (£350 inc VAT) often excellent, too, although some
from printerbase.co.uk were spoiled by an overly blue colour
bias. Mono copy quality was brilliant,

H
via gigabit Ethernet or 802.11ac Wi-Fi ABOVE This is a while colour copies were well exposed
P’s Color LaserJet Pro MFP 5, and you even get a three-year surprisingly compact if a little desaturated. Scans were fine
3302fdw narrowly wins the exchange warranty provided you MFP given everything for office work, although photo scans
longest printer name award remember to register. it packs in showed signs of digital sharpening.
for this Labs, but in the flesh it’s The MFP 3302fdw isn’t in much of So far, so good, but the MFP
surprisingly compact for a colour a hurry when it comes to printing. 3302fdw was let down by an at-times
laser MFP. It takes up barely any It needed around 20 seconds clunky user experience. Its
more desk space than the OfficeJet to dispense the first page of print driver was often slow to
Pro 9135e, its inkjet sibling, and black text or colour graphics respond, and HP’s new
is only slightly taller thanks to a and – unusually for HP – an touchscreen menu is a step
thicker, 50-sheet ADF on top. additional six to 12 seconds backwards. It’s also a bit
This is an impressively specified when waking up from cold. expensive to run, with each
multifunction for the price. Both its It went on to reach 18.5ppm black page weighing in at 2p.
printer and ADF support duplex when printing text, and That, along with relaxed print
operation, so you can make 13.1ppm on colour graphics speeds, is enough to take
multi-page, double-sided prints, some of the shine off, but this
scans, copies or faxes without RIGHT You’ll be replacing the toner is still a strong multifunction
lifting a finger. You can connect it more than you would on other lasers peripheral overall.

HP LaserJet M209d
result given our test includes the time
taken to spool the print job itself.

The LaserJet M209d is Graphical prints were slower,

with the printer reaching only
about as basic as mono 18.5ppm on our challenging test.
We use the same document for our
printers get – and there’s ten-side duplex test, on which the
M209d managed a fair 9.4 images
no “but” to soften the blow per minute.
As you’d hope, the LaserJet M209d
produced strong text with crisp
SCORE outlines, but its graphical output
PRICE £100 (£120 inc VAT) from hp.co.uk was very disappointing. Our black
and white photo emerged from the

I
printer much too dark, and all photos
t’s rare in 2025 to find a printer were somewhat too dingy. Most
without wireless networking, graphics looked oddly enhanced, as
and it’s even more surprising though the printer had tried to boost
to find a business device with no 15cm from the front, so it’s easy to ABOVE The M209d is their contrast, leaving them looking
networking at all. HP’s LaserJet find room for it on a desk. This is the most compact like a cartoonish version of the
M209d instead concentrates on helped by input and output trays that printer in our group original. This was most noticeable
delivering speedy mono output – up are both easily reached from the test this month on a female portrait, where the
to a stated 29ppm – with automatic front, so you could put it subject’s features were
duplex printing, and literally no below an overhanging shelf. clownishly exaggerated as
other notable features. The M209d is as rapid as though by stage makeup.
The printer connects to a single you’d hope when printing We’ve got nothing
computer via USB. You could use text. Regardless of when it against basic printers, but
Windows printer sharing, or some had last been used, it could it’s hard to make the case
home routers or network-attached wake up and spit out a first for the M209d given that it’s
storage (NAS) drives to share it page within seven seconds. not brilliant, and also not
among many people, but the printer It went on to hit 26.3ppm especially cheap to run at
is designed for a single user who over 25 pages – an impressive 2.2p per page. Canon’s
wants to print a lot of text. i-Sensys LBP243dw costs
It’s a compact device despite a RIGHT Features are about as basic as about 50% more to buy, but
paper input that sticks out about you can possibly get it’s in another league.

91
 Labs Printers @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO

Lexmark MS331dn
We quickly discovered that the
M331dn is rapid when printing text.
LASER PRINTERS

Lexmark’s compact It delivered a first page in 12 seconds,

before going on to deliver a 28.8ppm
mono laser is a decent performance over our standard
25-page document. We tried it on
all-rounder, but it’s not a 50-page document, expecting a
faster time, but here the slight curl
up there with the best to printed pages made the printer
think its 150-sheet output bin was
full after fewer than 30 pages. We had
SCORE to empty it twice to complete the job.
PRICE £135 (£162 inc VAT) At just 11.9ppm on our demanding
from printerbase.co.uk graphical test, this printer struggled
to keep up the pace when printing a

I
mix of web, magazine pages and
f you want a small mono laser for presentation slides.
your office, Lexmark’s MS331dn That’s a shame, as the MS331dn
looks like a fine candidate. With a produced good-quality prints all
38ppm engine, it promises a healthy The MS331dn is well specified for ABOVE The MS331dn’s round, despite a fair deal of banding
turn of speed, particularly given it’s the price. It combines a 250-sheet business-like looks are on photos. Graphics were particularly
affordable at well under £150. input cassette with a 100-sheet improved by the paper strong, with subtle shade control
If you’re au fait with printer multipurpose tray. Like many American tray’s subtle swoop reproducing a lot of detail.
naming conventions, you’ll know printers, you’ll need to extend its main Ultimately, this is a decent printer.
that the “D” in this model means it paper tray to load A4 paper, which is However, despite the availability of a
has automatic duplex printing. The longer than the Letter huge 15,000-page toner,
“N” reveals there’s also a network format used in the US. This it’s considerably more
port, although this model doesn’t leaves the back of the tray expensive to run than the
support Wi-Fi networks – you’ll sticking out of the printer’s otherwise similar and
need the MS331dw for that, which rear, and unfortunately Labs-winning Canon
costs about another £35. Wired there’s no cover to prevent i-Sensys LBP243dw.
networking is good enough for most it attracting dust. That printer offers even
offices, although having Wi-Fi leaves faster speeds and better
you with more flexibility in where RIGHT The small display is fine for print quality, so it’s the
you put a printer. everyday printer admin better buy overall.

Xerox C410
ill-advised repeated tap resulted in
us accidentally selecting the Finnish

The competent C410 is language, which was quite a

päänsärky to undo.
a return to form from Like many other US printers, this
one is designed for Letter paper,
Xerox but falls short of the which is shorter than A4. Not only
must you extend its main paper tray,
award-winners’ podium which pokes uncovered from the rear,
you need to slide the stop backwards
in the paper output tray – miss that
SCORE and things quickly get very untidy.
PRICE £343 (£412 inc VAT) This was a reasonably quick text
from printerbase.co.uk printer, reaching 26.8ppm on our
standard 25-page test, and 28ppm

W
over 50 pages. It reached only 11.9ppm
e’ve reviewed a couple of on our challenging colour graphics
disappointing small office test, though, with all these results
printers from Xerox in a 250-sheet paper cassette is almost ABOVE The C410 is a falling some way short of the claimed
recent years, a stark contrast with its standard issue at this price, it’s a shame little bigger than most 40ppm. Text print quality was good,
previous track record of excellence. to see a single-page multipurpose slot entry-level colour but graphics and photos suffered from
We were anxious to see if the C410 rather than a more versatile tray. laser printers a warm, brick-coloured bias most
would represent a return to form. This printer is controlled with a notable on a brown presentation slide
It’s a single-function colour laser large colour touchscreen, which and on skin tones, where
aimed at busy small offices or helps with everyday admin portrait sitters were given a
workgroups. While it’s a larger than functions. It’s also a boon if peachy workover.
rivals this month, it should squeeze you’re using the front panel USB The relaxed performance
into most home and micro offices. host port, which supports and underwhelming graphics
This printer is rated at 40ppm in walk-up printing from an are a shame, because the C410
black or colour, with a 1,200dpi inserted drive. Unfortunately, it has reasonable running costs of
maximum resolution. It’s equipped was a little slow to respond 1.4p per black page and 7.8p for
with automatic double-sided printing during the initial setup: an colour. This makes it hard to
and a gigabit Ethernet port, but no recommend when rivals such as
wireless network interface in the RIGHT Features include automatic HP’s Color LaserJet Pro MFP
“DN” specification tested here. While duplex printing and a 1GbE port 3302fdw do more for less.

92
 Print speed tests Inkjet printer Laser printer

Text speed (normal, ppm) Graphics speed (colour, ppm) Two-sided printing (colour, ipm)
CanonCanon
i-Sensys
i-Sensys
LBP243dw
LBP243dw 32.632.6 Kyocera Kyocera
PA4000wx PA4000wx 32 32 Kyocera Kyocera
PA4000wx PA4000wx 15.4
Canon i-Sensys
Canon i-SensysCanon i-Sensys
32.6 32.6 31.3 32.6
31.3 Kyocera PA4000wx
Kyocera PA4000wx Recommended
Kyocera PA4000wx 32 32 32 Kyocera PA4000wx Recommended
Kyocera PA4000wx CanonPA4000wx
Kyocera Canon
i-Sensys
i-Sensys 15.4 15.4 15.4
32 24.8 24.8 323232 Kyocera PA4000wx 15.4 14.6 14
Canon Canon
i-Sensys
i-Sensys
32.6 32.6 32.6 32.6 Kyocera PA4000wx 15.4
LBP243dw
Canon Kyocera
Canon
i-Sensys Kyocera
PA4000wx
LBP243dw
i-Sensys
CanonPA4000wx
LBP243dw
i-Sensys Brother Brother
Kyocera HL-L2865DW
Kyocera HL-L2865DW
PA4000wx PA4000wx Kyocera Kyocera
PA4000wx PA4000wx
LBP243dw
LBP243dw LBP243dw LBP243dw
LBP243dw 32.6 Kyocera PA4000wxKyocera PA4000wx 32 Kyocera PA4000wx
Canon i-Sensys
KyoceraLBP243dw
Canon i-Sensys
LBP243dw
PA4000wx
Canon i-Sensys
15.4 15.4
cera PA4000wx
Kyocera PA4000wx
Kyocera PA4000wx Recommended31.3 31.3 31.3 Brother HL-L2865DW
Brother HL-L2865DW Brother
Brother HL-L2865DW Brother 24.8 24.8 24.8 Canon Brother
Canon
i-Sensys Brother
i-Sensys 14.6 14.6 14.6
Lexmark
Kyocera Lexmark
MS331dn
Kyocera
Kyocera PA4000wx
cera PA4000wx
PA4000wx MS331dn
PA4000wx
Kyocera PA4000wx 31.3 28.8
31.3 28.8
31.3 31.3
31.3 Brother HL-L2865DW
Brother
Brother HL-L2865DW
Brother
HL-L2865DW
MFC-L2980DWHL-L2865DW
MFC-L2980DW
Brother HL-L2865DW 24.8 24.8 24.8 24.8
24.8
LBP243dw
Canon Canon
i-Sensys LBP243dw
i-Sensys Canon LBP243dw
MFC-L2980DW i-Sensys
MFC-L2980DW
LBP243dw LBP243dw 14.6 11.5
14.6 11.5 14.6
14.614
Brother LBP243dw
LBP243dw Brother LBP243dw Brother
Brother Brother Brother
xmark MS331dn
Lexmark MS331dn
Brother
Lexmark MS331dn
Brother
HL-L2865DW
Lexmark HL-L2865DW
Lexmark
MS331dn MS331dn 28.8 28.826.8 28.8
26.8
28.8 28.8 MFC-L2980DW MFC-L2980DW
Brother
CanonCanon
Brother
i-Sensys
Brother
MFC-L2980DW
i-Sensys
Brother
Brother
24.8 24.821.524.8
24.8
21.524.8 MFC-L2980DW MFC-L2980DW
Brother Brother
Brother
MFC-L2980DW
Brother
Brother HL-L2865DW
Brother
HL-L2865DW
Brother 11.5 11.5 11.511.1
11.1
11.5 11.5
Lexmark MS331dn
exmark MS331dn Lexmark MS331dn 28.8 28.8 28.8 MFC-L2980DW MFC-L2980DW
LBP243dw
MFC-L2980DW LBP243dw
MFC-L2980DW
MFC-L2980DW 24.8 24.8 24.8 MFC-L2980DW MFC-L2980DW
MFC-L2980DW
MFC-L2980DW
MFC-L2980DW 11.5 11.5 11.5
Canon i-SensysCanon i-Sensys Canon i-Sensys
er HL-L2865DW
Brother HL-L2865DW
BrotherBrother
HL-L2865DW
Brother 26.8 26.8 26.8 CanonCanon
i-Sensys i-Sensys 21.5 21.518.521.5
21.5
18.5 Brother HL-L2865DW
Brother HL-L2865DW
Brother HL-L2865DW 11.1 11.1 9.4 9.411.1 11.1
26.8 26.8 26.826.8 26.8 21.5 11.1
BrotherBrother
HL-L2865DW
HL-L2865DW LBP243dw
Canon Canon
i-Sensys LBP243dw
HPi-Sensys
LaserJet
HPCanon LBP243dw
LaserJet
M209d M209d
i-Sensys HP LaserJet
Brother HP LaserJet
Brother M209d
HL-L2865DW M209d
HL-L2865DW
MFC-L2980DW
Brother HL-L2865DW
her HL-L2865DW Brother MFC-L2980DW
HL-L2865DW LBP243dw LBP243dw 21.5 21.5 21.5 Brother Brother
HL-L2865DW HL-L2865DW
Brother HL-L2865DW 11.1 11.1 11.1
LBP243dw LBP243dw LBP243dw
Brother Brother Brother
26.8 26.8 26.8 26.8 HP LaserJet M209d
HP LaserJet M209d HP LJ HP
HP LaserJet Pro 18.5
LJ Pro
M209d 18.5
13.1 13.1 18.5 HP LaserJet M209d
HP LaserJet M209d
HP LaserJet M209d 9.4 9.4 9.4
9.4 8.6 8.6
BrotherBrother
26.8 26.8 26.8 26.8 18.5 18.5 9.4 9.4
MFC-L2980DW MFC-L2980DW
Brother Xerox
Brother Xerox
C410
MFC-L2980DW C410
Brother HP LaserJet
HP LaserJet
M209dM209d HPLexmark Lexmark
LaserJet
HP MS331dn
LaserJet
M209dMS331dn
M209d
MFC-L2980DW
MFC-L2980DW
MFC-L2980DW
MFC-L2980DW
MFC-L2980DW 26.8 HP LaserJetHP HPMFP3302fdw
LaserJet M209d
M209d LaserJet M209d18.5
MFP3302fdw 18.5 18.5 HP LaserJetHP LaserJet M209d
M209d HP LaserJet M209d 9.4 9.4
HP LJ Pro HP LJ Pro HP LJ Pro
Xerox C410 Xerox C410 Xerox C410
HP LaserJet
HPXerox
LaserJet
M209d
C410M209d
Xerox C410
26.8 26.8 26.3
26.826.8
26.3
26.8 MFP3302fdw
HP LJ ProMFP3302fdw
Lexmark
HP
HP LJ13.1
Pro
HP
MFP3302fdw
Lexmark
MS331dn
LJMFP3302fdw
Pro HP
LJ
MS331dn
LJ Pro
Pro 13.1 Labs
11.9
13.1 13.1
Winner
11.9
13.1
Lexmark MS331dn
Lexmark MS331dn
Lexmark
Lexmark Xerox
Lexmark
MS331dn
Xerox
C410
MS331dn
8.6
C410
MS331dn
8.6 7.28.6 8.6
7.2 8.6
Xerox C410 Xerox C410 Xerox C410 26.8 26.8 26.8 MFP3302fdw MFP3302fdwMFP3302fdw 13.1
MFP3302fdw 13.1 13.1 Lexmark MS331dn
Lexmark MS331dn Lexmark MS331dn 8.6 8.6 8.6
LaserJet M209d
HP LaserJetHPM209d
OfficeJet
HP
HP LaserJet
HP OfficeJet
LaserJet
HP LaserJet
Pro
M209d
M209dPro
M209d 26.3 26.3 26.326.3
22.1 22.1 26.3
Lexmark MS331dnLexmark MS331dn Lexmark
Lexmark Xerox
Lexmark11.9
MS331dn 11.9
Xerox
C410
MS331dn C410
MS331dn 11.9 11.9
11.9 Xerox C410 Xerox C410 HP Xerox
Xerox
LJ HP
Pro7.2
C410
Xerox
C410
LJ Pro
C410 7.2
4.6 4.67.27.2 7.2
LaserJetHP LaserJet M209d
M209d 9135e
HP LaserJet 9135e
M209d 26.3 26.3 26.3 Lexmark MS331dn
Lexmark MS331dn Lexmark11.9 MS331dn 11.9 11.9 Xerox C410 Xerox C410 MFP3302fdw
HP LJ Pro HP LJ Pro HP LJ Pro
Xerox C4107.2
MFP3302fdw 7.2 7.2
HP OfficeJet Pro
HP OfficeJet Pro
HP OfficeJet Pro
HPEpsonHPEpson
WF
OfficeJet ProWF
OfficeJet Pro Labs22.1
Winner 22.1 22.1 Xerox C410 Xerox HPC410 11.9
OfficeJet
HPXerox
OfficeJet
ProC410Pro11.9
811.9 4.6
HP OfficeJet
HP LJLabs
HPOfficeJet
Pro
HP LJ 4.6
Winner
Pro 4.6
22.119.722.1
19.7
22.1 8 11.9 11.9 4.6 3.74.6 3.74.6
9135e
HP OfficeJet HP 9135e
ProOfficeJet Pro
HP OfficeJet9135e
Pro Xerox Xerox
C410 9135e
C410 MFP3302fdw
HP LJ ProMFP3302fdw
HP LJ Pro MFP3302fdw
HP9135e
LJ Pro
9135e
C4310DW
9135e
C4310DW
9135e 9135e
9135e 22.1 22.1 Xerox C410 Xerox C410 Xerox 11.9
9135e C410 11.9 11.9 MFP3302fdw HPMFP3302fdw
HP OfficeJet Pro
4.6MFP3302fdw
MFP3302fdw
HP MFP3302fdw
OfficeJet Pro OfficeJet Pro
9135e 4.6
Epson WF ProEpson WF ProEpson WF Pro HP OfficeJet Pro
HP OfficeJet ProHP OfficeJet Pro
C4310DW
Epson WF ProEpson
Epson
C4310DW
WF
HP
Pro
LJ
Epson
WF
Epson
HP
Pro LJ
WF
C4310DW
WF
Pro
Pro
19.7 19.718.519.7 19.7
19.7
18.5 HP 9135e
OfficeJet HP
Pro
HP
OfficeJet9135e
Pro
HP
8OfficeJet9135e
Epson Epson
OfficeJet
HP WF
OfficeJet
Pro WF
Pro
8 Labs5.4
Pro
8 85.4
Winner
8 HP 9135e
OfficeJet HP
ProOfficeJet
HP3.7OfficeJet
Epson
9135e
Pro
HP
Labs9135e
Epson
OfficeJet
HP WF 3.7
Winner
WF
OfficeJet
Pro
Pro
Pro 3.7 33.7
3.7
3
C4310DW 19.7 19.7 19.7 8 9135e 8 8 3.7C4310DW 3.7 3.7
MFP3302fdw
MFP3302fdw
C4310DWC4310DW C4310DW C4310DW
9135e C4310DW
9135e 9135e
C4310DW C4310DW
HP LJ Pro HP LJ Pro HP LJ Pro Epson WF9135eProEpson WF 9135e
ProEpson WF 9135e
Pro Epson WF9135e
ProEpson WF 9135e
ProEpson WF 9135e
Pro
HP LJ Pro18.5 18.5
Labs Winner 14 18.5 5.4 ProWF5.4
5.45.4 3Epson 3WF Pro 33 3
HPMFP3302fdw
LJ Pro Epson Epson
WF Pro EpsonC4310DW
Epson
WF Pro
MFP3302fdw
HP LJ ProMFP3302fdw
Epson
HP Epson
WFPro
LJ 2960DWF
WF HP2960DWF
LJ Pro 14 18.5 18.5 C4310DW
Epson WF ProEpsonC4310DW
Epson
WFEpson
WF
Pro WF
Epson C4310DW
2960DWF 2960DWF
WF Pro 4.9 4.9
5.4 C4310DW
Epson WF ProEpsonC4310DW
Epson
WF Pro WF 2960DWF
Epson WF WF2960DWF
Pro
MFP3302fdw
MFP3302fdw
MFP3302fdw
MFP3302fdwMFP3302fdw 18.5 18.5 18.5 C4310DW C4310DW 5.4
C4310DW C4310DW
C4310DW 5.4 5.4 C4310DW C4310DW 3 C4310DW 3
C4310DW
C4310DW 3
on WF 2960DWF
Epson WF 2960DWF
Epson WF 2960DWF 14 14 14 Epson WF 2960DWF
Epson WF 2960DWFEpson4.9WF 2960DWF 4.9 4.94.9 Epson WF 2960DWF
Epson WF 2960DWF 3HP
Epson WF 2960DWF 3 7005 3 3
14 1314 13 14 4.9 3.6 3.6
4.9 3 2.2 32.2
HP Smart
Epson HP
WFSmart
Tank
Epson WF7005
2960DWF Tank 7005
2960DWF Canon
EpsonCanon
Pixma
Epson
WF Pixma
TR7650
2960DWF
WF TR7650
2960DWF HP Smart
Epson WFSmart
EpsonTankWF7005
2960DWF Tank
2960DWF
Epson WF 2960DWF
on WF 2960DWF Epson WF 2960DWF 14 14 Epson WF 2960DWF
Epson WF 2960DWF Epson4.9WF 2960DWF 4.9 Epson WF 2960DWF
Epson WF 2960DWF Epson3 WF 2960DWF 3
mart TankHP7005
Smart Tank HP7005
Smart Tank 137005 1311.113
7005
11.113 Canon Pixma Canon
TR7650 Pixma 3.6Smart
Canon
TR7650 Pixma 3.6
TR7650 3.6 HP Smart TankHP7005
Smart 2.2Smart
TankHP 7005
Smart 2.2
Tank 7005 2.21.9
13 3.6 3.63.6 3.6 2.27005 1.9 2.2
2.22.2
Canon Canon
Pixma
HP Smart
HP Pixma
Smart
TankTR7650
7005TR7650
Tank HP Smart
Canon HP
Canon
Pixma Tank 7005
Pixma
TR7650Tank 7005
TR7650 Canon
HP Canon
Pixma
HP Smart
TankPixma
TR7650
7005
TankTR7650
7005
Smart TankHP 7005
Smart Tank Smart Tank13
HP7005 7005 13 13 Canon PixmaCanon
TR7650 Pixma TR7650
Canon3.6Pixma TR7650 HP Smart Tank HP 7005
Smart Tank 2.2
HP7005
Smart Tank
n PixmaCanon
TR7650 Pixma Canon
TR7650Pixma11.1 TR7650 11.1 11.1 HP Smart Tank HP7005
Smart Tank 3.6
Smart Tank 3.6
HP7005 7005 3.6 Canon PixmaCanon
TR7650 Pixma1.9
Canon
TR7650Pixma 1.9TR7650 1.9
11.1TR7650 11.18.811.1 11.1
8.8 2865 3.6 3.6 1.9 1.9
7005 2.7 3.6 2.7 1.9TR7650 N/A 1.9N/A
EpsonCanon
Canon Epson
EcoTank
Pixma EcoTank
2865
Pixma
TR7650 2865
TR7650 Epson
HP Epson
SmartEcoTank
HP Smart
TankEcoTank
2865
7005
Tank 7005 EpsonCanon
Canon Epson
EcoTank
Pixma EcoTank
2865
Pixma
TR7650 2865
TR7650
on PixmaCanon
TR7650Pixma TR7650
Canon Pixma 11.1 HP Smart Tank HP 7005
Smart Tank Smart Tank 3.6
3.6
HP7005 Canon PixmaCanon
TR7650 Pixma1.9
TR7650
Canon Pixma
on EcoTank Epson
2865EcoTank Epson8.8
2865
Epson Epson
EcoTank
EcoTank 0
EcoTank 8.8
2865
2865 2865
05
8.8
58.8
10 Recommended
8.8
1015 15 20 2025 2530 3035 Epson 35 EcoTank Epson
2865EcoTank 2.7
Epson
2865EcoTank
Epson Epson
EcoTank 2.72865 0 52.7 5 10 1015 15 20 2025 2530 3035Epson
0Recommended
2865 2865 2.7 2.7
EcoTank
35EcoTank Epson N/A
2865EcoTank Epson
2865 N/A
Recommended
EcoTank
Epson Epson
EcoTank
28650 N/A
EcoTank
2865 2865N/A
0
N/A
4 4 8 8 12 12
Epson
on EcoTank EcoTank
2865
0
2865
Epson 8.8
EcoTank
5 0 10 5 150 10 20
8.8
2865
5 15 25
8.8
10 20 30
15 25 35
20 30 25 35 30 35
Epson EcoTankEpson
2865EcoTank 2.7
2865
Epson
0
EcoTank 2.72865
5 0 10 5 150 10 205 15 25
2.7
10 20 30
15 25 35
20 30 25 35 30 35
Epson Epson
EcoTank 2865 N/A
EcoTank 2865
Epson
0
N/A
EcoTank 2865
04
N/A 04 8 4
0 05 5 10 1015 15 20 2025 2530 3035 35 0 05 5 10 1015 15 20 2025 2530 3035 35 0 0 4 8124 8
81216
8
1216
12 12
0 5 0 10 5 150 10 20
5 15 25
10 20 15
30 25 35
20 30 25 35 30 35 0 5 0 10 5 150 10 20
5 15 2510 20 15
30 25 35
20 30 25 35 30 35 0 0 4 04 8 48 12 81216 16
12

Two 10 x 8in photos on A4

Kyocera
Kyocera
PA4000wx 14secs
PA4000wx 14secs (ppm) Six 6 x 4in borderless
Kyocera
Kyocera
PA4000wx photos*
PA4000wx 15secs
15secs (ppm) Time to first page CanonCanon
i-Sensys
LBP243dw
i-Sensys
LBP243dw 7secs 7secs
Canon i-Sensys
Canon i-SensysCanon i-Sensys
cera PA4000wx 14secs
Canon
Kyocera PA4000wx Canon
Kyocera 14secs
i-Sensys 14secs
i-Sensys
PA4000wx
17secs
17secs Recommended
14secs
14secs Kyocera PA4000wx 15secs
CanonCanon
Kyocera PA4000wx
Kyocera 15secs
i-Sensysi-Sensys
PA4000wx 15secs
18secs
18secs *On three sheets 7secs
Canon Canon 7secs
i-Sensysi-Sensys 7secs
15secs15secs 15secs
KyoceraKyocera
PA4000wx
PA4000wx Kyocera Kyocera
PA4000wx
PA4000wx LBP243dw
Canon Canon
i-Sensys LBP243dw
HP LaserJet
HP
i-SensysCanonLBP243dw
LaserJet
M209d M209d 7secs
i-Sensys 7secs
Kyocera PA4000wx
cera PA4000wx
Canon i-Sensys
14secs
Kyocera
Canon i-Sensys
14secs
LBP243dw
LBP243dw
PA4000wx
Canon i-Sensys
14secs 15secs
Kyocera PA4000wx
Kyocera PA4000wx
Canon i-Sensys
LBP243dw
Kyocera
Canon i-Sensys
LBP243dw
PA4000wx
Canon i-Sensys
15secs
Recommended of A4 for lasers LBP243dw LBP243dw 7secsLBP243dw 7secs 7secs
LBP243dw
LBP243dw
17secs
Canon Canon17secs
i-Sensys 17secs
i-Sensys
19secs
19secs 18secs
Canon Canon
i-Sensys18secs18secs
i-Sensys 18secs HP LaserJet M209d HP7secs
HP LaserJet M209d EpsonEpson
LaserJet WF 7secs
Pro
M209dWF Pro 7secs
10secs
10secs
LBP243dw 17secs
17secs 18secs 7secs
7secs
LBP243dw
Canon HPLBP243dw
Canon
i-Sensys i-Sensys
LaserJetCanonLBP243dw
HPLBP243dw
LaserJet
M209di-Sensys
M209d LBP243dw
Canon LBP243dw
Canon
i-Sensys i-Sensys
Lexmark Canon
LexmarkLBP243dw
i-Sensys
MS331dn MS331dn HP LaserJet
HP LaserJet
M209d M209d
17secs 17secs
LBP243dw LBP243dw LBP243dw 17secs LBP243dw LBP243dw 18secs
LBP243dw 18secs 18secs
LBP243dw
LBP243dw HP LaserJetHP HP7secs
LaserJet M209d
M209d C4310DW
LaserJet
Epson WF ProEpson WF ProEpson WF Pro
7secs 7secs
C4310DW
M209d
LaserJet M209d 19secs
HP LaserJet M209d
LexmarkLexmark
HP LaserJet 19secs
HP LaserJet
MS331dn
HP LaserJet
M209d 19secs
19secs
MS331dn
M209d M209d 19secs
Lexmark MS331dn
HP 18secs
Lexmark MS331dn
LaserJet
HP
Lexmark LaserJet
M209d
Lexmark
MS331dn 18secs
Lexmark MS331dn
M209d 18secs
23secs
MS331dn 18secs 23secs
18secs C4310DW
Epson C4310DW
Epson
WF Pro Lexmark
WF 10secs
Epson
Epson
WF ProWF10secs
Epson
C4310DW
ProLexmark
MS331dn
WF
Pro
MS331dn
Pro 10secs
12secs
10secs 12secs
10secs
LaserJetHP 19secs 19secs 19secs
LaserJet M209d
M209d HP LaserJet M209d 18secs 18secs 18secs
Lexmark MS331dn
Lexmark MS331dn Lexmark MS331dn C4310DW C4310DW 10secs C4310DW10secs 10secs
C4310DW C4310DW
Lexmark19secs Lexmark19secs
MS331dn 19secs HP23secs 23secs30secs23secs 12secs
MS331dn 12secs 12secs
12secs
xmark MS331dn MS331dn HP LaserJet M209d
HP LaserJet M209d LaserJet M209d Lexmark MS331dn
Lexmark MS331dn
Lexmark MS331dn
BrotherBrother
Lexmark19secs
exmark MS331dn
HL-L2865DW
Lexmark
MS331dn
HL-L2865DW
Lexmark
MS331dn
Lexmark
MS331dn
19secs
MS331dn
26secs
19secs 26secs
19secs
19secs HP LaserJetHP
BrotherBrother
HL-L2865DW
HP LaserJet
LaserJet M209d
M209d
HP LaserJet
HP 23secs
M209d
23secs23secs
HL-L2865DW
M209d
LaserJet M209d
30secs
23secs
23secs
KyoceraKyocera
Lexmark
Lexmark MS331dn
Lexmark MS331dn
PA4000wx
Lexmark PA4000wx
MS331dn
12secs 12secs 12secs
Lexmark MS331dn
13secs
13secs
12secs
er HL-L2865DW 26secs
Brother HL-L2865DW
Brother
Brother
Brother
HL-L2865DW
26secs
BrotherBrother 26secs
HL-L2865DW
HL-L2865DW 26secs 26secs Brother HL-L2865DW
Brother HL-L2865DW
Brother
30secs
Brother
Brother
Brother
HL-L2865DW
HL-L2865DW
30secs30secs
Brother
HL-L2865DW
30secs
33secs
33secs
30secs Kyocera PA4000wx
Kyocera PA4000wx
Kyocera PA4000wx
Brother Brother
Kyocera HL-L2865DW
Kyocera
13secs 13secs 13secs
HL-L2865DW
PA4000wx
PA4000wx
13secs
15secs
15secs
13secs
Brother
26secs
MFC-L2980DW
Brother HL-L2865DW
her HL-L2865DW 26secs
MFC-L2980DW
Brother HL-L2865DW
Brother Brother
26secs Brother HL-L2865DW
Brother HL-L2865DW
Brother
Brother30secs
MFC-L2980DW
Brother
HL-L2865DW30secs 30secs
MFC-L2980DW
Brother
Kyocera PA4000wx
Kyocera PA4000wx Kyocera PA4000wx 13secs 13secs
13secs Recommended
MFC-L2980DW 26secs
MFC-L2980DW
Brother Brother 26secs
BrotherBrother 26secs
MFC-L2980DW
Xerox Brother
Xerox
C410 32secs
26secs
C410 32secs
26secs MFC-L2980DW MFC-L2980DW
Brother 33secs
Brother
Brother
MFC-L2980DW
Xerox 33secs
Brother
Brother
Xerox
C410 C41045secs 33secs
45secs
33secs
33secs
Brother HL-L2865DW
Brother HL-L2865DW Brother
Brother HL-L2865DW 15secs 15secs 15secs
Brother 15secs
15secs
Lower is better

Lower is better
Lower is better

Brother Brother
HL-L2865DW
HL-L2865DW
MFC-L2980DW 26secs
MFC-L2980DW
MFC-L2980DW 26secs
MFC-L2980DW
MFC-L2980DW 26secs MFC-L2980DW MFC-L2980DW 33secs
MFC-L2980DW
MFC-L2980DW
MFC-L2980DW 33secs 33secs Brother HL-L2865DW
Brother HL-L2865DW
Brother
MFC-L2980DW
Brother
Brother
MFC-L2980DW
HL-L2865DW
Brother
15secs 15secs 15secs
Xerox C410 Xerox32secs HP LJ
C410
Xerox 32secs
HP
ProLJ
Xerox
Xerox
C410
Pro 32secs
C410
1min
32secs
C410 1min
20secs
32secs 20secs Xerox C410 Xerox 45secs
Xerox
LJ 45secs
C410HPXerox HP
Pro
Xerox
LJ Pro 45secs
C410
50secs
C410 C41045secs 50secs
45secs MFC-L2980DW MFC-L2980DW
Brother Canon
Brother
MFC-L2980DW
Canon
Pixma
Brother Pixma
TR7650 15secs 15secs 15secs
Brother
TR7650
Brother 15secs
16secs
16secs
15secs
32secs
Xerox C410 Xerox MFP3302fdw
32secs
MFP3302fdw
C410 Xerox
HP LJ Pro HP LJ Pro HP LJ Pro
C410 32secs Xerox C410 Xerox45secs
MFP3302fdw
45secs
MFP3302fdw
C410 Xerox
HP LJ Pro HP LJ Pro HP LJ Pro
C410 45secs MFC-L2980DW MFC-L2980DW MFC-L2980DW 15secs 15secs 15secs
MFC-L2980DW
MFC-L2980DW

HP1min 20secs
HP OfficeJet
HP HP1min
LJ Pro20secs
OfficeJet
HPMFP3302fdw
LJ Pro 1min 20secs 50secs
HP OfficeJet
HP 50secs
HPOfficeJet
LJ Pro
HP LJ Pro 50secs Canon PixmaCanon
TR7650 Pixma CanonHP OfficeJet
TR7650 HP OfficeJet
Pixma Pro Pro
TR7650 16secs 16secs 16secs
16secs
MFP3302fdw
HP LJ ProMFP3302fdw
LJ Pro
1min
MFP3302fdwHP LJ Pro
1min 20secs
20secs
9135e 9135e
MFP3302fdw 2mins
1min 2mins
1min 17secs
20secs 17secs
20secs
1min 20secs Labs Winner
MFP3302fdw
HP LJ ProMFP3302fdw
HP LJ ProMFP3302fdw
50secs
HP LJ Pro
50secs
9135e
MFP3302fdw 6mins
9135e
MFP3302fdw 6mins
20secs
50secs
50secs
Labs
20secs
50secs
Winner Canon PixmaCanon
CanonCanon
Pixma TR7650
TR7650
PixmaPixma
TR7650 TR7650
16secs 16secs 16secs
9135e 9135e
Canon Pixma TR7650 16secs
MFP3302fdw
HP OfficeJet HPMFP3302fdw
Pro HP MFP3302fdw
OfficeJet Pro OfficeJet Pro MFP3302fdw
HP OfficeJet ProMFP3302fdw
HP OfficeJet Pro MFP3302fdw
HP OfficeJet Pro HP OfficeJet Pro
HP OfficeJet ProHP OfficeJet Pro
9135e
HP OfficeJet HP
ProOfficeJet
HP Smart
HP 2mins
HP OfficeJet
9135e
Pro
HP 17secs
HP OfficeJet
Pro
OfficeJet
Smart
Tank 7005
Tank 2mins
Pro
9135e
Pro
7005 17secs
2mins2mins
2mins 17secs
17secs
4mins 17secs
4mins
16secs
16secs 9135e
HP OfficeJetHP 6mins
HP9135e
ProOfficeJet
HP SmartPro
HP 20secs
HP6mins
OfficeJet
OfficeJet
HPSmart
Tank
Pro
9135e
OfficeJet
7005
TankPro20secs
Pro6mins 20secs
6mins
7mins
7005 6mins
20secs
7mins 20secs
35secs
35secs 9135e
HP OfficeJetHP
HP OfficeJet
HP 9135e
ProOfficeJetSmart
HP OfficeJet
HPOfficeJet
Pro
HP Smart
Pro Pro
9135e
Tank9135e
7005
Tank
Pro 16secs 16secs 16secs
7005 16secs
16secs
9135e 2mins
9135e 2mins
9135e17secs
9135e
9135e 17secs
2mins 17secs Labs Winner 9135e 6mins 6mins
9135e20secs 20secs
9135e 9135e
9135e 6mins 20secs
Labs Winner 9135e Labs Winner 9135e9135e
9135e 16secs 16secs 16secs
mart TankHP7005
Smart Tank Epson
HP
HP Smart
7005
Smart
HP Smart
Tank 4mins
Epson
WF Pro
7005
WF
Tank
Tank
C4310DW
16secs
Pro
7005
7mins
7005
C4310DW
4mins
7mins 16secs
28secs4mins
28secs
4mins4mins 16secs
16secs
16secs
HP Smart Tank Smart7mins
HP7005 Tank
Canon
HP7005
Canon35secs
Smart
Pixma
HP Smart
HP 7mins
Tank 7005
Pixma
TR7650
Smart
Tank 7005
Tank 35secs
7mins
10mins
7mins
TR7650
7005 7mins 35secs
10mins
50secs
35secs 50secs
35secs
HP Smart TankHP7005
Smart Tank
Epson
HP
Smart Tank 7005 16secs 16secs 16secs
HP7005
Epson
EcoTank
Smart
HP EcoTank
Smart
Tank 2865
7005 2865
Tank 7005 18secs
16secs 18secs
16secs
Smart TankHP 7005
Smart Tank Smart4mins
HP7005 Tank 7005 4mins 16secs
16secs 4mins 16secs HP 7005
HP Smart Tank 7mins
Smart Tank HP7005
Smart 7mins
35secs
Tank 7005 35secs
7mins 35secs HP 7005
HP Smart Tank Smart Tank Smart Tank 7005 16secs 16secs 16secs
HP7005
Epson WF ProEpson WF ProEpson WF Pro
7minsEpson28secs
7mins
Epson
WF ProWF Pro 28secs
7mins
7mins
7mins 7mins 28secs
7secs
7mins
28secs7secs
28secs
Canon PixmaCanon
TR7650 10mins
Pixma Canon
TR7650Pixma50secs
10mins
TR7650 50secs
TR7650 10mins 50secs
15mins
15mins
05secs
05secs Epson EcoTank
Epson
2865EcoTank
Epson
2865EcoTank 2865 18secs 18secs 18secs
18secs
18secs
10mins10mins
10mins
50secs
50secs
C4310DW
Epson WF ProEpson
CanonC4310DW
WF Pro
Canon
Pixma Epson
PixmaC4310DW
TR7650 WF Pro
TR7650 Epson
Canon Epson
WF 2960DWF
Canon
Pixma WF 2960DWF
Pixma
TR7650 Xerox
Epson Epson
EcoTank Xerox
C410 2865
EcoTank
2865 C410
C4310DW 7mins 7mins
C4310DW28secs 28secs
7mins 28secs 10mins 50secs 50secs
10mins 50secs Recommended 18secs 18secs 18secs
C4310DW C4310DW Canon PixmaCanon Pixma TR7650
TR7650 Canon Pixma TR7650 Epson
Epson EcoTank EcoTank
2865 2865EcoTank 2865
Epson
C4310DW
n PixmaCanon
TR7650 Pixma7mins
Epson
Canon
Canon
Epson 7secs
TR7650Pixma
WF 2960DWF
Canon
Pixma WF
Pixma7mins
TR76507secs
2960DWF
TR7650 TR7650 8mins
7mins 7mins
8mins
7mins 7secs
14secs
7secs 14secs
7secs
Epson WF 2960DWF Epson WF15mins
Epson WF 2960DWF
Epson Epson
EcoTank
WF
2960DWF 05secs
EcoTank
WF2865
2960DWF 286515mins15mins
2960DWF 05secs
15mins
16mins
15mins 05secs
16mins
42secs
05secs 42secs
05secs
Xerox C410 Xerox C410 Xerox C410
EpsonEpson
WF 2960DWF
WFXerox
Xerox C410 18secs 18secs 18secs
2960DWF
C410 18secs
22secs
18secs 22sec
on PixmaCanon Pixma7mins
TR7650 TR7650
Canon Pixma 7mins
7secs TR7650 7secs
7mins 7secs Epson WF15mins
Epson WF 2960DWF
Epson WF 2960DWF 15mins 05secs
2960DWF 05secs 15mins 05secs Xerox C410 Xerox C410 Xerox C410 18secs 18secs 18secs
on WF 2960DWF 8mins
Epson WF 2960DWF 14secs
Epson WF 8mins
2960DWF 14secs
8mins
8mins
8mins 14secs
14secs
14secs 18mins
Epson EcoTank
Epson
2865EcoTank Epson
Epson
2865EcoTank16mins
Epson
WF ProWF Pro 42secs
2865 16mins 42secs
16mins 42secs Epson WF 2960DWF Epson WFHP
Epson WF 2960DWF LJ HP
ProLJ Pro
2960DWF 22secs 22secs 22secs
18mins
34secs
34secs Epson EcoTank 16mins16mins 16mins
42secs
42secs
25mins
25mins
28secs
28secs 22secs 22secs 22secs22sec
22sec
Epson Epson
EcoTank
WF EcoTank
WF2865
2960DWF 2865
2960DWF Epson Epson
EcoTank
EcoTank
2865 2865 Epson Epson
WF 2960DWF
WF 2960DWF
8mins
Epson WF 2960DWF
on WF 2960DWF 8mins
Epson WF14secs
2960DWF 14secs
8mins 14secs Epson EcoTank
2865 C4310DW
2865EcoTank
Epson 16mins
C4310DW
2865
Epson WF ProEpson WF ProEpson WF Pro
42secs 42secs
16mins 42secs
Recommended EpsonMFP3302fdw
Epson WF 2960DWF
Epson WF 2960DWF MFP3302fdw
WF 2960DWF
HP LJ Pro HP LJ Pro HP LJ Pro
22secs
on EcoTank
Epson
2865EcoTank 2865EcoTank 0
Epson
Epson Epson
EcoTank
EcoTank
2865 0
2865 2865 18mins
5 534secs
18mins
10 34secs
1018mins
18mins
15 34secs
18mins
15
34secs
34secs
20 20 C4310DW
Epson
Epson Epson
C4310DW
Epson
WF Pro
WF ProWF
C4310DW
WF ProC4310DW
Epson
0 Pro 030s 25mins
WF Pro
30s
60s 6m 28secs
60s25mins
6m 28secs
11m 11m25mins
25mins
25mins28secs
16m 16m21m
28secs
21m
26m 26mMFP3302fdwMFP3302fdwMFP3302fdw
28secs HP LJ Pro HP LJ Pro
HP LJ Pro
HP LJ
0 Pro 0
HP LJ
Pro
5 22secs
5 10 22secs
10 15 1522secs
20 20
22secs
22sec
Epson
on EcoTank EcoTank
2865
0
2865EcoTank 2865 Recommended
Epson
05 0 510
18mins 34secs
18mins 34secs 18mins 34secs
51015 101520 C4310DW C4310DW
1520 30s 60s
20
C4310DW
C4310DW
30s 60s 30s 60s
0 0
25mins 28secs
25mins 28secs 25mins 28secs
6m 0 11m 6m 16m 11m 6m21m16m11mMFP3302fdw MFP3302fdw
26m 21m16m26m 21m 26m
MFP3302fdw
Labs Winner MFP3302fdw
5MFP3302fdw5 5
22secs 22secs 22secs
0 0 10 0 1510 20
1510 2520
15 2520
0 0 5 5 10 10 15 15 20 20 0 030s 30s60s 6m
60s 6m11m 11m 16m 16m21m 21m26m 26m 0 0 5 5 10 10 15 15 20 20
0 0 5 05 10 510 15 1015 20 1520 20 0 30s 0 60s30s
6m 0 60s
11m 30s
6m 16m 60s 6m
11m 16m
21m 11m26m21m16m26m 21m 26m 0 5
0 50
10 105
15 15
2010 20
2515 2520

Scanning tests
Preview A4 150dpi
HP OfficeJet
HP OfficeJet
Pro Pro
9135e 9135e Labs Winner 7secs 7secs EpsonEpson
EcoTank
EcoTank Recommended
2865 2865 11secs
11secs
Lower is better

Lower is better

HP OfficeJet Pro
HP OfficeJet Pro
HP OfficeJet Pro Brother Brother
CanonHPCanon
PixmaHPPixma
TR7650
OfficeJet Pro 7secs
TR7650
OfficeJet
Pro 7secs7secs 9secs
7secs
7secs 9secs Epson EcoTankEpson
2865EcoTank Epson
2865EcoTank 2865 11secs 11secs 11secs 14secs
14secs
2865 11secs 11secs 11secs 11secs
9135e
HP OfficeJet HP
ProOfficeJet9135e
Pro
HP OfficeJet9135e
Pro EpsonMFC-L2980DW
Epson MFC-L2980DW
EcoTankEcoTank
2865 2865
9135e
HP LJ HP
ProLJ Pro 7secs 7secs
9135e 7secs Epson
Epson EcoTank 2865
Brother EcoTank 2865EcoTank
Epson
Brother Brother 11secs
n PixmaCanon9135e
TR7650 9135e
Pixma Canon
TR7650
CanonCanon
Pixma
Pixma
MFP3302fdw
Pixma
TR7650
9135e
TR7650
MFP3302fdw
TR7650 9secs 9secs9secs
Labs Winner 9secs9secs
9secs
9secs MFC-L2980DW
Brother
CanonCanon
MFC-L2980DW
PixmaBrother
Brother
Pixma
TR7650
MFC-L2980DW
TR7650
Brother
Brother
14secs 14secs 14secs 15secs
15secs
14secs
14secs
on Pixma
HPCanon
TR7650
LJ ProPixmaHPTR7650
Canon
LJ ProPixmaHPTR7650
LJ Pro 9secs 9secs 9secs MFC-L2980DW
MFC-L2980DW 14secs 14secs 14secs
HP Smart
HP Smart
TankLJ7005
Tank
HP LJ7005
HPMFP3302fdw
Pro Pro 9secs 9secs 10secs
10secs
9secs Canon MFC-L2980DW
PixmaCanon
TR7650 MFC-L2980DW
PixmaEpson
Canon MFC-L2980DW
Epson
WF
TR7650 2960DWF
PixmaWFTR7650
2960DWF 15secs 15secs 15secs 15secs 28secs
28secs
9secs 9secs9secs 9secs 15secs
MFP3302fdw MFP3302fdw
HP LJ Pro HP LJ Pro MFP3302fdw
HP LJ Pro CanonCanon
PixmaPixma
TR7650 TR7650
MFP3302fdw 9secs Canon PixmaCanon
TR7650 Pixma TR7650
Canon Pixma
HP OfficeJet TR7650
HP OfficeJet
Pro Pro 15secs 15secs 15secs
MFP3302fdw
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I’m still here, timing print runs, Cancel
Epson Epson
WF ProWF Pro
dialogue.
HP LJ Pro
HP LJ Pro
14secs 18mins 18mins
34secs
34secs 25mins25mins
28secs28secs 22secs
22sec
Epson Epson
EcoTankEcoTank
2865 2865
measuring
Epson WF
Epson
2960DWF
WF 2960DWF power
8mins 8minsconsumption,
14secs and C4310DW
Epson EcoTank
Epson It’s
2865odd, isn’t
C4310DW
EcoTank
2865 it,
16mins that
16mins 42secs firms
42secs MFP3302fdw
Epson WF
Epson MFP3302fdw
2960DWF
WF 2960DWF 22secs
22sec
0 0 10 10 030s 30s60s 6m60s 6m 5 5 10 10 15 15 20 20
poring over the 5
fine 5
print with an15 15 20 20 Epson WFwith
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0
vast
ProWF Pro resources 11m 11m 16m 16m21m 21m
still foist these26m 26m ABOVE HP’s newHPtouchscreen LJ Pro
0
HP LJ Pro
0
interface is a
Epson EcoTank
Epson EcoTank
2865 2865 18mins
18mins
34secs
34secs C4310DW C4310DW 25mins25mins
28secs28secs MFP3302fdw
MFP3302fdw 22secs
22sec
eyeglass inherited 0 0 5
from5
an old art15 15 20 20
10 10
clunky 0
experiences
030s 30s60s 6m60s 6m
on their users?
11m 11m16m 16m 21m 21m26m 26m
backwards step – unlike its new5 scanner
0 0
platen
5 10 10 15 15 20 20
editor. I’ve reviewed several hundred That touchscreen isn’t alone: Epson
printers, in which time I must have annoys with its chatty Smart Panel So a moment, if you will, for
printed at least 50,000 sheets of app, while Lexmark and something as simple as HP’s
paper. My Computer Shopper leaving “Everyone has long Xerox provide trays that lipless scanner platens, which have
cover pointed out the contrast tended towards pointless are too small for European appeared over the past couple of
between my “tree-hugging” beliefs
and the forest-killing reality. And that
beeping, needless dialog paper. Meanwhile,
everyone has long tended
years. These are nothing more
complex than a conventional
boxes and requests to
HP OfficeJet
HP OfficeJet
Pro Pro
9135e 9135e 7secs 7secs Epson Epson
EcoTank EcoTank
2865 2865 11secs
11secs
was inTR7650
2007. 9secs9secs towardsBrother pointless
Brother beeping, scanner
14secs
14secs where the surrounding
harvest our data”
CanonCanon
PixmaPixma TR7650
HP OfficeJet
HP OfficeJet
Pro Pro MFC-L2980DW
MFC-L2980DW
Little
HP LJ HPchanges
Pro
9135e LJ Pro
9135e in the7secsworld7secsof
9secs9secs needless
Epson EcoTank
CanonCanon
PixmaPixma
2865 2865 boxes and 11secs
dialog
Epson EcoTank
TR7650 TR7650
11secs lies flush on two sides of the
plastic
15secs
15secs
MFP3302fdw
MFP3302fdw Brother
printers,
Canon Canon
Pixma
HP Smart
HP Smart
Pixma
TR7650
Tank 7005
but in this test I found10secs
TR7650
Tank 7005
9secs9secs
10secs requests
EpsonMFC-L2980DW
Epson
to Brother
harvest our
MFC-L2980DW
WF 2960DWF
WF 2960DWF
14secs
glass: 14secs
scan an original, then28secs slide it
28secs
HP LJ Pro
HP LJ Pro
myself thinking not about new 9secs9secs data – don’t Canon manufacturers
HPCanon
Pixma
HPPixma
TR7650
OfficeJet Pro even use
TR7650
OfficeJet
Pro 15secs
off without15secsscrabbling around for an
MFP3302fdw
Epson Epson
EcoTank MFP3302fdw
EcoTank
2865 2865 11secs
11secs Platen
9135e 9135e Platen
too small
too small
HPtechnology,
Smart
HP Smart Tank 7005but about the strange
Tank 7005 10secs
10secs their own products? Epson WF
Epson2960DWF
WF 2960DWF edge. It’s the smallest, simplest 28secs
28secs
Epson Epson
WF 2960DWF
WF 2960DWF 12secs
12secs HP Smart
HP Smart
Tank 7005 Platen
Tank 7005 Platen
too small
too small
backward
Epson EcoTank
EpsonBrother
EcoTank
2865 steps manufacturers 11secs
2865
Brother 11secs If it sounds HP likeOfficeJet
HP OfficeJet
I LJ
HP
Pro Pro
hate
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too small
printers,
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MFC-L2980DW
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9135e
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too small
too small
sometimes
Epson WF
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5 12secs
10 12secs
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Brother Brother HP LJ Pro
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small
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0 over
6 6 their12 products,
12 18and 18 product 24 managers
24 30 30

use than Brother

the
Brother
previous generation. what you do with ink
HP OfficeJet
cartridges.
HP OfficeJet
Pro Pro
who recognise a good idea.
Most noticeably, a couple of things
MFC-L2980DW
MFC-L2980DW 15secs
15secs Printers are the butt9135e of so many
9135e 21secs
21secs
IT Find those people, put them in
CanonCanon
PixmaPixma
TR7650
that previously
Brother
TR7650
Brother required one tap 18secs
18secs jokes, and many Epson Epson
EcoTank
ofHP EcoTank
2865 2865
them
HP OfficeJetOfficeJet
Pro Pro play on59secs
59secs charge, and you might still find me
MFC-L2980DW
MFC-L2980DW 15secs
15secs HP LJ Pro
HP LJ
9135e Pro
9135e 21secs21secs
Epson
now Epson
EcoTankEcoTank
take2865 2865
two or three. 25secs
25secs these kinds of frustrations.
MFP3302fdw
MFP3302fdw 1min1min
20secs
here 20secs
in another 20 years.
Canon Canon
Pixma Pixma
TR7650TR7650 18secs
18secs Epson EcoTank
Epson EcoTank
2865 2865 59secs
Brother 59secs
Brother
Epson Epson
WF 2960DWF
WF 2960DWF 29secs
29secs MFC-L2980DW
MFC-L2980DW
HP LJ Pro
HP LJ Pro
1min1min
24secs
24secs
Epson
HPEcoTank
Epson
HPEcoTank
2865
OfficeJet Pro 2865
OfficeJet Pro 25secs
25secs MFP3302fdw
MFP3302fdw 1min1min
20secs
20secs
Platen
9135e 9135e Platen
too small
too small CanonCanon
PixmaPixma
TR7650
Brother
TR7650
Brother
1min1min
32secs
32secs
Epson WF
Epson
2960DWF
WF 2960DWF 29secs
29secs MFC-L2980DW
MFC-L2980DW 1min1min
24secs
24secs
Platen
Platen
too small
too small 1min1min
53secs
53secs
Copying tests
HP Smart
HP Smart
Tank 7005
Tank 7005 Epson Epson
WF 2960DWF
WF 2960DWF
HP OfficeJet
HP OfficeJet
Pro Pro
HP LJ Pro
HP LJ
9135e Platen
Pro Platen
9135e too small
too small Canon Canon
Pixma Pixma
TR7650TR7650 1min1min
32secs32secs
MFP3302fdw
MFP3302fdwPlaten
Platen
too small
too small HP Smart
HP Smart
Tank 7005
Tank 7005 2mins
2mins
29secs
29secs
HP Smart
HP Smart
Tank 7005
0 Platen
Tank 7005 Platen
too small
0 too small
5 5 10 10 15 15 20 20 25 25 30 30 Epson WF
Epson
2960DWF
WF 2960DWF
0 0 0.5 0.5 1 1min
1 1min
53secs
53secs
1.5 1.5 2 2 2.5 2.5
HP LJ Pro
HP LJ Pro
Platen
Platen
too small
too small HP Smart
HP Smart
Tank 7005
Tank 7005 2mins
2mins
29secs
29secs
Single page 0mono0
MFP3302fdw
MFP3302fdw
5 5 10 10 15 15 20 20 25 25
(time taken)
30 30
Single page colour
0 0 0.5 0.5 1 1 1.5 1.5 2 2
(time taken)
2.5 2.5

HP OfficeJet
HP OfficeJet
Pro Pro HP OfficeJet
HP OfficeJet
Pro Pro
Labs Winner 8secs
8secs 11secs
11secs
Labs Winner
Lower is better

9135e 9135e 9135e 9135e

Lower is better

BrotherBrother HP LJ Pro
HP LJ Pro
MFC-L2980DW
HP MFC-L2980DW
OfficeJet
HP OfficeJet
Pro Pro
8secs
8secs MFP3302fdw
MFP3302fdw
HP OfficeJet
HP OfficeJet
Pro Pro
14secs
14secs
Labs Winner
8secs
8secs 11secs
11secs
HP LJ
MFP3302fdw
Pro
HP LJ
9135e
MFP3302fdw
Brother
Pro
9135e
Brother
Labs Winner 10secs
10secs CanonCanon 9135eTR7650
PixmaPixma
TR7650
HP LJ Pro
9135e
HP LJ Pro
22secs
22secs
8secs
8secs 14secs
14secs
MFC-L2980DW
Epson EpsonMFC-L2980DW
WF 2960DWF
WF 2960DWF 14secs
14secs MFP3302fdw
HP Smart
HP MFP3302fdw
Smart
Tank 7005
Tank 7005 27secs
27secs
HP LJ Pro
HP LJ Pro
10secs
10secs Canon Canon
Pixma Pixma
TR7650TR7650 22secs
22secs
MFP3302fdw
Epson Epson
EcoTankMFP3302fdw
EcoTank
2865 2865 Recommended 15secs
15secs Epson Epson
WF 2960DWF
WF 2960DWF 31secs
31secs
Epson WF
Epson
2960DWF
WF 2960DWF 14secs
14secs HP Smart
HP Smart
Tank 7005
Tank 7005 27secs
27secs
CanonCanon
PixmaPixma
TR7650 TR7650 16secs16secs Epson Epson
EcoTank
EcoTank Recommended
2865 2865 37secs
37secs
Epson EcoTank
Epson EcoTank
2865 2865 15secs
15secs Epson WF
Epson
2960DWF
WF 2960DWF
Brother
Brother 31secs
31secs
HP Smart
HP Smart
Tank 7005
Tank 7005 18secs
18secs MFC-L2980DW
MFC-L2980DW
Mono
Mono
onlyonly
Canon Canon
Pixma Pixma
TR7650TR7650
0 0 5 5 10 10 16secs
1516secs
15 20 20 Epson EcoTank
Epson EcoTank
2865 2865
0 0 10 10 20 20 30 37secs
30 37secs 40 40
Brother
Brother
HP Smart
HP Smart
Tank 7005
Tank 7005 18secs
18secs MFC-L2980DW
Mono
MFC-L2980DW
Mono
onlyonly
0 0 5 5 10 10 15 15 20 20 0 0 10 10 20 20 30 30 40 40

Ten pages mono

Brothervia ADF
Brother
34secs34secs (time taken) Ten pages colour
HP OfficeJet
HP Pro via
OfficeJet ProADF
1min1min
15secs
15secs (time taken)
MFC-L2980DW
MFC-L2980DW 9135e 9135e
HP LJ Pro
HP LJ Pro HP LJ Pro
HP LJ Pro
MFP3302fdw
MFP3302fdw
Brother
41secs
Brother
41secs HP MFP3302fdw
HP MFP3302fdw
OfficeJet
OfficeJet
Pro Pro
1min1min
16secs
16secs
Pro 34secs
Pro 34secs 1min1min
15secs
15secs
Labs Winner
HP OfficeJet
HP OfficeJet
MFC-L2980DW
MFC-L2980DW 50secs
50secs CanonCanon 9135eTR7650
PixmaPixma
TR7650 9135e 3mins
3mins
29secs
29secs
Lower is better

Lower is better

9135e
HP LJ Pro 9135e
HP LJ Pro HP LJ Pro
HP LJ Pro
41secs
41secs Labs Winner 1min1min
16secs
16secs
Labs Winner
MFP3302fdw
CanonCanon
Pixma MFP3302fdw
Pixma
TR7650 TR7650 2mins
2mins
24secs
24secs MFP3302fdw
Epson Epson
WF MFP3302fdw
2960DWF
WF 2960DWF 4mins
4mins
36secs
36secs
HP OfficeJet
HP OfficeJet
Pro Pro
50secs
50secs Labs Winner Canon Canon
Pixma Brother
Pixma
TR7650 TR7650 3mins
3mins
29secs
29secs
Epson Epson WF9135e
WF 2960DWF 9135e
2960DWF 2mins2mins
42secs
42secs MFC-L2980DW
MFC-L2980DW
Mono
Brother
Mono
onlyonly
Canon Canon
Pixma Pixma
TR7650TR7650 2mins
2mins
24secs
24secs Epson WF
Epson
2960DWF
WF 2960DWF 4mins
4mins
36secs
36secs
Epson Epson
EcoTank
EcoTank No ADF
2865 2865 No ADF Epson Epson
EcoTank
EcoTank No ADF
2865 2865 No ADF
Epson WF
Epson
2960DWF
WF 2960DWF 2mins2mins
42secs
42secs Brother
Mono
Brother
Mono
onlyonly
HP Smart
HP Smart
Tank 7005 No ADF
Tank 7005 No ADF MFC-L2980DW
HP Smart MFC-L2980DW
HP Smart
Tank 7005 No ADF
Tank 7005 No ADF
Epson EcoTank
Epson EcoTank
0No ADF
2865 2865 No ADF
0 0.5 Recommended
0.5 1 1 1.5 1.5 2 2 2.5 2.5 3 3
Epson EcoTank
Epson EcoTank No ADF
2865 2865
0 No ADF
Recommended
0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5
HP Smart
HP Smart
Tank 7005 No ADF
Tank 7005 No ADF HP Smart
HP Smart
Tank 7005 No ADF
Tank 7005 No ADF
0 0 0.5 0.5 1 1 1.5 1.5 2 2 2.5 2.5 3 3 0 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5

95
The Network
Practical buying and strategic advice for IT managers and decision makers

Buyer’s guide

Upgrade to

Dave Mitchell reviews four business-class Wi-Fi 7 access points and explains
what to look for when investing in this cutting-edge technology for business use

W
ith over 20 billion Wi-Fi them in the lab to help you make the with a wide range of devices, but
devices in use globally, right buying decision. increases the bandwidth of the 6GHz
businesses must adopt a channel from 160MHz to 320MHz and
wireless-first approach What is Wi-Fi 7? the maximum number of MU-MIMO
to network design if they want to be Wi-Fi 7, or IEEE 802.11be EHT spatial streams from eight to 16.
more flexible and competitive. Most (extremely high throughput), offers Transfer rates get a big boost, too,
users probably can’t remember the huge improvements in speed up to a as Wi-Fi 7 takes the 1024-QAM
last time they connected a device to theoretical 46Gbits/sec as opposed to (quadrature amplitude modulation)
an Ethernet cable, and now that 9.6Gbits/sec for Wi-Fi 6E. It supports from Wi-Fi 6/6E and quadruples it to
smartphones, laptops and tablets have the same 2.4GHz, 5GHz and 6GHz BELOW All good 4096-QAM, also known as 4K-QAM.
become their preferred mode of bands as 6E to ensure compatibility vendors provide Furthermore, whereas Wi-Fi 6/6E
working, they expect wireless free mobile apps uses a single dynamically selected
connectivity to be always available. for wireless band to connect users to an AP, Wi-Fi
Building wireless networks is management 7 introduces multi-link operations
much cheaper than installing wired (MLO), allowing devices that support
ones, and the seventh generation it to connect over an aggregated link
Wi-Fi 7 technology is about to make using all three bands for
them much faster. Businesses with greater performance,
legacy wireless networks should be reduced latency and
considering upgrading, and with improved reliability.
the Wi-Fi Alliance estimating that Wi-Fi 7 manages RF
around 233 million Wi-Fi 7 devices interference in crowded
have already entered the market, areas more efficiently
there’s no time like the present. with a feature called
This month, we review four preamble puncturing, or
business-class Wi-Fi 7 access points punctured transmission.
(APs) from EnGenius, TP-Link, This was available in
Ubiquiti and Zyxel. With some costing Wi-Fi 6 as an optional
less than £140, they’re all affordable feature, but Wi-Fi 7
options for SMBs and we’ve tested makes it mandatory.

96
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO The Network Business Focus

Most APs can be managed in

standalone mode using their built-in
web console, but for large installations
it makes more sense to choose a
vendor that offers cloud management.
All the APs in this guide can be
cloud-managed regardless of where
they’re physically located, making
them ideal for businesses with
geographically distributed offices
and home workers. From a single
Wi-Fi 7 APs, as these ABOVE EnGenius’ web portal, you create sites for
have 10-gigabit smart cloud portal each location, add secure wireless
(10GbE) ports. Power provides lots of networks, decide which APs will
comes into the information about broadcast them and keep a close
equation, too, as all detected apps eye on network health, client
business-class APs connections and bandwidth usage.
support Power over LEFT Ubiquiti’s U7 The two most common methods of
Ethernet (PoE) and Pro Max has a cloud management are quite different
most vendors expect dedicated radio for so it’s worth delving deeper to ensure
you to use it as they real-time analysis you pick the right one for your
don’t include mains circumstances. One requires a
adapters; some Wi-Fi controller appliance that manages all
A problem with legacy devices and 7 APs don’t even have an external APs and wireless networks within the
“narrow band interferers” is their power socket. site on which it’s physically located.
ability to puncture a channel with a You can purchase PoE injectors if All good vendors provide free
relatively small signal and render a you’re only using a few APs, but larger software controllers that require a
large portion of it unusable or, in some installations should invest in a PoE host PC, but you can avoid this as
cases, knock out the entire channel. switch that can power them all from most offer affordable pre-configured
Wi-Fi 7 allows APs and clients to a single wall socket. Bear in mind hardware appliances with some now
dynamically reserve part of a channel that power requirements vary across providing cloud-hosted
to counter interference and maximise Wi-Fi 7 APs as well. “All business-class APs controllers. These are
the potential of the 320MHz channels. Lower-performing models can get support PoE and most registered with your cloud

What do I need for Wi-Fi 7?

by with 802.3at PoE+ services, but
larger ones need an 802.3bt PoE++
vendors expect you to use portal account, and
selecting one takes you to
Falling Wi-Fi 7 AP prices mean they power source. We have all the bases it as they don’t include the site it’s managing.
are now well within the means of covered for our lab testing as we use mains adapters” A simpler alternative is
SMBs, but they’re not all the same so a Zyxel XS1930-12HP switch that a direct connection where
you’ll need to consider the differences offers eight 10GbE multi-gigabit APs are registered with your cloud
before diving in. Cheaper Wi-Fi 7 APs ports all presenting PoE++ services account and then appear in its portal.
come with a 2.5GbE multi-gigabit and costs less than £900. You create virtual sites within the
network port, so you must ensure cloud portal to represent your offices,
your network infrastructure can Cloud connected and APs only broadcast the SSIDs in
handle the extra demand. Providing the best wireless services the site they are members of.
You’ll have to think even bigger if and coverage requires multiple APs to Both methods have their pros and
you want premium high-performance be deployed to avoid any dead spots. cons, with on-site appliances a good
choice for large wireless networks as
they keep most management traffic
on-site. Direct cloud connections are
better for providing secure wireless
networks to smaller businesses and
home workers as you won’t need to
install an on-premises controller.
As demand has increased, prices
for Wi-Fi 7 APs have dropped
substantially over the past few
months, making them very cost-
effective for SMBs. The increased
performance, higher capacity and
reduced latency will satisfy even
LEFT TP-Link offers the most demanding of users and
wireless captive customers, so turn the page to see
portal design tools which of the four solutions on review
in its cloud portal best fits your wireless upgrade plans.

97
EnGenius ECW536
enable multi-link operations
(MLO) for its Wi-Fi 7 APs.

A cloud-managed business EnGenius offers a

chargeable Pro version of
Wi-Fi 7 access point that’s the cloud portal, which
enables a range of enhanced
competitively priced and features such as a 30-day

seriously fast
log-retention period,
network topology views
and seven-day timeline
charts of the APs to which
SCORE
a client connected, the
PRICE £386 exc VAT from authentication methods
solwise.co.uk used and details of
association errors such

E
as incorrect passwords.
nGenius has traditionally The ECW536 includes a
offered businesses a fine one-year Pro subscription
choice of wireless access in the price, with
points, and its flagship ECW536 subsequent years costing
is easily the most powerful. around £38 per device.
This large, BE19000-rated AP Captive portal features are
presents a total of 12 spatial outstanding, as you can present
streams – four each for its 2.4GHz, was automatically added to our ABOVE EnGenius’ wireless guests with custom splash
5GHz and 6GHz bands, with organisation, where it took all our ECW536 is great pages created using the portal’s
theoretical maximum speeds of predefined wireless settings and value for such a integrated HTML editing toolbox.
1,376Mbits/sec, 5,764Mbits/sec and started broadcasting them as soon powerful AP Standard authentication methods
11,529Mbits/sec respectively. as it was online. include local user accounts, Radius
The ECW536 supports the Wi-Fi 7 The cloud portal sees a few minor and vouchers with a Pro licence
6GHz HE 320MHz channels and design changes but, if you prefer the enabling LDAP, Active Directory,
has the hardware to handle high older version, you can swap over to it Google LDAP and Azure AD.
demand. Powered by Qualcomm’s with one click. In either case, the The ECW536 more than delivers
Networking Pro 1220 platform non-customisable dashboard on its performance promises. For
featuring a quad-core Arm provides plenty of information on testing, we hooked it up to the lab’s
Cortex-A73 CPU, it offers two all switches, APs and wireless RECOMMENDED Zyxel XS1930-12HP 10GbE PoE++
10GbE ports. The main one requires clients, with graphs below for switch and used a Lenovo Windows
an 802.3bt PoE++ power source and wireless throughput as well as the 11 Pro 24H2 desktop client
the second is provided for top APs, clients and SSIDs. “The ECW536 supports equipped with a TP-Link
networking other devices. Up to eight site SSIDs are the Wi-Fi 7 6GHz HE Archer TBE550S Wi-Fi 7
All ECW AP models are designed
to be directly managed from the
supported. For each one, you can
choose the active radios, enable L2
320MHz channels and has PCI-E adapter. Using
Microsoft’s NTttcp utility,
EnGenius cloud portal. Their local isolation, band steering and fast the hardware to handle we recorded impressive
web browser interfaces don’t roaming, and apply download and high demand” raw upstream and
provide access to any configuration upload rate limits for the entire downstream rates of
settings and only display details SSID or per client. EnGenius won’t 418MB/sec and 380MB/sec
of LAN, internet and cloud allow open, unsecured SSIDs to be respectively between the client and a
connection status. created so you must choose from Windows server on our 10GbE LAN.
Adding the ECW536 to our cloud opportunistic wireless encryption BELOW The cloud Real-world speeds are good, too,
account was easy as we used the (OWE) to present safe open public portal offers plenty with close-range large file copies
Cloud To-Go iOS app on an iPad to networks or the appropriate WPA of management between the client and server
scan the QR code on its base. The AP version, and there’s also an option to features averaging a speedy 335MB/sec.
With the AP moved ten metres
away and into an adjoining room,
we recorded top average copy
speeds of 295MB/sec.
The ECW536 delivers on all fronts;
this mighty BE19000-rated Wi-Fi 7
AP is impressively fast and incredibly
good value. It can only be cloud-
managed, but the EnGenius portal is
easy to use and delivers a wealth of
wireless management and
monitoring services.

SPECIFICATIONS
BE19000 tri-band 2.4GHz/5GHz/6GHz
802.11be quad-core Arm Cortex-A73 CPU
12 x internal aerials 10GbE LAN/802.3bt
PoE++ 10GbE LAN wall/ceiling mount kit
12V DC input (adapter not included) 230 x
230 x 37mm (WDH) 1.3kg 1yr Cloud Pro
licence included 2yr hardware warranty

98
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO The Network Business Focus

TP-Link Omada EAP772

Modest performance, but this
slimline Wi-Fi 7 AP offers lots
of features and great remote
management at a low price
SCORE
PRICE £133 exc VAT from
broadbandbuyer.com

T
P-Link was one of the first deletes the We use
networking vendors to deliver default admin TP-Link’s
a business Wi-Fi 7 AP, with its account for added OC300 appliance,
mighty EAP783 (see issue 360, p103) security. Eight and selecting it
setting a high standard for wireless SSIDs per radio are took us to its own
performance. SMBs less impressed supported, and the portal, which presented
with its £520 price tag may find the wizard asks you to configure a customisable dashboard
firm’s EAP772 a more appealing the first three and provide new and a ribbon across the top
alternative as it costs only £133. encryption keys. ABOVE The EAP772 showing internet capacity, gateway
Naturally, there are compromises, For performance testing, we is an affordable usage, switches, APs, clients and
with the 10GbE port in its bigger connected the AP to the lab’s Zyxel entry point into the guests. Adding the EAP772 was
brother being replaced by a 2.5GbE XS1930-12HP 10GbE PoE++ switch Wi-Fi 7 world simple as it automatically appeared
multi-gigabit port. It has a much and used a Lenovo desktop client as “pending” and, once adopted, took
lower BE9300 rating, which claims to running Windows 11 Pro 24H2 and all its settings from the controller and
deliver up to 573Mbits/sec on its fitted with a TP-Link Archer TBE550S broadcast our predefined SSIDs.
2.4GHz radio, 2,880Mbits/sec on Wi-Fi 7 PCI-E adapter. To gauge raw The cloud portal supports the
5GHz and 5,760Mbits/sec on 6GHz performance, we used the NTttcp same number of SSIDs as standalone
with the ultrawide Wi-Fi 7 320MHz utility, which reported upstream mode. From the site
channels enabled. and downstream speeds of 219MB/sec “Cloud management settings page, you can
That’s still a good deal considering and 201MB/sec respectively. enables a number of easily create new ones
the price, and the EAP772 also
supports the Wi-Fi 7 MLO feature.
Real-world performance was
noticeably lower, with large file
additional features. and apply encryption
schemes, rate limits and
This allows compliant end-user copies between the client and a Wireless coverage can be MAC address filters.
devices to simultaneously connect to Windows server on our 10GbE LAN extended using meshing” MLO-enabled SSIDs can
multiple bands on the AP for increased averaging top close-range speeds of be configured with a few
throughput and reduced latency. 192MB/sec. Moving the AP ten metres clicks, and schedules can be used to
The AP’s 2.5GbE port requires away and into an adjoining room saw determine when SSIDs are active.
an 802.3at PoE+ power source, copy speeds drop to 181MB/sec. Cloud management enables a
and there’s a socket next to it for Remote management options are number of additional features.
TP-Link’s optional 12V adapter. impressive. You can install TP-Link’s Wireless coverage can be extended
This 220mm wide discus is designed hardware and free software using meshing, and any SSID can be
to be ceiling-friendly: it’s only controllers on-site or use its cloud- set as a guest network where L2
32.5mm thick and weighs 716g – based controller, which has a yearly isolation is automatically applied so
half that of the EAP783. fee of £165 for 250 devices. The main BELOW The EAP772 clients only receive internet access.
In standalone mode the AP’s web Omada portal simplifies multi-site can be used in Captive portals can be assigned to
console wizard requests a new management as it presents a list of all standalone mode SSIDs by creating profiles using a
username and password and then controllers assigned to your account. or cloud-managed range of authentication methods and
options to present custom portal
pages with your own choice of
colours, logos and messages.
TP-Link’s EAP772 offers SMBs an
affordable entry point into the world
of Wi-Fi 7. Performance is reasonable
and it delivers plenty of business-
class features for the price, while
TP-Link’s Omada cloud portal makes
light work of remote management.

SPECIFICATIONS
BE9300 tri-band 2.4GHz/5GHz/6GHz
802.11be 6 x internal aerials 2.5GbE
LAN/802.3at PoE+ ceiling/wall mount
kits 220 x 220 x 33mm (WDH) 716g
DC power adapter not included standalone
or Omada cloud management limited
lifetime warranty

99
Ubiquiti UniFi U7
Pro Max
A great-value business Wi-Fi
7 AP with good performance
and outstanding wireless
management services
SCORE
PRICE £214 exc VAT
from broadbandbuyer.com

T
as soon as it came
he UniFi family from Ubiquiti free UniFi online and after
has always impressed us with Network Server for adoption, it received a
its classy wireless network Windows, macOS and firmware upgrade and then
management solutions, and the Linux, use Ubiquiti’s presented all our predefined SSIDs.
company makes its play for the chargeable cloud-hosted SSIDs are created from the
business Wi-Fi 7 space with four controller or choose from a range of console’s settings page, where you
access points. Along with outdoor UniFi Cloud Gateways. For testing, ABOVE The UniFi assign radios and choose from a range
and wall-mounted models, there’s we used the lab’s UniFi Dream U7 Pro Max is the of options, including the preferred
the entry-level U7 Pro, while for this Machine Pro (UDM Pro) appliance, best Wi-Fi 7 AP you encryption scheme, client isolation,
review we tested the flagship UniFi which costs around £310 and teams can buy rate limits and captive portals, and
U7 Pro Max. up wireless network management enabling the enhanced IoT feature
This sleekly designed BE15000- with gateway security as well as limits the network to the 2.4GHz
rated AP offers a lot for its modest video surveillance, motion detection band if you’re having device
price. Along with eight spatial and recording services. connectivity issues. From the Radio
streams for improved coverage, it has We could view all remote Manager page, we enabled the Wi-Fi
a dedicated radio for real-time gateways from our Ubiquiti Site 7 320MHz channels but
spectral analysis so it can run Manager cloud portal, and selecting “The management console noted that the MLO feature
non-disruptive scans. As with most the UDM Pro transported us to its is a joy to behold and is yet to be supported.
competing Wi-Fi 7 APs at this price,
you get a 2.5GbE multi-gigabit port
own management console. This is a
joy to behold and provides
provides everything We ran our tests using a
Lenovo Windows 11 Pro
supporting an 802.3at PoE+ power everything you need to know about you need to know about 24H2 desktop client
source, which you’ll need as the AP your networks, with detailed your networks” equipped with a TP-Link
doesn’t have a socket for an optional topology views, lists of all managed Archer TBE550S Wi-Fi 7
external power adapter. UniFi devices and deep insights into PCI-E adapter and a Windows Server
Everything about the U7 Pro Max connected clients, with a complete 2022 host on the 10GbE LAN. Raw
oozes class, ranging from the great traffic breakdown along with icons performance is very good, with
build quality to the metal plates showing the top detected apps and Microsoft’s NTttcp utility reporting
and complete toolkit in the box. their individual bandwidth usage. upstream speeds of 264MB/sec and
This has all the components for For testing, we used a Zyxel 215MB/sec downstream.
wall-mounting and all types of XS1930-12HP 10GbE PoE++ switch, Real-world performance is not to
ceiling; the mounting template card which the UDM Pro recognised and BELOW The U7 Pro be sniffed at either, with close-range
even has a built-in spirit level. added to its topology view as a new Max comes with large files copies between the client
Management options are client. Deploying the U7 Pro Max was clever real-time and server returning top average
incredibly diverse. You can install the equally easy: it appeared in the console spectral analysis speeds of 200MB/sec. With the AP
placed ten metres away and in the
next room, we recorded respectable
speeds of 183MB/sec.
Ubiquiti’s UniFi U7 Pro Max is a
great choice for SMBs seeking a
powerful and affordable upgrade
to Wi-Fi 7. You’ll need a UniFi
controller to complete the
wireless picture, but this modest
investment will be paid back
handsomely as they offer the
best cloud management services
on the planet.

SPECIFICATIONS
BE15000 tri-band 2.4/5/6GHz 802.11be
eight internal aerials 2.5GbE multi-gig
LAN/802.3at PoE+ ceiling/wall mounting kit
206 x 206 x 46mm (WDH) 680g 2yr
standard warranty

100
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO The Network Business Focus

Zyxel NWA130BE
and 202MB/sec
respectively.

This affordable Wi-Fi 7 AP Our real-world

large file
delivers a good feature set copies
between the
and cloud management but client and a
Windows
below-par performance server on the
10GbE LAN
averaged
SCORE
close-range
PRICE £133 exc VAT speeds of
from broadbandbuyer.com 183MB/sec,
dropping to

S
171MB/sec
mall businesses nervous about with the AP
the cost of delivering Wi-Fi 7 moved ten
services can breathe easy with metres away.
Zyxel’s NWA130BE, a tri-band access licence, If you want
point that delivers an impressive includes Zyxel’s ABOVE The features such as Wi-Fi 7 MLO and
range of features at a very tempting collaborative detection and response NWA130BE is a captive portals for guest access you’ll
price. Its BE11000 rating makes big (CDR) security service and supports sturdy AP that’s need to move to cloud management,
performance promises and it management from Zyxel’s NXC also terrific value but this is easy to do. We logged into
supports standalone mode or cloud on-premises controllers or ATP/USG our cloud account using the NCC app
management from Zyxel’s slick security appliances. on an iPad, selected our site and
Nebula Control Center (NCC) portal. Installation of the NWA130BE in scanned in the QR code on the AP’s
The NWA130BE presents six standalone mode is ably assisted by a label. The app instantly picked up
spatial streams, with two each for web console wizard that guides you its MAC address and model name,
2.4GHz, 5GHz and 6GHz radios. Its through setting the country of added it to the site
main 2.5GbE multi-gigabit port operation, changing the default “The NCC portal presents an and, five minutes
requires an 802.3at PoE+ power admin password and creating informative dashboard with later, the AP started
source, or you can use an optional 12V radio profiles for the three bands.
customisable widgets broadcasting our
DC adapter, plus there’s an extra The AP supports up to eight SSIDs, cloud-managed SSIDs.
2.5GbE LAN port for networking and you can use custom profiles showing the status of all Zyxel The NCC portal
other wired devices. and objects to assign selected cloud-managed devices” presents an
The lozenge-shaped casing is radios and enable features such informative dashboard
sturdily constructed, and the box as upload and download rate limits with customisable widgets showing
includes a universal bracket for and QoS for prioritising voice or the status of all Zyxel cloud-managed
mounting on the wall or ceiling. video traffic. devices, total wireless traffic, APs
Drop ceilings are supported, with With the AP hooked up to the lab’s by usage, all connected wireless
Zyxel offering an optional set of clips Zyxel XS1930-12HP 10GbE PoE++ clients along with their detected OS,
at around £22 for a five-pack. switch, we ran performance tests and PoE consumption for our Zyxel
Before we delve any deeper, using a Lenovo Windows 11 Pro 24H2 switch. Up to eight site SSIDs are
it’s worth mentioning that Zyxel’s desktop client equipped with a supported where you choose your
more expensive WBE530 model TP-Link Archer TBE550S Wi-Fi 7 encryption scheme and use tags so
is physically identical to the PCI-E adapter. they’re only broadcast by APs that
NWA130BE. However, the WBE530 is Starting with Microsoft’s NTttcp BELOW It can be match it.
a NebulaFlex Pro version that comes utility, we recorded raw upstream managed in MLO can be enabled on selected
with a one-year NCC Pro Pack and downstream speeds of 213MB/sec standalone mode or SSIDs, but bear in mind it will disable
from Zyxel’s NCC many features including smart
meshing, rate limits, traffic shaping
and L2 isolation. Captive portals
are of more use as you can create
multiple designs using custom logos
and messages, with the SSID’s
advanced settings offering a good
range of authentication methods.
Wireless performance isn’t great
but the NWA130BE will appeal to
SMBs that want a budget-friendly
Wi-Fi 7 upgrade. It’s well built and
easy to deploy with Zyxel’s NCC
offering smart cloud management.

SPECIFICATIONS
BE11000 tri-band 2.4/5/6GHz 802.11be six
internal aerials 2.5GbE multi-Gig
LAN/802.3at PoE+ 2.5GbE LAN 12V DC
power input (adapter not included) ceiling/
wall mounting plate 250 x 160 x 47mm
(WDH) 808g limited lifetime warranty

101
Barco ClickShare
Bar Pro
A tad pricey, but this smart
all-in-one VC bar delivers
good quality and offers fast
meeting creation abilities
Pro with the ClickShare Buttons or
SCORE
Barco’s desktop and mobile apps.
PRICE £2,716 exc VAT Barco’s CX range of ClickShare
from ballicom.co.uk wireless conference products ABOVE The ClickShare connection and presented the client
comprise a base unit to which Bar Pro is incredibly with three new Windows devices: a

B
you connect a third-party VC easy to set up and useBarco room monitor, microphone and
arco’s ClickShare Bar Pro is an solution such as Logitech’s MeetUp speakers. At this stage, you can run
all-in-one videoconferencing and Rally products. any VC meeting app you want, and the
(VC) solution, but not as we The ClickShare Bar Pro is app also allows you to present your
know it. The clue is in the name: it essentially a base unit with integrated screen contents on the room monitor.
uses Barco’s clever ClickShare Button camera and audio. It comes with two Video quality is good, with the
technology to wirelessly create Buttons in the box, with the cheaper camera delivering a sharp image, good
instant meetings. Core model including one Button and colour balance and efficient backlight
It sports a 4K camera with a big lacking support for speaker framing compensation. The bar was quick to
120° field of view (FoV) and employs and dual displays. respond to movement, snapping to
digital pan, tilt and zoom (PTZ) Installation is simple, with RECOMMENDED the active speaker in under three
operations. Speaker the bar’s web interface seconds, and remote participants
tracking is handled by a providing easy access to said they could hear us clearly.
six MEMS microphone all features. You can Although we expected a bit more
beamforming array, set a custom LEFT The 4K camera punch from the dual 10W speakers,
while audio output wallpaper to appear has a wide 120º field an 80% volume level was enough to
is delivered by on the monitor of view fill our 24m2 meeting room.
a pair of 10W when it’s idle, Before use, the Buttons must be
ported speakers. choose from the paired with the bar by plugging each
Behind the rear four speaker one into the USB-C port on the side.
cable-tidy panel tracking modes and It’s completely automated, with the
you’ll find an HDMI apply one of three local monitor providing a progress bar
port for display preset security levels on the pairing process.
connection, along with to protect against Users then just plug
two USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 ports, unauthorised access. “The bar was quick to the Button into their
one of which can be used to After adding the review unit to respond to movement, personal device and
power a compatible monitor, our free Barco XMS cloud account, it
snapping to the active watch it instantly pair
with the second supporting DP Alt appeared as a new base unit. The with the bar over a
mode for connecting a client device portal is one of the best we’ve seen for speaker in under private, encrypted Wi-Fi
using an active USB cable. Network VC device management as it reveals a three seconds” connection. A light
features include a gigabit port and a wealth of graphical statistics and version of the client is
Wi-Fi 5 access point, and the bar charts on meetings, conferences plus stored on the Button, but for the full
presents a web browser console and presentations and provides full remote experience they can install the main
can be remotely managed from configuration access to base units. desktop client and use the virtual
Barco’s XMS cloud portal. We started testing with Barco’s remote app to choose a tracking mode
This is where any similarity Windows desktop app, which and manually control PTZ functions.
with standard VC bars ends. Client discovered the bar on the network. The ClickShare Bar Pro is a
devices access the ClickShare Bar After we entered the unique four-digit comparatively expensive all-in-one
code displayed VC bar, but points lost for value are
on the bar’s recouped for sheer ease of use. The
monitor, it innovative use of Buttons makes
created a meeting setup a breeze, and Barco’s
smart XMS cloud portal is ideal for
managing all your ClickShare real
BELOW/LEFT The estate. DAVE MITCHELL
VC bar can be
cloud-managed and SPECIFICATIONS
the app is easy to use 4K UHD camera 120° FoV digital PTZ (3x
zoom) 6 x MEMS mic array 2 x 10W speakers
gigabit Ethernet Wi-Fi 5 HDMI out 2 x
USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 DP in/out; USB-C 2 (pairing)
USB-A 2 2 x Gen4 ClickShare Buttons table/
wall mount external PSU 640 x 101 x 93mm
(WDH) 2.5kg 5yr warranty with SmartCare
registration

102
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO The Network Reviews

Epson WorkForce
Deploying the drivers and software
on our Windows 11 PCs was simple:

DS-800WN we visited Epson’s support site,

entered the model name and ran the

Wins for its speed, high- downloaded utility. This deftly

handled device discovery, driver
quality output and integration downloads, installation of Epson’s
Scan 2 and Document Capture Pro
with Epson’s great document utilities and a firmware update.
The Scan 2 utility provides plenty
management platform of scan controls and is loaded when
acquiring scans from third-party
products using the TWAIN driver.
SCORE
You can select a resolution, colour,
PRICE £656 exc VAT greyscale or mono scans, document
from ballicom.co.uk and contents skew correction,
simplex or duplex operations and

T
blank page skipping.
he WorkForce DS-800WN aims Document Capture Pro provides
to be one of Epson’s most excellent scan management tools.
versatile A4 desktop scanners You can create a range of jobs that
yet. A member of Epson’s ScanWay comprise scan settings, output
club, it can function as a standalone teams up a nippy 50ppm scan ABOVE Epson’s formats and destinations, job
network device for walk-up speed with a capacious 100-sheet DS-800WN is a quick separation using barcodes, patch
scanning, while support for Epson’s automatic document feeder (ADF) scanner that’s also codes or OCR detection areas and save
Open Platform (EOP) means it can and a solid 8,000-page daily duty highly customisable them for one-click access. Each PC
be easily integrated into Epson’s cycle. Connection options abound: appears in the scanner’s touchscreen
scanner management tools and along with a USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port, it so scans can be sent directly to them,
products developed by third-party has an integral gigabit LAN port and and assigning button numbers to
independent software vendors (ISVs). Wi-Fi 5 services. selected jobs on each PC makes them
EOP allows ISVs to customise The generous 10.9cm colour available for selection as well.
the scanner so it fits in seamlessly touchscreen is ideal for walk-up Performance is on the money,
with their software solution. Epson scanning, with icons for sending with our stack of 50 well-thumbed
works with a range of ISVs, documents directly to computers, bank statements scanned at the
including DocuSoft, which can network folders, FTP servers, email, RECOMMENDED quoted 50ppm for greyscale and
embed its document and data a local USB stick, cloud storage colour at both 200dpi and 300dpi
management software in the providers and Windows PCs using resolutions. Increasing the resolution
scanner’s web GUI and customise WSD (web services for devices). to 600dpi also returned respectable
the icons on the touchscreen. Computers are displayed in the speeds of 19.2ppm.
DocuSoft tightens security as all touchscreen once they have Epson’s “The DS-800WN teams up A high resolution
users must authenticate at the software installed, while other a good 50ppm scan speed won’t be needed for
scanner to use it, with all scans
automatically catalogued, indexed
network destinations are enabled
from the scanner’s web console.
with a capacious 100-sheet document archiving,
though, as greyscale
and placed in the desired storage We used the web console to ADF and a solid 8,000-page output quality at 200dpi is
repository. EOP support also allows register the scanner with our daily duty cycle” perfectly acceptable for
the DS-800WN to work happily Epson’s Connect portal account and these tasks, with the
with Epson’s Device Admin for could then create scan-to-cloud Document Capture Pro OCR service
centralised fleet management as well destinations that appeared in the correctly converting every word on
as its Print Admin (EPA) and EPA touchscreen for quick selection. our statements down to 6pt fonts.
Serverless for user authentication There’s a big choice, with Connect The scanner was very quiet when
and secure scanning services. supporting email, SharePoint, scanning our test documents and
As a straightforward sheet-fed Teams, Box, Dropbox, OneDrive, paper handling was perfect as we
desktop scanner, the DS-800WN Google Drive and EverNote. didn’t suffer a single paper jam.
Epson’s WorkForce DS-800WN is a
BELOW/LEFT The flexible desktop scanner with a good
scanner comes turn of speed and lots of connection
with good scan options. Epson’s software provides
management great scan management features, and
software tools support for EOP makes it a fine choice
for businesses that want to integrate
it into their document management
processes. DAVE MITCHELL

SPECIFICATIONS
600dpi A4 colour scanner 50ppm @ 300dpi
colour/mono simplex/duplex 100-page ADF
10.9cm colour touchscreen USB-A 3.2 Gen 1
gigabit Ethernet Wi-Fi 5 rec. daily duty
cycle, 8,000 pages external PSU Epson
Scan 2, Document Capture Pro software
296 x 169 x 167mm (WDH, closed) 3.6kg
1yr on-site service warranty

103
Get ready for the
biggest security
threats of
2025
Forewarned is forearmed: Davey Winder explores
the likely online risks of the year ahead

A
s a new year dawns, IT The evolution of “Tricking authorised In 2025 we can expect to
managers will naturally phishing attacks see phishing continue to
be wondering what threats There are plenty of names bandied users into compromising become more sophisticated.
2025 will bring. And I hope about these days for different modes their credentials remains The days of wannabe
you’re sitting down, because here of social engineering attack, such as the single biggest threat cyber-gangsters spraying
comes my shocking prediction: the
major risks will be... broadly the same
“vishing” (phishing with voice calls),
“quishing” (deceptive QR codes) and
to most organisations” generic messages across
millions of email addresses,
as they were in 2024. While we can so forth. But whatever you call it, in the expectation of reeling in just
never be complacent about security, tricking authorised users into 1% with the bait are all but over.
completely new modes of attack compromising their credentials Phishing has become much more
emerge quite rarely, and certainly remains the single biggest threat to directed and specialised, from
not to an annual schedule. most organisations. It’s an effective initial-access brokers who sell
But that doesn’t mean you can and cost-efficient method for network access through fraudsters
relax. While the nature of the threats attackers to gain initial access to a targeting specific companies or
may be broadly the same from one network, hard to defend against – BELOW AI employees for a profitable payday,
year to the next, the methods are there are no patches available for deepfakes raise the and ending up with groups acting
always evolving, becoming smarter human nature – and especially tricky stakes when it on behalf of nation states. They use
and more subtle. And that means because it can take so many forms, as comes to online persistent and laser-focused targeting
your security defences need to evolve all those silly names bear witness to. impersonation of individuals, often for purposes of
along with them. surveillance rather than
And it’s not just the biggest extortion or disruption.
organisations that need to keep up. As This evolution of
we’ve said so many times in the past, phishing is hugely
SMBs are far from immune to supported by AI. For
cybercrime: if you have a bank example, we’re increasingly
balance and customer data, you’re seeing attackers make use
fair game to a hacker. of “deepfakes” – AI-
In fact, with larger organisations generated voice or even
making major investments in video messages that look
cybersecurity, smaller businesses are and sound convincingly
becoming more attractive targets, as like, say, a company
they tend to be less well protected director. Just a couple of
than enterprises. years ago, such technology
So what are the emerging threats, was too expensive and
and how can you protect yourself resource-heavy for regular
from them? Let’s start with the most cybercriminals to use, and
common threat facing organisations remained firmly in the
today, tomorrow and throughout nation-state basket of
2025 – phishing. weapons. Today,

104
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO The NetworkWindows on Mac
Security threats 2025

Bad practice
staggeringly good virtual imposters
are easily within reach, and can be
used to convince employees to hand
over credentials, or even sign off At the risk of sounding like an As for the same old protections, over-enthusiastic admins, too: in
financial transfers on the apparent old-fashioned teacher, the biggest I hardly need to explain the 2025, nobody should be insisting
say-so of a senior director. danger to businesses in 2025 is foolishness of relying on non-AI- employees change their passwords
This isn’t a theoretical threat. their own bad practice. Whether aware security tools in an age when every few months. In theory, yes,
Assaf Rappaport, the CEO of it’s through a lack of clear security the attackers are all employing it’s a good idea to ensure that any
disruptive cloud security company policies, insufficient planning or AI-driven exploits. Get with the stolen credentials will only have a
Wiz, recently revealed how he had relying upon the same old programme and at least investigate short window of validity. But the
himself been cloned. Wiz employees protections as they have for the how AI could help rather than National Cyber Security Centre
received a voice message seemingly past decade, companies are leaving hinder your operations from the has been advising against forced
from him, but immediately themselves exposed to attack and security perspective. password changes for a decade
recognised that something was off: major disruption when it happens. If all of this sounds like a because, and I quote: “The chances
Rappaport suffers from public- A lack of planning is perhaps the complex and expensive burden, I are that the new password will be
speaking anxiety, and the fake audio most insidious risk. That doesn’t sympathise. Depending on the similar to the old one.”
had been created using a recording of just mean putting things down on size and nature of your business, Rather, if there’s only one
him talking at a conference, where paper: I’ve known businesses with it can be a major distraction to try security change you make in
his voice sounded quite different to carefully considered, painstakingly to stay up to date with network the coming year, one of the
how he would usually speak in a drafted incident response security at the same time as best things you can do is ditch
one-to-one conversation. That stroke processes – which nobody in the running your core business. If passwords altogether, and switch
of luck exposed the fakery, but others organisation has any experience of you’re in such a situation, consider to digital passkeys. These provide
won’t be so fortunate. using. In the high-stress scenario outsourcing your security stronger confirmation of
Here’s an example illustrating of an unfolding security incident, operations to a third party that someone’s identity, while being
another nefarious use of AI: Sam the last thing anybody needs is a can keep on top of them for you. easier to use – and far harder to
Mitrovic, a Microsoft solutions bunch of people all opening up a There’s one last type of bad steal. Stop attackers from gaining
consultant specialising in security, set of instructions for the first practice that I continue to see every initial access and you’ll be well
almost fell victim to a super-realistic time and trying to figure out who week, and that’s bad password protected against the latest
phishing attack in the form of a does what and management. I’m not solely evolutions and developments in the
contact from “Google Support”, when. blaming the users here, but never-ending security arms race.
asking him to confirm a
password reset request.
The attack started with
a bog-standard “click Automatic analysis tools on. The ransomware Hydra is far from
here” message, but was won’t simulate these dead: on the contrary, like phishing,
then followed within unusual behaviours, and it continues to evolve.
the hour by a telephone so won’t observe what If you’ve been keeping an eye on
call from an AI- happens next. the threat landscape, you’ll already
generated support know that it’s been a long time since
worker, seeming to What can you do about a ransomware attack “only” locked
confirm the request. such threats? The usual up your network and data, and
In the end, the attack answers of awareness demanded a ransom to get then
failed because Mitrovic and education naturally back. A dual-threat tactic is now
twigged that the voice was apply, but organisations standard for most ransomware
computer-generated, and should also be employing operators, where data is exfiltrated
asked for a confirmation email internal access controls and before the lockdown and used as
– which duly arrived, but from a monitoring to detect anything out additional leverage, with the threat
bogus address that gave the game ABOVE Even 2FA of the ordinary – even something that your sensitive data will be sold
away. It’s easy to see how such red doesn’t guarantee not obviously dangerous – as soon to other malicious parties, or
flags could easily have been missed by accounts can’t be as it happens. Robust procedural published openly, if you don’t pay.
a busy person trying to deal with compromised policies are valuable, too, to defend Indeed, some criminal gangs now
what appeared to be a bona fide against the likes of business email focus almost exclusively on that
security request. compromise, invoice fraud and other aspect of the threat.
Before we move on, it’s worth standard phishing threats. There’s also a general trend in
quickly mentioning a couple of ransomware away from scattershot
other evolving phishing attack Ransomware rises tactics and, again, towards highly
methodologies: yet again targeted attacks. As mentioned
Last year saw several news stories already, phishing plays a central role

1 The abuse of Google Forms, the free

online document creation tool that’s “A dual-threat tactic is
about global law
enforcement co-operation
in gaining initial access to the
networks of the victim – in fact, this
part of Google Workspace. Using this now standard for most taking down big part of the attack is now almost
service allows attackers to share
documents that come from a genuine
ransomware operators, ransomware networks,
and even arresting key
exclusively carried out by affiliate
operators working “on contract”
Google address (workspacesupport@ where data is exfiltrated players in high-profile to ransomware developers and
google.com), adding the appearance of before the lockdown” cybercrime groups, so you owners. They do the donkey work of
legitimacy to the fraud. might think you can relax compromising the networks, stealing
a little in 2025, at least as far as that the data and blackmailing the victim

2 Automated detection-tool avoidance

by adding human interaction – for
example, prompting someone to “click
particular threat is concerned.
The truth, and it’s a bitter one I
admit, is that when you cut the head
using the malware provided by the
owner. If ever you needed convincing
that cybersecurity requires a holistic
here”, but instructing the victim to hold off one such group at least two or approach, this move to “ransomware-
down the Ctrl key while clicking. three smaller ones emerge and carry as-a-service” should be it.

105
 The Network Security threats 2025 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO

Supply-chain attacks
We’ve talked about updating your
security protections, but what about
those of your partners? Supply-chain
attacks are another rising trend that
can’t be ignored in 2025. In this type
of attack, threat actors exploit
vulnerabilities in one company’s
systems to gain access to another’s,
such as by embedding malware in
their products.
This is another reason why even
small businesses can’t be complacent
about security. Even if your own
assets are of little value to the
attacker, you could be targeted
as a route into a bigger prey.
Larger organisations,
meanwhile, have to be
alert to dangers coming
not only from unknown
outsiders, but also from
their closest partners.
Supply-chain
attacks are too often
overlooked by small
and medium-sized
It’s important to note that this specific avenue of attack businesses. After all, you
new model of operation opens the that again has links to have enough on your hands
threat vector to a broader church of phishing, as it’s another worrying about your own
criminals who don’t need high-level method of gaining initial access security without having to worry
tech skills to execute an attack. to your systems. However, MFAB about someone else’s, right? At the
Everything, including initial access, isn’t about stealing your username TOP Old-fashioned very least though you can manage
can be bought if you have enough and password – the attacker may hacking remains a your liability and exposure by having
crypto to invest. Despite successful already have those, either from a constant threat strict cybersecurity standards written
law-enforcement takedowns, the previous phishing attack or from into your contracts with suppliers.
ransomware landscape is thus getting one of the many compromised ABOVE Hardware
more, not less, complex, with more credential databases available from security keys are Domain hijacking
than 70 active ransomware groups underground criminal marketplaces. an increasingly It’s not always the newest, most
operating globally. Rather, as the name indicates, common form of exciting threats that can cost your
In this situation, prevention is MFAB is designed to get around the malware defence enterprise dearly. Veteran readers
most definitely better than cure. If multi-factor authentication methods may remember the five-year legal
you do get hit, paying a ransom may you use precisely to defend against battle over the appropriation of
actually be illegal, depending upon such a password compromise. At sex.com back in the mid-1990s,
your jurisdiction and industry sector. their simplest, these attacks redirect and while it’s unlikely that a rival
Even if it’s not, handing over the a user to a faked account page in order would try to take over and build a
demanded funds is no guarantee that to get them to log in; they then trigger business off the back of your domain,
you’ll get all your encrypted data a valid 2FA request from the real site, a cybercriminal could use your good
back, or that the criminal gang won’t forward it to the victim, and intercept name to spread malware, or as a base
sell your stolen data on anyway. To their response. The attacker can then for other malicious activity.
reduce the risk, the FBI recommends use this to access the service as a fully The most common way this can
three basic cyber-hygiene measures, authenticated account. happen is when DNS settings are
which all businesses should be Educational defences are sadly not misconfigured, such as by
following anyway: likely to save you here: if the victim “Even if your own assets domain servers pointing to
has fallen victim to the initial are of little value to the the wrong authoritative
1 Install updates for operating systems,
software and firmware as soon as
they’re released.
phishing or malware compromise
then they’re already in danger. But
you can defeat such attacks by using
attacker, you could be name server. An attacker can
use this to redirect anyone
targeted as a route into trying to access your website
multi-factor authentication methods a bigger prey” to a fake copy hosting any

2 Require phishing-resistant, non-SMS-

based multi-factor authentication.
that can’t be intercepted, such as
hardware security keys or virtual
passkeys stored on the user’s device.
number of malicious exploits.
The better the reputation of the
domain to begin with, the more

3 Educate users to recognise and report

phishing attempts.
This is why online sites and
services are increasingly offering
passkey login, and browsers such as
valuable the hijacked product and
the profitability to the attacker.
Your own systems might not be
Chrome and Safari also now employ affected by an attack like this, but the
Multi-factor authentication app-bound encryption and keychain potential for reputational damage is
bypass attacks protections respectively. These huge, as is the loss of business and
With the holistic approach to security encrypt data tied to identity, so that other repercussions of visitors being
in mind, we come to a third trend that even if an application is running as unable to reach you. Mitigation is as
you need to be aware of. Multi-factor the logged-in user it can’t gain access simple as it is obvious: ensure your
authentication bypass (MFAB) is a to “secrets” such as session cookies. domains are properly configured.

106
 @P
@ PC
CPPR
ROO FFA
ACCEEBBO
OOOK
K..CCO
OMM//PPCCPPRRO
O The
TheNetwork
NetworkCheat
CheatSheet
Sheet
existing asymmetric cryptographic
methods are effectively useless. Some
attackers are already preparing for
that day by stockpiling stolen data
that can’t currently be decrypted, but
which could one day be broken open
to reveal valuable secrets.

So should we work on the basis

that cryptography is already dead?
Things aren’t quite that bad. While
cryptographic algorithms that rely
on asymmetry are on their way out,
there are other approaches that are
much less susceptible to quantum
cracking. One such model is
symmetric encryption, as used
by the AES algorithm. This encodes
and decodes data using an arbitrary
key that can’t be mathematically
derived, so attackers can’t use

Post-quantum
quantum computing to help them
break it. However, symmetrical
encryption introduces the new
challenge of finding a secure way of
exchanging the encryption keys.

cryptography
And research is ongoing into other
quantum-resistant mathematical
methods that could replace today’s
widely used algorithms, such as
lattice- and hash-based cryptography.
Quantum-proof encryption is already
built into some popular tools that
Is all our sensitive data about to be blown wide open? emphasise security and privacy, such
as iMessage, Signal and NordVPN,

Steve Cassidy discovers how quantum changes the game and is becoming more widespread.

How can I be sure that I’m using

an encryption system that’s not
So what’s the connection between Is this a real problem? Does anyone Read our report from quantum-vulnerable?
quantum and cryptography? actually have a quantum computer 2024’s media event There’s no easy way to verify for
Quantum computing is a tricky topic, that powerful? held at IBM Research yourself that a given algorithm won’t
but you can think of it like this: in a Right now, the biggest quantum Europe on p14 be vulnerable to quantum cracking
quantum computer, a single bit of computer in the world is IBM’s in the future, but you can get some
data can represent both zero and one Condor, which comprises 1,121 qubits reassurance by keeping an eye on big
simultaneously. These magical – so you don’t need to panic just yet. businesses such as banks and tech
registers are called qubits, and if you However, the field is advancing giants. When they abandon an
stack a lot of them together you can quickly, and cloud-based quantum encryption standard, you’ll know
perform mathematical operations on services are already widely available the danger is real. And it’s a good bet
millions of different values at once – from Amazon, IBM, Microsoft and that whatever system they move to
and then use probabilistic analysis others. Computer scientists live in will be safe from quantum attacks,
on the results to extract the answer anticipation of “Q-day” (flippantly because they have the resources to
you’re looking for. known as “Y2Q”), when quantum verify that for themselves – and every
computing reaches the point that incentive to get it right.
And the connection to

Quantum jargon
code-breaking?
Many mainstream cryptographic
systems are asymmetric. They rely on
the fact that it’s quick and easy for a Qubit: A unit in a quantum system that’s capable of HNDL: “Harvest Now, Decrypt Later” – the chilling
computer to multiply two prime having a value of zero or one – or both values at once. modus operandi of sucking up encrypted data today,
numbers together, but much more The term is also used to refer to a physical particle in the expectation that it will be possible to crack it in
time-consuming to reverse the that expresses this value, such as an electron or a the future with quantum computing. Though a real
operation and find the prime factors of photon whose spin or polarity can be used to encode threat, the resources required mean this is more
a given number. In fact, the fastest binary data. likely to be a nation-state activity than a regular hack.
computers we have today would take QRNG: Although quantum mechanics creates NIST IR 8413: A report by the US National Institute of
trillions of years to crack a 2,048-bit problems for some forms of cryptography, it also Standards and Technology detailing the ongoing
RSA encryption key. Quantum enables the creation of a Quantum Random Number process of selecting quantum-proof methods of
computing changes the game: it’s Generator – a device that uses the chaos of quantum encryption to be adopted as national standards.
estimated that a quantum computer effects to create truly random numbers. This can be If you’re familiar with advanced mathematics and
working with 20 million qubits a valuable resource for security purposes, as the cryptographic algorithms, you can read the report
could crack the same encryption sequence is impossible to predict. for yourself at tinyurl.com/365nistir.
key in just eight hours.

107
Real world
computing
Expert advice from our panel of professionals

JON HONEYBALL

“Being able to log in to your cloud VM

session from a generic piece of
hardware is a dream for IT managers”
Why Microsoft’s new mini PC isn’t a bad deal, a reader rides to the rescue
and a slow “exodi” from two of the world’s biggest social media platforms

A
s we slide into a new year, it’s Microsoft is responsible for keeping The pricing is not outrageous at
always good to take stock of it updated, managed and so forth, around $349. Somewhat more than a
how we do things, and with you applying your policy Raspberry Pi, but then you’re getting
whether they’re actually best aligned settings through the usual Office a box that, itself, will be part of the
with our needs. 365-style portal. managed estate. If I were an IT
Let’s start in the enterprise Although useful, I wasn’t using it manager with an office full of ageing
space, because there are changes on a day-to-day basis, so I shut it desktop PCs, and we as a company
happening here that are hard to down, knowing I could revive the were all-in on the Microsoft platform,
ignore. These days, corporates love capability in minutes if required. Jon is the MD of an IT then this would be a very tempting
to run their normal line of business Running it from a browser or RDP consultancy that offer indeed. You might think this is a
applications on Azure and to use client is simple enough, but still specialises in testing full return of computing to the cloud,
Office 365 as a standard platform. feels like you’re wallpapering the and deploying kit including desktops, in an almost
Some services can be hosted on other hallway via the letterbox. @jonhoneyball mainframe fashion, but that sort of
platforms, notably AWS, especially So the announcement that chat requires beer. For the larger
for tools provided by a third party. Microsoft has a dedicated desktop organisations, including those who
But Azure has built up very strong computing box to support this “If I were an IT hotdesk, this is going to be appealing.
traction, and the deep integration function is very interesting. Called manager with Of course, some people need to
with Office 365 can’t be ignored. Windows 365 Link, it’s been work on the move. Connecting to a
Windows, as a desktop platform, announced but not yet shipped. It’s a
an office full of remote cloud virtual machine is
has been brought into this realm by small desktop box into which you ageing PCs, this going to be difficult on the 7.50am
the deployment and management connect screen, mouse, keyboard and would be a very from Esher, because of the unreliable
tools that Microsoft offers. And it network. It runs a heavily locked
tempting offer” nature of the connection. For these
really is almost a no-brainer for those down version of Windows, and can’t users, keeping a local installation of
companies that want Office 365, run apps locally. The OS is there to Windows, along with the data, is
Teams, Outlook and so forth in a allow it to boot and connect. When going to be key, although this might
wholly managed environment. connected to a Windows 365 cloud BELOW The Windows well focus on locally cached email
The chink in the armour has virtual machine, it operates just like a 365 Link could be of and Teams, rather than cloud-hosted
always been Windows itself. About a normal computer. great interest to IT line of business applications that
year ago, I looked at the new cloud- And of course it’s fully integrated managers need a more stable connection.
hosted Windows 365 offering, where with Intune, Entra and
you can run your Windows session all the other enterprise-
on a cloud server. I ran it for some level tools that are in the
months, and it was incredibly easy 365 platform.
to use and configure. At the time it Being able to log in to
was Windows 10, but Windows 11 has your cloud VM session from
come along in the meantime. You a generic piece of hardware,
simply choose the size of virtual and for this to be fully
machine you need (CPUs, RAM, locked down, is a dream for
storage) and it’s built on the fly for corporate IT managers,
you. There’s no “shut down” per se, especially those who have
but the VM is put into hibernation an estate of hardware to
when you aren’t connected to it. It’s manage. It won’t be so good
“just there” when you do. And for weird configurations or
app installations, but given
that a huge swathe of such
users are running Office
365 and apps that run in a
browser, the simplicity is
going to be a big hit.

110
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Real world computing

Jon Honeyball Lee Grant Olivia Whitcroft Davey Winder Steve Cassidy
Opinion on Windows, Apple and Tales from the front line of Lawyer Olivia offers legal advice Keeping small businesses The wider vision on cloud and
everything in between – p108 computer repair – p111 for the tech industry – p116 safe since 1997 – p118 infrastructure – p122

For the smaller enterprise, both of

these solutions will work very well,
and Office 365 remains the reigning
king for such work. However,
Google is still pushing its corporate
platform, and I know several
organisations that swear by it.
At the small business and personal
space, there are interesting choices to
be made. You can have an Office 365
installation, and use OneDrive to
hold your data, and cloud Exchange
Server to hold email. But you’re
lacking the sort of infrastructure
help that comes from a corporate IT
department, with both the skills feed is a cesspit of ranting nonsense. ABOVE The Windows have enabled “Protect your posts” so
and funding to ensure that things My “Following” feed is a lot better, 365 Link includes all my posts are now only visible to
won’t go wrong and, when they do, but I have been noticing quite a lot of the ports you’re likely those who already follow me. And I
that they can be fixed. people leaving, saying they’ve had to need will be going through that list and
I am still a big advocate of a local enough. I don’t blame them. I know having a thorough prune, because I
server such as a Synology, which you that when I stop paying, my know there are bot accounts there.
can use as a hub of data storage and “Following” feed will revert to its Turning on “protect your posts” also
replication, both for files and also previous 50% useful, 50% garbage prevents Twitter from using my
for your Office 365 cloud data adverts, but that’s fine. It’s taken future posts to train its engine.
(emails, OneDrive and so forth). Not remarkably few moves to push me to So it’s not over, but it’s pushed
having this, and relying on a tired rehydrating my Bluesky account. “Twitter wants into the weeds for the time being. I’ll
installation of Dropbox, might seem a And, for the moment, that’s where to use my still read it, but I’m actively looking
little too risky. Cloud services are fine I’m going for my real-time news for alternative feeds from those
until something bad happens, and feeds. Over there, it feels like the
postings to feed sources that I enjoy engaging with.
you discover that all your data is early days of Twitter, and maybe it its AI training Fortunately, they’re popping up
actually “over there” and the gates too will sink into the slime just as engine, and I’m on Bluesky at a rapid rate, and that
are locked. Not many hundreds of Twitter did, even before Elon took not happy” platform is experiencing a huge
pounds buys you a very capable NAS over. But his arrival has undoubtedly increase in utilisation. I also like that
that can keep your email, calendars, hastened the rot. users can recommend lists of people
files and so on safely stored away, and I won’t be giving up on Twitter to follow, and you can then browse
why wouldn’t you want that? for the time being, but I have through the list and follow some or
Let’s turn to the true mobile downloaded my history for posterity, all of them with a few mouse clicks.
platform. I know I’m old-fashioned and then I will go about using some Bluesky is limited to 300
when I say that I viscerally dislike third-party tool to delete it, although characters or so, but this is no great
the use of employees’ own equipment I keep hearing bad things about such hardship. I rarely read long-form
for business purposes. It’s entirely services. It appears that Twitter BELOW Elon Musk posts on Twitter anyway.
understandable why remote wants to use my postings to feed its AI has hastened the So that’s the first of my exodi.
management is required by the training engine, and I’m not happy exodus from Twitter The next is Facebook. Now I know I
organisation, but mixing home and with that. As part of the lock down, I to Bluesky originally said I wouldn’t go there,
work like this isn’t a good idea. It but it has been incredibly useful to
isn’t getting any better, and the get in touch with various
potential regulations limiting friends and acquaintances.
out-of-office work and contact However, I’ve always kept
will make this even more apparent. that account heavily
Just hand out fully managed work locked down. What my
phones and keep things simple. friends and I are doing is
setting up groups on
A month of exodi WhatsApp. There really
I guess the plural of exodus is exodi? isn’t much of importance
Although that doesn’t seem to please that I can’t do on WA that
the spull chucker, it will do for now. I could do on Facebook.
Nevertheless, it’s time to move on. And that too has turned
First, from Twitter. My experiment into a cesspit of random
with paying for the blue tick on advertising. Just like
Twitter is coming to an end. Yes, I Twitter, the algorithm
have no adverts any more, but the seems far more scattergun
reality is inescapable – the “For You” than usefully targeted, and

111
 LEFT Mark Goossens compared to Parallels, which costs
the recent changes to the takes full advantage quite a lot per seat per year. However,
Chrome browser platform of Brodit’s mounts in I note that it has dropped its price to
means that a raft of useful his Caterham £67.49 from £89.99 for the standard
Facebook filter tools really edition, and to £74.99 down from
don’t work any more – and have £99.99 for the Pro edition. So it looks
never worked on mobile. Like like competition is good for all.
Twitter, I’m not going to leave Meanwhile, I keep hearing of
Facebook, but will keep it as a larger enterprises that are looking
secondary platform for contact to exit their VMware installations.
with those other friends. The word on the street is that
This isn’t the first time that Broadcom has cranked up the
this merry band have packed up licensing cost, and VMware isn’t the
and moved camp. Many of us only game in town in that sort of app
started out in the early 1990s management and virtualisation.
on CIX, even before the internet In the meantime, I’d recommend
became mainstream. And we’ve grabbing Fusion or the Windows
been on CIX, IRC and other client from VMware, and use that.
places before ending up on It’s a super way of running Windows
Twitter and Facebook. The next apps on a Mac, or running Windows
wave is Bluesky and WhatsApp, which sells a wide range of mounts “I can just say apps on Windows but in a fully
and there’s a reassuring feeling to and clips and should allow me to use ‘meh’ and move contained platform.
making the move. the 25W-capable MagSafe mounting.
He sent me a photo of the mounting
on. Could you do How frequent is frequent
Crashing Synology in his Caterham, above, so clearly he the same?” enough for updates?
One of my older Synology NAS drives is a gentleman of good taste. This is a good discussion for a pint
has an external Synology drive cage Having gone to Brodit’s website, at the pub. How often do you want
that holds a bunch of hard disks. it’s evident the company has just to receive updates for your
Since it would be stupid to have one what I need. And once I was looking applications? I think we would agree
volume across both the internal and there, I remembered that I’d seen this that, in most cases, having automatic
external disks, there are two separate vendor before. So now I’m kicking updating is a good idea, because the
volumes. And I’m getting reports myself that my memory let me down. rise of zero-day exploits means
from the system that the external I am going to dive into its site and that the potential exposure of not
drive cage has crashed, taking out all find the necessary pieces, and updating must be weighed against a
the disks held within. Fortunately, a upgrade. Having asked around, bad update being installed for you.
reboot was all that was needed to Brodit gets a universal thumbs up, For myself, I update quite
bring things back to normal, but I so it appears to be the go-to place. religiously, but I’ve made sure that I
suspect this is time to pension off the have other routes to my data and
box to a much lower-priority task. VMware’s free for all services if this particular piece of
It’s the best part of ten years old now VMware has decided to make its hardware dies.
anyway, and that’s too long to be macOS Fusion and Windows desktop It’s instructive to look at the
good for front-line use. virtualisation platform free for all Google Play Store and the Apple App
Of course, I was lucky that the users. Earlier in the year it made it Store to see how frequently vendors
crashing volume didn’t seriously free for home users, but still paid-for BELOW VMware update their apps. Many companies
ruin my afternoon. Or actually, not for business users, but now it’s free is now free for do it regularly, often several times
lucky at all – because it’s part of a for all. Of course, this puts it at a business users as a month. For some categories, this
multi-machine setup that’s significant competitive edge well as home users isn’t actually to fix bugs or add new
distributed over three physical features for your particular
buildings. And has cloud backup to device, but to add in
two different services. And it isn’t the capabilities for newly
primary server anyway. Because of released hardware. In this
that, I can just say “meh” and move case, the app is actually a
on. Could you do the same? shell platform into which
“personality” pieces are
MagSafe charging inserted – look at the way
Last month I covered my Wi-Fi and security camera
disappointments with Quad Lock and apps work here. A new piece
its charging on iPhones, due to its of hardware is released, and
7.5W limit. I’ve found an in-car an app update is required to
mount which at least does 15W. But support it. So this is sent out,
thanks to reader Mark Goossens for even though it might not
telling me about Brodit (brodit.co.uk), make any impact on your
particular installation.
So how long is too long to
have an update? When I’m
looking at a new platform or
tool, I always check the app
stores and see whether the

112
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Real world computing

app is from the vendor itself, or is LEE GRANT

some bought-in third-party tool,

“Someone at Microsoft is making

which is usually enough to wave a big
red flag. Then I check the updated

decisions that are turning my

date, and if it’s more than six months,
I start to get concerned. More than a
year, and I’m twitchy. Any more than
that, and I walk away.
Although there might be no
new features to release, and no
customers pretzel-shaped”
significant security bugs to address, After revealing the inner workings of a secretive Microsoft department,
the development platforms for iOS we explain how you – yes, you! – can become a repair hero in 2025
and Android apps moves forward.

D
Apple is especially aggressive at
pushing developers to keep up to eep inside Microsoft’s The DORKS at Microsoft should be
date. So an ageing app might point to corporate strata, overseeing congratulated for this Penn and Teller
developer malaise, which then turns products for home users, is the calibre sleight of hand. One innocent
into customer dissatisfaction. Always Department (of) Overzealous Random click fires user data into the cloud
make app updating part of your Knob Switchers (DORKS). It’s a without the customer realising. If
decision criteria for new apps, department so secretive that Microsoft you’re thinking that Carla should be
hardware and services. will deny that it even exists. For legal more aware and read the information
The same thinking applies to reasons, I also have to admit that I’ve Microsoft puts on the screen to
firmware. Is there a firmware made it up, but someone at Microsoft Lee Grant and his wife explain what’s about to happen, then
download capability? Is it automatic? is making ridiculous decisions that are have run a repair shop you have a point. However, for the
What’s the current version, and can turning my customers pretzel-shaped. in West Yorkshire for millions that don’t understand the
you see a history on the support Until Microsoft is prepared to put its over 20 years terminology, the keep-clicking-until-
section of the vendor’s website? If hand up and say “it’s our fault”, then @userfriendlypc it-goes-away technique usually
there are no updates, or it’s three I’ll have to continue blame the results in a Microsoft-positive
years old, then ask yourself why. non-existent DORKS at Microsoft. outcome. The DORKS at Microsoft
have loaded the system so declining
Monthly internet usage OneDrive to enrage them all the service is tougher than accepting.
Just checked the usage statistics on Carla is a good person. She’s a key The question is: why? Is Microsoft
the internet connection at home. This player in the local volunteer group, using OneDrive data to feed Copilot?
has a primary line of 1GbE fibre from giving her free time to make the It says no, but the Mozilla Foundation
Gigaclear, and a Starlink satellite community a better place. But she “One innocent is asking for clarity. Its petition
connection for fail-over backup. isn’t a tech person. When her entire click fires user (tinyurl.com/365mozilla) states: “We
library of charity and policy had four lawyers, three privacy
documents became inaccessible from
data into the experts and two campaigners look at
her laptop... well, you can imagine. cloud without Microsoft’s new Service Agreement,
Carla’s setup isn’t complicated. A the customer and none of our experts could tell if
Windows 11 laptop with Word and realising” Microsoft plans on using your
Excel 2010. At some point, probably personal data.” AI-fuelling debate
during a Windows update, Carla aside, the other benefit to Microsoft is
inadvertently clicked to let OneDrive old-fashioned cash-grab subscriptions.
manage her desktop, documents and After the switcheroo, Carla saw
photos. She had no memory of doing red crosses next to her files. These
this, nor did she know what OneDrive BELOW Messages represent sync errors, but could mean
is. Regular readers may recall that I’ve about storage being anything to the unaware. Carla then
spoken about this phenomenon in full can be confusing started receiving messages about
previous issues. to the unaware “drive full”, so she panicked and
ABOVE 4.86TB of data in a month is perfectly began clearing out files.
normal, isn’t it? For clarity, Carla’s laptop has a
500GB SSD with around 400GB free.
It seems that in the past three There was no need to delete files, but
weeks, I’ve used 4.2GB of data on the messages she misunderstood was
the Starlink connection when OneDrive bleating that she’d filled
the primary line has been down. her complimentary 5GB of space.
And a whopping 4.86TB of data Disaster finally struck when she
on the fibre. accidentally deleted the wrong files.
I assume this isn’t unusual? For you, learned PC Pro reader, the
I’m asking for a friend... fix is simple. OneDrive flagged that a
[email protected] number of files had been removed,
giving restoration options. I clicked
and the files returned. OneDrive isn’t
a terrible system, but the way the
DORKS at Microsoft have implemented
storage balancing is mystifying. This
was the root of Carla’s chaos.

113
 Carla’s Hotmail account gives decent cooling fans.
her 5GB of OneDrive space, which Ultrabook cooling fans are
Microsoft had graciously allowed to slim and sufficient for the
overspill to 6GB and was offering task, but it doesn’t take much
subscriptions to increase capacity. debris to block them. Ivor’s
However, the content of OneDrive laptop kept shutting down
wasn’t the problem. because the blocked fan was
Another clue: Carla’s Hotmail tripping the thermal cutout.
email was holding 4.7GB out of her Ivor opened it up, cleaned the
Hotmail allowance of 15GB. Can you fan, replaced the lid and
spot the problem? Carla couldn’t, found the machine would
and it’s no wonder. only stay powered on for
Some time ago, Microsoft linked about three seconds.
user email storage to OneDrive (see When he brought it in, I
issue 351, p113 for more on this). mentioned that there was a
Carla’s 4.7GB of (mainly) attachments screw missing from the
is tallied against her 5GB OneDrive underside. I didn’t intend to
allowance, not her 15GB of email System Backup on Windows 11 is the ABOVE The Ultrabook criticise, but it’s good practice to note
storage. Carla’s OneDrive is full, not same 2009 Windows 7 utility. was shorting due to a anomalies when a machine comes
because of her documents or photos, An often overlooked facet of the missing screw into my possession. It’s the standard
but because she has a lot of email “don’t pay for antivirus” debate is hire-car scenario. Ivor placed the
attachments. Despite having over the additional facilities many AV missing screw onto the counter,
10GB of free capacity in her email packages offer. One of Norton’s USPs saying that he couldn’t get it to fit.
allowance, she’s been snared in a is its simple USB backup solution. This narrative’s unsubtle
booby-trapped system. In addition, Today, for the customers that Chekhov’s gun caused the fault.
Carla accesses this email on her request it, Norton USB backup is a One environmental issue that many
phone and hadn’t spotted Microsoft’s simple two-click process. technology manufacturers are slow to
warning that unless she cleared the address is the plastic composition of
5GB blockage, her email would stop 2024’s DVD extras “Ivor slipped their products. As Ivor’s Ultrabook
in 16 days. Before the inevitable anticipointment into repair’s had been overheating, the hinge
So, in short, OneDrive is blocked of the New Year kicks in, I need to plastics had become brittle. During
because of Hotmail and Hotmail will empty the story vault from 2024.
jeopardy pit the fan clean, the brittle plastic broke
stop working because of OneDrive. Here are some repair shorts from the by starting off, then shifted. By some fluke, this
Nice work, DORKS! past 12 months that, for various with one fault fragment contained the brass bush
I couldn’t fix Carla’s problem in reasons, didn’t make it to PC Pro.
and ending that the screw fits inside (hence why
the traditional sense of offering a I’m always encouraged when he couldn’t refit the last screw), and it
complete solution. Deleting email is people try repair. From a business with two” had slid over the power button’s
not a task I usually get involved with. point of view, this could be seen as connections, shorting them.
Although I’m often asked to tidy up corporate suicide, but the bigger A dab of glue and Ivor’s laptop
data stores, I explain it’s akin to picture is more important. Simply put: was back on, with a full complement
asking me to clear out a customer’s for the sake of the environment, we of screws.
wardrobe. I may get most of it right, need to fix more stuff.
but there’s a risk I may throw out a Ivor had never fixed a laptop. He I SAID, SILENT COMPUTING!
prized cravat. I made suggestions as inadvertently slipped into repair’s In the same vein, when I’m brought a
to what Carla should do next and jeopardy pit by starting with one desktop, I pick it up and give it a
switched off OneDrive’s photo sync to fault and ending with two. gentle shake. Many of them rattle
stop the nagging. The UI’s file storage His small HP laptop was because a retaining screw made a
declared that Carla was now only overheating. One gotcha with thin break for freedom, but not like Suzy’s.
using 2.5GB of 5GB. Her Microsoft Ultrabooks is that by the time the BELOW Quiet life: the It really rattled. It also wouldn’t boot.
account disagreed, maintaining the design team has forced a normal SSD that fell to pieces Suzy, by her own admission, is
6GB overspend and a threat to turn off laptop through a kitchen mangle, after the CPU fan was hard of hearing. She struggled to tell
email. OneDrive: three (different) there isn’t much room left to add set to max power when her PC was switched on and
used-data metrics, two storage became worried about it
allocations, one confused user. overheating. Her ingenious
Officially, Microsoft is helping its solution was to change the
users to back up files. I’d argue that, cooling profiles of the CPU
at best, it’s synchronisation with a fan from Smart to ALWAYS
safety net. It’s better than no backup MAXIMUM POWER!
and, historically, Microsoft’s built-in Once on the bench,
backup solutions have always been Suzy’s machine reminded
poor. Aside from OneDrive, the me of my Mum’s old
(increasingly hard to find) Windows Zanussi washing machine,
which used to walk across
the kitchen floor during the
spin cycle. The reason her
PC wouldn’t boot was that
the SSD had fallen to bits.
The drive luckily survived.

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 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Real world computing

During further noodling, I also inside the capacitor should

spotted that the genius who had built it need to be removed. This
the machine bodged the wiring for is a useful feature as it helps
the case LEDs, so they didn’t work. to keep the repairer alive.
Corrections complete, Suzy could Several of the capacitors
easily check the machine. I turned were faulty. How did I
the fan profile back from know? The ESR meter
“AAAARRRGGHHH!” to “Sssh!”. gave a reading that I could
check against the rating
Auto-schematic for stamped on the side of the
the people component. Through-hole
Recently I was fortunate enough to barrel capacitors are large
attend the PC Pro awards, where the enough to have this vital
winners that you vote for receive the information, but the
highest technical accolade money surface-mounted versions
can’t buy. It’s an amazing occasion, (SMCs) in our laptops and
and I don’t mind sharing with you smaller electronics do not.
that I’m like a fish out of water. Therefore schematics are
“What do you do?” said a lovely lady. critical in the repair process. ABOVE Two power When the servicing manager
“I repair things,” was my not If Donna’s monitor had used SMCs, boards were removed asked if I’d take a look, I agreed on the
untrue reply and, as has happened so I couldn’t have repaired it as I’d have from a monitor that understanding that I may not be
many times before, the conversation no idea of the correct capacitor rating wouldn’t power on successful. But on the other hand,
was killed dead. Tech companies are to use. SMCs are a bit like spectacles. how much worse can it get? I
keen to talk about their commitment Although one pair looks identical succeeded and, several times a year,
to sustainability and repair, but I’ve to another, it’s the lens properties a car that cost more than my house
found that they’re not always eager to that determine if they’re going to pulls up outside the shop with
do this with me. Things get eggy when be fit for purpose. another “unrepairable” box.
I bring up the subject of schematics. As a precaution, I replaced all the
For the uninitiated, schematics are ageing capacitors on the board and Now it’s your turn…
maps of the electrical systems in a Donna’s monitor powered on. So here’s your homework for 2025.
device. They detail the paths that “In the last year First, please keep supporting PC Pro.
connect resistors, capacitors and ICs How much worse can I’ve fixed DVD Treat yourself or your techie friend
together. More usefully, they show the I make it? to a gift subscription from tinyurl.
properties of a component, and this is Though I don’t advertise services of players, USB com/365subscribe or telephone
invaluable information. Due to general electrical repair, I’m often lights, set-top 0330 333 1113 (ask for Babs!). Second,
miniaturisation, many components brought non-PC devices. In the last boxes and many subscribe, listen and rate the award-
are unmarked. We’ll let Donna’s
monitor demonstrate why this
year I’ve fixed DVD players, USB
lights, set-top boxes and many
children’s toys” dodging PC Pro podcast (tinyurl.
com/365propod), which will have
information is important. children’s toys. Ironically, the been on air for 18 years in April 2025.
Donna’s monitor was also suffering servicing department for a local car Also, drop in for a friendly chat with
power problems. One night, the dealer – a global premium brand – other readers and writers of the mag
monitor powered off and then refused can’t fix its bespoke diagnostic on Discord (pcpro.link/discord).
to power up. Subsequent pushes of the equipment when its mechanics Finally, fix more things. It doesn’t
power-button glowed (as it should) break the connection ports. This have to be laptops; start with squeaky
but nothing usable happened. manufacturer, portfolio dripping with hinges or missing buttons. If you’re a
Once I’d broken it apart, I managed green/environmental commitment, bit more experienced, then find your
to remove two power boards. One was refuses to repair the “unrepairable BELOW Through-hole local repair café and offer an hour (or
“high side”, which converts mains- unit”, preferring to sell a £6K barrel capacitors are more) of your time (tinyurl.com/​
power 240V to a much lower voltage, replacement, ordering the dealership large enough to have 365repaircafe). I know from the
and is pushed around by the to “bin the broken one”. useful info on them readers that reach out to me each
“low side” board. month that skills and experience are
Donna’s description of the sitting dormant. In the Open Repair
fault led me to think that there Alliance’s recent report about the
may be a problem with the social benefit of community repair
capacitors, components that (tinyurl.com/365repair), Martine
store and release voltage on Postma from Repair Café International
demand. The power boards says: “For repairers, a reason may be
were fitted with through-hole to meet new people from the
barrel capacitors, so the repair community, to share their skills, to
process began with testing stay active after retirement, to be a
these. Although this is possible valued member of society, to learn
with a multimeter, I have an from other repairers, to exchange
ESR meter made by Peak skills, to have a good time. There are
Electronic Design in Derbyshire multiple reasons for starting or
(tinyurl.com/365peak). Not visiting or participating in a Repair
only will it give a capacitance Café.” So, in 2025, get out there and
measurement, but it will help to fix something.
discharge the stored electricity [email protected]

115
 services, communications, critical
OLIVIA WHITCROFT infrastructure and digital services.

“The questioner and I were

Now let’s add contractual
confidentiality obligations within

in the virtual room alone

non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) or
as part of services or settlement
agreements. Contracts may require

together. Or were we?” adherence to security standards, such

as ISO27001 and Cyber Essentials.
Sometimes a duty of confidentiality
We all have an implicit understanding of what “confidential” means, but in may be implied, such as within
practice it’s open to misunderstanding – fortunately, the law can help employment contracts.
Where there is no contract, we can

I
look to common law and action for
was taken by surprise on Teams professional standards in our Codes.” breach of confidence. This arises
the other day with the question: Okay, so not just a gentle “You must where information has the necessary
“Please may I speak to you about a keep things confidential as it’s in our quality of confidence (including not
confidential matter?” As a solicitor, Code of Conduct”, but “You must keep being widely known), it is shared in
one of my professional duties is to keep things confidential – it’s in two circumstances indicating an
the affairs of my clients confidential, statutes, we’ve put it in our Code, and obligation of confidence (such as
and I am used to confidential don’t forget common law, too”. “Please don’t tell anyone else about
discussions. So the request itself was I read on. this”) and it is used without authority
not unusual. The surprising factor Olivia is principal of “...Note the need to distinguish... to the detriment of the person who
was that it was being asked in a the law firm OBEP, professional obligations of shared it (for example, published
meeting attended by 20 people. which specialises in confidentiality from... legal online causing financial loss). This has
It was during a break in a training technology contracts, professional privilege... confidential close links with other laws protecting
course, and I was sharing a picture of a IP and data protection information may be disclosed where it confidentiality, such as trade secrets
cup of tea. The other delegates had @ObepOlivia is appropriate to do so but privilege is regulations, the tort of misuse of
their cameras and mics switched off, absolute, and privileged information private information, and human
so presumably had retired to their real cannot therefore be disclosed.” rights laws (including the right to
kitchens to enjoy a real cup of tea. The Goodness me, there’s another respect for a private life).
questioner and I were in the virtual layer. A lot of records I hold may be And in the unlikely event you’re
room alone together. Or were we? not just confidential, but privileged, never subject to any of these, consider
Maybe some of the other delegates “A lot of which means they need to be kept the wider business drivers to keep
were forgoing their hot beverage records I hold even more confidential. information confidential: staying
and were instead lurking in the
background listening. Perhaps some
may be not just “Good luck, Olivia”, you may
think, rubbing your hands together in
competitive, maintaining good
relationships and protecting
had taken their laptops with them to confidential, glee that you went down a different intellectual property, to name a few.
the kitchen. Maybe some worked in but privileged” career path. But “ha ha!” I say, as So thank you for your good luck
an old-fashioned office and were other professions also have duties of wishes. Good luck to you, too.
broadcasting the session to colleagues. confidentiality under common law
I said that this was perhaps not the and codes of ethics, such as doctors to Weighing up the risks
best environment for such a patients, accountants to clients, and As is clear, the legal need to maintain
discussion, but that I would be happy directors to their companies. And data confidentiality arises from a variety of
to speak about it after the meeting. protection legislation doesn’t just laws, codes and contracts. Trying to
It got me thinking: what apply to me, which is fortunate for my analyse the different rules and how to
environments are suitable for career as a data protection lawyer. All comply with each one separately is
confidential discussions, and how can UK organisations handling personal likely to get your head into a spin.
I meet my duties of confidentiality? BELOW Don’t label all data are subject to the UK GDPR, Let’s look at the reason for having
your records as which is riddled with references to them to start with: to protect against
Keeping it confidential confidential or it will confidentiality. There’s even a whole the impacts of a loss of confidentiality.
What better place to clarify my lose its meaning principle named after it: the “integrity These may include financial and
obligations of confidentiality than and confidentiality” principle. business losses, emotional or
the guidance from the Solicitors Sources of confidentiality physical harm, discrimination and
Regulation Authority (SRA)? “This obligations aren’t limited to reputational damage. A loss of
duty of confidentiality exists as an those listed in the SRA guidance. confidentiality for material protected
obligation under both common law Confidentiality is a pillar of by legal professional privilege may
and data protection legislation as well information security, just as also prejudice a client’s legal position.
as being one of the core professional information security In applying the rules, we’re trying
principles set out in section is an important part to minimise the risks of these
1(3)(e) of the Legal of maintaining consequences occurring. The precise
Services Act 2007 and confidentiality. nature and severity of the impact may
Statutory and vary depending on the type and scope
regulatory rules on of information, and who or what it
information security relates to. The environment in which
apply to organisations information is discussed, stored or
in many sectors, used may affect the likelihood of the
including financial impact. Also bear in mind that if there

116
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Real world computing

is a breach, it may be difficult to reel confidential in nature.

the information back in and re-instate However, they did not,
its confidential status. in practice, treat all these
Take my Teams call again. When the records as confidential,
questioner made their request, many as many of them were
factors whizzed through my head to widely shared both
assess the confidentiality risks. First, I internally and externally.
didn’t yet know the sensitivity of A concern was that the
matter, but even if we stopped the label of “confidential” had
discussion immediately after I found lost its intended meaning.
out, something confidential may If some records are regularly
already have been revealed. shared, that suggests it is
There may have been 18 other acceptable to share all
people listening. The larger the group records with the same label.
of people information is shared with, It would be preferable for
the higher the risks. None of them had the label to be applied only
agreed to keep content confidential to genuinely confidential
and may not have even been aware of records, which may enhance their ABOVE Beware of receiving party, which is designated by
a need to. The meeting was a training quality of confidence and clarify confidentiality risks in the disclosing party as confidential”.
session, so records may be used and restrictions on access and sharing. videoconferencing My first concern: which party’s
shared with that purpose in mind. If needed, a different label could be meetings “Confidential Information” is the
The delegates were from a diverse used to distinguish another layer of information about software
range of organisations and locations, confidentiality, such as for records deliverables? If neither party is
and I hadn’t undertaken any checks that are privileged. permitted to use it except in
on their reliability (or even that they Labelling records by reference to connection with its development,
were who they said they were). If they their permitted use can also assist. this might make it difficult to exploit
had all worked in the same place I may When I’m engaged by a client, they the software in practice.
have had some assurance over their give me confidential information to My second concern: the scope of
firm’s confidentiality and security provide them with legal advice. I information is so wide! The first two
policies, but this wasn’t the case here. would be risking that confidentiality “The larger the aren’t limited to information that is
Risks in using the Teams platform were I to use the information for group of people confidential in nature, and “business
also flashed through my mind. This another purpose; let’s say because it information” could include anything.
was not just whether Microsoft has would make a good story for a Real
information is Then we have (iii), which mops up
implemented appropriate technical World Computing column in a shared with, anything else that is designated as
security measures, but also whether I well-known technology magazine. the higher confidential. Does this mean that
had sufficient understanding and
the risks” something labelled “confidential” must
control of the settings for the meeting. Contractual measures be treated as such, without the need
Would a recording of the meeting I was reviewing a software for it to have a quality of confidence?
shortly be uploaded to the cloud? development contract with a two-way To add to the confusion, there was a
All these factors fed into my confidentiality provision; each party provision requiring the receiving party
conclusion that we should not had an obligation to keep confidential to return all Confidential Information
have the discussion. “Confidential Information” of the at the end of the agreement. Who is
other party, and not use it for any returning what to whom, and does the
Labelling records purpose other than providing or customer need to return the software
It may be tempting to rely on receiving the services. it has just paid for? Even with clarity
technology to address confidentiality Confidential Information was on this point, it would be problematic
risks. And yes, storing, using and defined along the lines of: “(i) all returning information needed for
communicating confidential information about the software BELOW Confidentiality purposes such as invoicing and
information on systems with good deliverables; (ii) business information, agreements must be essential record-keeping.
security controls is an important step. including product plans, know-how, well drafted so My suggestion was that, rather
However, as my example above and software; and (iii) any other obligations make than trying to interpret the practical
shows, maintaining confidentiality information that is disclosed to the practical sense impact of this poorly drafted
is not just about the technological provision, both parties would benefit
environment. We also need to from additional clarity to achieve
consider the physical environment, what is intended: maintaining the
the range of people involved, and confidentiality of genuinely
their awareness and reliability. confidential information.
It can be helpful to label records
as confidential. This can assist with Unanswered questions
their legal protection, and those who To my disappointment, the questioner
access them will be aware that they from my Teams meeting never did get
need to be treated as such. But it is in touch to discuss their matter. On
possible to go too far. I was advising a the upside, I suppose there’s no risk of
client that had decided to mark as me breaching a duty of confidentiality
confidential all records held by a for information I don’t know. Perhaps
particular department, to save time they were worried I’d tell everyone
in going through them to determine about it in this column.
which records were genuinely [email protected]

117
 cost of an individual cybercrime
DAVEY WINDER incident, be that to a consumer or an

“I know what it’s like to fall victim

organisation. There are so many
variables and knock-on impacts to

to cybercrime. Even so-called

take into account that you can easily
underestimate the true cost. Or, as is
often the case when looking for that

professionals can get caught out” headline-creating impact, wildly

overestimate it. However, when it
came to asking those victims in the
Davey reveals one of the oddest cyberattacks yet and says that we all need survey how much the incident had
to stop blaming users for cybersecurity failings cost them, the amount averaged out
to £808, which I can accept as a

M
realistic figure from speaking to many
y name is Davey Winder and cyberstigma. Just because any or all of victims of cybercrime over the years.
I have a mental health those statements might be true, Given the economic landscape, I
problem. For the past two post-breach the true cyber can also accept that 20% of those
years I have suffered from a chronic professional takes responsibility for surveyed had experienced real
pain condition that has no cure. their own failings, which would financial hurt as a result, bills going
Perhaps unsurprisingly, then, I have include failing to educate and protect unpaid or even food shopping having
also suffered from depression, which those employees, as well as building to be trimmed right back out of
has been treated both by medication bridges to improve detection and necessity. These are the very real and
and primary psychiatric care. Davey is a journalist prevention in the future. We, as an visible impacts of cybercrime on real
I mention all of this not for the and consultant industry, need to do better and stop people. Victims aren’t just a statistic
sympathy vote, but rather to specialising in privacy playing the blame game where the or, as one assumes the scumbags who
demonstrate that our mental health and security issues goal is apparently to throw the perpetrate these crimes imagine, a
is not something that we should be @happygeek “weakest link” under the bus. username on a machine.
embarrassed by, be ashamed of, hide Seriously, with this attitude across so
away from or not mention to anyone many organisations even today, it’s Mental health impact
for fear of rejection or belittlement. no wonder the bad guys are winning. The far less visible, and consequently
Mental illness is an illness like any With that rant out of the way, far less well understood, impact is
other, and a new report has revealed let’s take a closer look at what the on mental health. Let’s get the
that victims of cybercrime are Akamai “It’s time to talk about survey numbers out of the way:
suffering their own mental health “Let’s make an cyberstigma” research (tinyurl. 62% of victims said that they were
crisis. That report has even coined effort, be that com/365stigma) actually found. traumatised by what had happened
what I think could be a new word for Produced in partnership with a to them, 67% admitted to feeling
the mental health issues cybercrime
at home or psychologist, Dr Tara Quinn-Cirillo, embarrassed, 59% admitted to feeling
brings along for the ride: cyberstigma. work, to quit the researchers questioned over ashamed at falling victim, and 55%
Before I dig into the report with the blame 1,000 Brits who had been a victim of continued to experience anxiety
findings, that cyberstigma term culture” cybercrime during 2024. Cybercrime while using online services after the
needs looking at from a broader does a lot of heavy lifting as words go, crime was done and dusted. As a
perspective as it reminds me how the but in the case of this research it painsomniac, the fact that 29% also
cybersecurity profession – and that included the likes of phishing, said they had trouble sleeping after
includes the media, so mea culpa here identity theft, phone hacking and the crime hits hard here.
– often attributes blame in a very ransomware. In other words, a broad The numbers regarding
offhand and diminishing manner. sweep of the type of cybercrime that embarrassment and shame are
Users are the weakest link. You BELOW A recent is most prevalent today. reflected in the fact that 43% didn’t
shouldn’t have used that password. report has highlighted I’m never totally convinced by the tell anyone about their falling victim
Clicking that link started the network the effect cybercrime numbers that are thrown about in to cybercrime for fear of being judged,
breach. Why didn’t you know that has on its victims reports when it comes to the financial while 64% blamed themselves.
was a phishing email?
Do you see where I’m
coming from? Shifting
or focusing blame onto
an individual employee
with no professional
security training or
certified skills, let alone
being in a security
professional role within
the organisation, is
applying that
Images: AKAMAI

118
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Real world computing

I started with a
confession, so I
might as well throw
another in towards the
end: I know what it’s
like to fall victim to
cybercrime. Yes, even
so-called professionals
can get caught out
in moments of
vulnerability. I didn’t
lose any money, but I did
lose a certain amount of
self-respect for falling
for a stupid credentials attack that
enabled someone to gain access to
an account that, as luck would have
it, was worth diddly squat to them.
I discovered the incident quickly
enough and was able to cut off
their access before any real
damage was done.
Did I blame myself rather than ABOVE/LEFT AC/DC physical being used to distribute the
the attacker for targeting me? Yes. at a nuclear plant, digital when it comes to malware
Did I feel ashamed and embarrassed crawling around in campaigns. Loyal PC Pro readers
about it? Yes. Did I tell anyone? No, skips and hacked will likely recall me warning about
you are the first, despite this toothbrushes: all part such things; specifically pavement
happening over ten years ago now of the weird world of hacking, where infected USB thumb
when I was struggling mentally I’m not finished yet. An employee cybercrime drives were left discarded on coffee-
following a rough divorce. stole servers from his own company shop tables or the pavements and car
“Cybercrime can be devastating to and hid them under the floorboards parks of a target office waiting to be
an individual’s mental wellbeing. As of the data centre to mine crypto; picked up, and letting curiosity work
this research has shown, self-blame is and finally I’ll throw in the hotly its magic as the victim stuck the thing
common, and feeds into feelings of disputed tale of whether a botnet into a networked laptop.
inadequacy that can be incredibly of three million smart toothbrushes This is kind of in the same vein.
toxic,” said Dr Quinn-Cirillo. One of was used to launch a distributed Send a letter, presumably targeted
the outcomes of the research was that denial of service attack. in some way (although the NCSC
victims said they felt a better, more I mention all of the above for one warning doesn’t mention this),
open conversation about cybersecurity simple reason: to highlight just how which includes a QR code that leads
in the media (well, hello there!) can goddamn weird the threat actors in to a malicious download. That’s the
help in dealing with the aftermath of Switzerland are who have started a BELOW Victims were initial delivery methodology here,
cybercrime. Let’s make a concerted phishing attack using the post. Not sent to a page designed but the attackers need a way to get
effort, be that at home or work, to email, oh no, but the post. You know, to look like the official people to scan that code and make
quit with the blame culture and start that thing we used to call “snail mail” MeteoSwiss app that download. They can’t simply
accepting that threat actors are the before it all but disappeared rely on the curiosity of the
villains here, not the victims. up its own backside. very odd person who would
Switzerland has its do such a thing, assuming
Just when you thought own version of the UK’s they had opened this
cybercrime couldn’t get National Cyber Security real-world bit of junk mail
any weirder… Centre which is, rather in the first place.
When you’ve been writing about confusingly, called the Misinformation, fakery
cybercrime for as long as I have, it’s National Cyber Security and deception are the keys
hard to get left-sided by any tactic Centre. The Swiss NCSC has to the phisher kingdom,
employed by those who would do us taken to the ether – in the and are used to good effect
harm. I’ve lived through hackers circumstances, I can’t help in this attack. The letter
quite literally crawling around in but think a mass mailout itself purports to have
skips looking for corporate would have been more been sent by MeteoSwiss,
information to use in a breach appropriate – to warn the Swiss Federal Office
attempt; replacing the image of the citizens of a phasing of Meteorology and
then Spanish Prime Minister with a campaign using the Swiss Climatology, and contains
picture of Mr Bean on the EU Post to send a cyberattack details of a severe weather
presidency website; an Iranian into their homes and offices. app that it encourages the
nuclear facility being hacked so it was Although weird, I recipient to download as a
playing AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” at wouldn’t classify this matter of some urgency
full volume; and even a cybercrimer particular attack for their own safety.
who uploaded their own fingerprints methodology as being stupid. On scanning the QR
to the crime scene in order to bypass That’s because it draws upon code, they’re presented
a biometric lock. a well-stocked history of the with an app that’s made

119
Continued from previous page STEVE CASSIDY

“Gritting your teeth now is

to look like the genuine Alertswiss
government app from the Swiss

going to be your last chance

Federal Office for Civil Protection.
When they download this app,
malware is installed; in this case the
Coper credential stealer, and that sets
to work looking for data from any of
the more than 300 apps it recognises
to make improvements”
on the smartphone in question. If you’re wondering why phone calls are still so difficult in 2025, Steve –
Although this campaign is aimed grand master of the VoIP upgrade project – has some answers
squarely at Swiss residents,

Y
obviously, and even then only those
with Android smartphones, it isn’t a ears before the pandemic so old phones ruled. You see, they’re
huge stretch of the imagination to dramatically entered our lives, comforting dumb tech. All those
think that other threat actors will I was running two projects newer communication platforms
latch on to something similar and concerned with handling voice such as Teams required a well-
see the value in using physical traffic. And they couldn’t have been presented and internet-ready IT
distribution methods for their more different. In one case, creating a portfolio. PCs lagging behind in the
digital scams once more. complete, parallel, enterprise-wide update stakes? Teams would be the
network just for the allegedly more canary, letting you know that
And finally… modern, cost-saving, VoIP-based Steve is a consultant “something went wrong” but being
I can’t leave you this month, seeing as phones; in another, a wholesale who specialises in no more specific than that. Some
we are focusing on cyber-awareness conversion to computer-based networks, cloud, HR companies bit the bullet and nuked
and the methods used by threat actors telephony, with headphones and and upsetting the the messy old configurations on
of all shapes and sizes, without software replacing handsets and corporate apple cart users’ machines, preferring a clean
mentioning one attack campaign separate technology. @stardotpro start where communication was the
that has highlighted the dangers of These dichotomies caught me on highest priority. But most did the
holding down the Ctrl key. Yes, I the hop. I had a modern nerd’s equivalent of a shrug of the shoulders
know, how weird is that? Not too attitude to voice, one that only and allowed workers to fall back to
weird, it turns out. revealed itself when I came to basics, meaning that dull traditional
Forget the method used to fool the confront my own prejudices during “I was certain telephony remained on the menu for
victim in this phishing attack, it’s all the design process. Customer A that the money a lot of businesses.
but irrelevant. The important part is wanted ultimate reliability; Taking a longer view, what
that the clickable call to action used Customer B was happy with the
in company happened here was the opposite of
– you know, the bit where you end reliability level it already had budgets would a well-planned update project.
up being urged to click a “view with its LAN and couldn’t justify be flowing Companies bodged to gain breathing
document” or “open file” button – duplicating it “just for phone calls”. my way” space for the IT teams, who suddenly
adds a seemingly odd request: “hold My belief was that telephony was found themselves tangling with
down the Ctrl key and click”. on its way out, to shortly and health restrictions that put staff out
This, said the researchers from inevitably be replaced by the already of their reach by any physical means.
Perception Point security who mature field of internet-carried No wonder they stuck to tried and
brought this to my attention, is both a videoconferencing. I was certain that trusted solutions, creating a hash of
subtle and highly effective way to the money available in company BELOW Teams is often VoIP and traditional phones.
evade email security scanners and budgets for buying and keeping the canary in the mine I watched this hack-around
automated detection tools. It works, traditional internal phone systems when it comes to process happening in several
sometimes, because the defensive would shortly be flowing my way hardware updates organisations and hated every last
measures aren’t looking for the through consultancy
additional layer of human interaction projects like the two
at this point. It’s adding a behaviour mentioned above.
that doesn’t match what it’s looking for. What lessons were
I guess the lesson to be learned available to learn for
here, atop the one about clicking each customer, and
links and opening attachments that what relevance do they
we’re already aware of, is not to retain now? Has much
blindly obey instructions given in changed in the buying
communications you weren’t choices available to
expecting. Especially ones that those of us straddling
require you to do something totally more than one
out of the ordinary. technology sector
[email protected] while earning our
daily bread?
The elephant in the
room is the revolution
in working practices
brought about by
Covid. Until then,

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 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Real world computing

second of it. Don’t give up on the I ended up doing

leading-edge fixes, guys, I thought: experiments on the other
you’ll find it so difficult to break free customer network with
of whichever emergency setup you the greater use of
settle on. Gritting your teeth now, PC-based softphones,
jumping far forward with your and found that the more
telephony, is going to be your last accessible and fully
chance to make improvements for the featured routing options
next decade, or more. on full-fat Windows
At least in that regard, I believe I laptops meant they kept
was right. We’re still seeing the working in little corners
results of those mighty efforts and of the VPN structure
expedient decisions now. In one where the trad-looking
project I was obliged to design a handsets wouldn’t.
side-by-side deployment, because the
VoIP guys supplying all the phone Voice concerns
hardware said they were wary of the In this case, it’s hardly
nature of the traffic on the regular surprising to hear that
PC network as found at this business. home workers were
We sat the PCs on a 192.168 network, quietly going back to consumer ABOVE Traditional Which leaves me quite
the phones on a 10.x network. telephony. Which leaves us asking the voice telephony hasn’t disappointed in both trad copper
This was all segregated, as question: what’s been happening kept up with the times phones and business VoIP
required, with the phones going with boring old voice calling during presenters. Where were the new
through their own server (a Mac Pro and after the lockdown scramble? features, the transformative
5.1) to reach external SIP providers It’s got worse. A whole lot worse. breakthrough gadgetry, the free
and thereby make and respond to It might be our fault, too. Subsequent market in third-party add-ons?
calls. We had a separate architecture releases of software and whole new Remember, the headcount of
to support a multi-site VPN, with classes of hardware have already coders inside comms companies is
dedicated firewalls handling the shown that the 18 months of Covid “Where were phenomenal. Tens of thousands of
routing of inter-site traffic, so that purdah was a perfect opportunity for the new people, all working on stuff that
there was no need to add any routing wholesale, root and branch didn’t change the experience of
information to PCs inside the offices. redevelopment of the comms
features, the customers making phone calls.
Extending the separate phone industry’s entire working philosophy. transformative Why so many? Because it all goes
network through this spiderweb of Everything was up for grabs because breakthrough into trying to save money on the
VPN links looked like it should have big changes had already taken place. gadgetry?” infrastructure side of the operation.
worked, but in reality it didn’t. We In this mood for a thoughtful In the UK, we’re not used to thinking
had to present routing configurations upgrade, software engineers were in about this secret army toiling away,
not only to the server, but also to all the driving seat. Working practices, because most of us grew up with a
the handsets likely to want to call one team dynamics, re-investment monolithic telephone service. From
another. And we had to troubleshoot priorities, even career aspirations were the perspective of the dev team
quirks such as phones ringing when all available for change. Re-coding to within a backbone carrier, the
called, but no sound being presented adapt to that new reality was the priority is the kind that intelligently
after they were picked up. easiest of the changes on offer. routes your call packets through the
cheapest connection. Devs treat

Double-o, double-o: an early harbinger

non-international and international
connections just the same, so even

of modern-day telephone woes when the call completes totally inside

a national boundary, it’s still subject
to the same smart link choice and
My aside about calling from Knightsbridge to agreements of that era expected to see a UK phone cost-reduction imperatives, as if you
Namibia isn’t a fairy-tale reference. After setting up number that ended with four zeros. When it was were calling from Knightsbridge to
a growing consultancy business in a 1960s tower shown the number, the software making the the Ministry of Mines in Namibia.
block – its musty ambience should have been the multi-carrier, complex international path reacted Why dig up an old fossil like this?
canary I mentioned – it wasn’t until we had a few by dropping the connection. Ringing, but no sound. What relevance does it have in the
international jobs on the books that the hidden We absolutely loved our unusual number, modern world?
downside of our cheap office space emerged. referring to it as “double-o, double-o” rather then Because it exposes the way that
We had our own phone system, and the the more prosaic “four noughts”. Little did we know phone carriers can interfere with a
supplier had told us the building was fed “only the penalties this would incur out in the wider world. call passing over their connections.
by Mercury”. We thought nothing of it, until the A passing irony here is that Mercury was a unit Intermediating carriers, as a
Namibian job started snagging on us. We could of Cable & Wireless. It is impossible to overstate business sector largely hidden
call them; they couldn’t call us. the importance of C&W in the specific field of from Joe Public, have absolutely
Because there’s essentially zero diagnostic connections between disparate phone companies, exploded in the last couple of
information for voice calls – then or now – it took a and managing the whole telephony function in lots decades. Simply reaching a mobile
bit of experimenting and a flight to Namibia to get of former British Empire territories. For one part of phone from a landline involves
to the bottom of this problem. Our number at the C&W to sell us a company phone number that passing through privileged
time ended with “0000”. It turned out that almost another part couldn’t route correctly was a connections that present little
none of the telephone packet routing counterparty harbinger of things to come for the whole industry. strangenesses, such as my contract
phone inserting “bundled call”

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 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO

Empires of telephony
You may expect me to deliver a league table of VoIP
announcements just before the mobile applications at this point, but I’m not going to break
device opens the audio channels. it to you gently: I have no such thing, because VoIP is
Having your call passed around neither the problem nor the solution for this issue.
multiple call centres involves a If anything, it’s the broader programmability of
different set of connections again; as VoIP telephony that allows malicious operators to
you might expect, a call doesn’t do masquerade behind apparently domestic numbers,
well if it follows the same routing facilitating the most distressing forms of scamming.
path when talking to a service a It’s SIP, not VoIP, that’s used in internet
couple of towns away as it does to one telephony. Session Initiation Protocol is one of
thousands of miles away. The trouble those annoyingly early protocols that nobody
is that reaching your SIM issuer’s seems able to improve on. The reality is that the
“preferred” mobile phone partner successful modern telephony-substitute apps
means it takes a different route, one don’t use the old protocols. Battling with SIP ABOVE Modern telephony providers have baulked
dictated by cost rather than your transformations in firewall rules has defeated at the idea of inter-operator compatibility
convenience. While this looks like a many a phone upgrade project, while WhatsApp,
technical design issue, it’s also subject Skype, Google Chat and even Facebook all succeed it possible to import calls across disparate voice/
to the state of negotiations between seamlessly. Am I the only person who uses chat/conferencing platforms. All it would have
the last-mile old-school physical Facebook audio as a social media answering taken was a little burst of software development,
phone company and the cloud- machine, leaving friends and family voice this time by the newer generations – but no, once
resident, virtual bandwidth reseller. messages in Messenger? again, the dream of interoperability was discarded
That’s great if you’re only ever calling or called in favour of hoping for short term gains from
The Brexit effect by your friends. And I concede that there really are impatient users.
Then we come to Brexit. Our exit from sectors that function this way, for whom new In voice communications, nothing moves
the EU has changed the relationship customers are passed along by existing contacts. without some giant corporation seeing some
between UK and European phone While we may whinge about the distraction revenue-positive benefit from it. So we still see
networks, and this means that and irrelevance of VoIP and SIP, at least they calls from WhatsApp to a roaming 4G or 5G
eccentric behaviour over long-haul represent some kind of attempt at inter-operator smartphone having to go all the way “down” to
connections has started to intrude on compatibility. The various internet telephony a telephony gateway and then across several
all manner of phone connectivity. providers all take the view that if you want grandma private networks, before coming “up” at a
There’s no winner between hallway- to be able to join in your online family gathering, service border router to hopefully find its way
mounted Bakelite home phones and she’ll just have to bite the bullet and become a to the right internal account identifier.
zippy, leading-edge, VoIP-powered member of the same voice platform that you’re And people wonder why the sins of the old
virtual handset apps: all of them using. All those providers think this is a great way to wires-and-dials, chugging Strowger-machine-
must traverse the same mixed capture market share from one another, because based phone networks have been carried over to
network of internet connections there’s no better salesman than one right inside a world that leaves us trying to call people back,
and antediluvian, planetary- your friends and family, right? dropping the line and a dozen other stupid phone
infrastructure-level phone trunks. Actually: no. We would all have had a very much tricks that should have been consigned to history
Even mobile phones have their easier ride through the whole lockdown thing were decades ago. Simplification is long overdue.
quirks. In some cases, depending on
where you are and the number you’re
calling, the intermediary network levied by voice calls coming in to my non-specialist infrastructure person
handling your roaming connection phone while I’m abroad. My graphics that it might be time to get a new
can request 25 quid from your online card fans are watched at sub-second phone or that it must be my battery is
account – and not complete the call sampling rates, my Apple NVMe SSD galling when I can demonstrate the
unless the money is in their hands. lifetimes are unearthed by an app routing issue simply by having a
While the money is mostly returned called Sensei, but hell will freeze over spread of SIMs and phones here – but
when you hang up, it really does leave before I can have a live report of the the other attribute of corporate and
your account before you get audio- path taken or costs incurred by a live healthcare use of telephony is that
connected in the call. person-to-person phone call. you don’t get to call them back.
These networks are multiplying on My major priority is getting some BELOW Everything is Then there are the spam calls – the
us, in a field we can’t normally see or debugging information when an monitored to the max ones that want to pretend they’re in
interact with, validate or complain to. apparently “regular” phone call fails on my MacBook – Basildon, not Bangalore. We already
All that time spent in back bedrooms to work correctly. Being told by a unlike my phone calls have cloud-connected firewalls that
during 2020 and 2021 has given us a can refer to central blocklists of IP
splurge of monitoring software for addresses with a history of malicious
all manner of services and systems. traffic, but our phones are open for
The rule seems to be that the less any Tom, Dick or Harry to call.
important the system, the more Seriously, phone technology
comprehensive the monitoring. I people: it’s 2025. Would it genuinely
know more about the round-trip time be that hard to expose an API or two
to cloud-based game servers than I do and let the world’s developers loose
about the route taken and charges on their own call data? I bet you’d get
a ton of positive vibes if you awarded
a “Best monitoring app” prize. I’d
even volunteer the entire PC Pro
team to act as judges for you, just to
see a bit of progress with this idea.
[email protected]

122
Inspirational stories from computing’s long-distant past

Apple’s big blues

Apple once joined forces with IBM to create
a new operating system that could easily
have destroyed the Mac. David Crookes
explains what happened

I
n the late 1980s, Apple embarked on the introduction of colour
one of its most ambitious software graphics in the Macintosh
projects: the creation of a next- II in 1987, it became clear
generation operating system, that a new operating
codenamed Pink. Presented on a pink system was necessary to
index card (hence the name), it was replace Macintosh System
the brainchild of a small group of Software sooner rather than later.
Apple engineers who believed the Mac “The classic Mac OS was increasingly ABOVE The alliance had also presented two additional sets
needed memory protection to difficult to work with,” said Mark Davis, between Apple and of goals for consideration, each
safeguard users’ work in the event of a who would become the manager and IBM was intended represented on a different coloured
system crash. This innovation also architect for the proposed operating to create a single index card. Red proposed an operating
helped to pave the way for an alliance system’s international frameworks. unifying platform system with far more advanced
with IBM that had the potential to “The original Mac had such features such as speech recognition,
revolutionise computing forever. constraints of speed and size that the while Blue concentrated on short-
Around 1988, the Mac was OS was written all by hand in term achievements that could be
experiencing a period of flux. assembly, and the structure was very integrated into the Mac.
Launched in January 1984, it had difficult to maintain and extend.” Pink, however, stood out as the
initially achieved success but most of Initially, only five people worked most significant development since it
the computer’s original team on Pink – the so-called Gang of Five was forward looking and achievable,
members, including Steve Jobs, had
dispersed and cracks were beginning
who had proposed it. Project leader
Erich Ringewald was joined by David
“Pink evolved into an especially since the OS was
being developed during a
to appear. While improvements had Goldsmith, Bayles Holt, Gene Pope object-oriented operating period when Microsoft
been made to the Mac line-up, such as and Gerard Schutten. This small team system written in C++, Windows was enhancing its
which was a relatively capabilities and IBM had
novel concept at the time” launched a promising
competitor called OS/2.
“Pink had the promise of leapfrogging
Macintosh System Software, Windows
and OS/2,” said Davis, who stressed
the software was created 30 years ago.

All systems go
When the engineers began work in
March 1988, their key priorities were
memory protection and multitasking,
with the OS set to be built using legacy
System 6 code. Within a few weeks,
Pink evolved into an object-oriented
operating system written in C++,
which was a relatively novel concept
LEFT There are at the time. This approach made the
very few screens OS more adaptable, future-proof
showing the Pink/ and easier to update, manage and
Taligent OS build upon.

123
 Moreover, the engineers the combined power
believed it would make life of Microsoft and Intel.
easier for app developers, As part of the deal,
encouraging them to create Apple would become
more software for Apple a prime customer for
computers. But it was also clear the new chips and
that the task of creating the new IBM would benefit
OS was going to overwhelm a from Pink, which
five-person team. Recognising was also earmarked
this, a separate team was to work on Intel-
assembled to create a kernel powered computers.
that would provide memory With Apple’s
protection and prevent crashes. market share down
Within a couple of months, 25 by around 50% in the
people had joined the Pink late 1980s as it
project. But this influx of talent competed against
also brought new challenges. more affordable
By October, Ringewald, Pope IBM-compatible PCs, the deal made
and Shutten already felt the project External assistance came in the TOP The Taligent sense. Allowing Pink – or Taligent or
was spiralling out of control and they form of IBM. In the second half of 1991, HQ on the Apple TalOS, as it was becoming known – to
left, concerned their goals wouldn’t Apple and IBM formalised an alliance Infinite Loop be used on other computers was also
be accomplished. But Apple believed that executives told the New York Campus, Cupertino attractive. This strategy had proven
that Pink had the potential to have a Times would “change the landscape of successful for Microsoft, after all.
positive impact on the company, so computing in the 90s”. Its primary ABOVE Apple’s
investment continued and the aim was to “use common chips and successful System Seeing stars
features continued to stack up. common software in an effort to gain 7 OS was based on Pink had made significant progress by
“Off the top of my head, Pink had control of two key technologies,” the the Blue goals this stage. Apple’s CEO John Sculley
modern frameworks, a powerful report continued. said more than 1.5 million lines of
graphics system and it was fully The Apple-IBM alliance went code had been written, indicating that
Unicode/internationalised,” Davis beyond simply assisting with Pink. it wasn’t that far from completion.
said. Yet when anyone asked when Both companies would collaborate on “As I recall, it was fairly far along at
Images: JKohei Kanno, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Pink was due to be released, the developing RISC technology for a new that point,” Davis agreed, although
answer consistently seemed to be PowerPC microprocessor with he admits his memory of Pink’s
“two years”. assistance from Motorola (Apple transition to Taligent is “very fuzzy”.
insisted the latter was brought on The Taligent reins were handed to
Another bite board so it wouldn’t be reliant on IBM an IBM person – Joe Guglielmi, who
By 1990, 150 people were working on for processors). They would also work was previously the general
Pink, either directly or as support together on the development of “Apple would become manager of marketing and
staff. A marketing team was even in multimedia and interface technologies a prime customer for business development for the
place, despite the operating system
remaining far from completion. By
in a partnership called Kaleida.
Pink would be subsumed into a
the new chips and company’s Personal Systems
Line of Business. He believed
this point, Pink was going to replace new company called Taligent (“I was IBM would benefit in the future importance of
the Mac operating system rather than the head of the internationalisation from Pink” object-oriented technology and
enhance it – its growth had made a and text group with the responsibility he told IBM OS/2 Developer
fresh start inevitable. of making it easy to produce apps magazine that “since we’re writing an
“In order to make that happen – that could handle any language,” operating system from scratch, we get
while maintaining the classic Mac OS Davis said). to do some things right”.
during the Pink development and The intention was to create a single But in 1993, there was a change in
deployment – Apple needed unifying open-standard computing strategy. “Initially, the notion was to
partners,” Davis said. platform that could compete against deliver one large, brand new

124
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Retro The Apple-IBM alliance
operating system, top to bottom, what would be the IBM’s Workplace
in one really significant drop,” attraction of the Mac? OS prototype, and
Guglielmi said. “We’ve become “Realising that the a layer called
more realistic about that; we’ve had Macintosh can never CommonPoint
to deal with very pragmatic issues.” prevail against the made up of more
Rather than release a single OS, those dominance of than 100 object-
working on Taligent looked to take Intel-architecture oriented
pieces of their operating system and systems, Apple is frameworks was
make them available to others such as gradually phasing released. It lay on
Images: Pippinitis, apple.fandom.com/wiki/Taligent

IBM’s OS/2 and AIX and Macintosh out the Mac,” the top of operating
System Software. article said, pointing systems such as
“This isn’t 1983 any more,” out that 92% of large OS/2, AIX, HP-UX
Guglielmi said. “This isn’t about ‘I corporations were and Windows NT.
have a great technology; we’ll just get intending to use the “Although
people to stop what they’re doing and Pentium and 486 Taligent was
move over to it’. We have example chips manufactured ahead of its time
after example in the marketplace by Intel. in terms of design
today where great technology can’t Taligent had the and capabilities,
get commercial acceptance.” potential to supplant it was also ahead
It seemed rather unorthodox – to Windows whereas of its time in
help make other operating systems Apple’s own OS did not – terms of
competitive through evolution so that indeed, an attempt to port Macintosh ABOVE Taligent hardware requirements – too far
introducing Taligent as a whole System 7 to Intel-compatible PCs (the attracted much ahead,” Davis said.
wouldn’t be a big step up. But it Star Trek project) had just been press coverage in And yet that proved to be blessing.
ensured there was still some life left canned after a year in development. publications such Had the Taligent part of the alliance
in Windows’ current crop of rivals; But the longer it took for Taligent to as Computerworld worked out, there was a good chance
which was just as well because, while be developed, the more disinterested IBM would have taken over Apple. As
work continued at Taligent, Apple the wider computing world was detailed in the 1997 book, Apple: The
shipped System 7, created by a team becoming. And this, in some ways, Inside Story of Intrigue, Egomania
that had been following the Blue goals saved the Mac. and Business Blunders, the
laid out three years earlier. In fact, Apple’s alliance with IBM “Had the Taligent part of two companies were looking
The latest release of the classic Mac required it to develop future ranges the alliance worked out, to see how well they worked
OS operating system included fitted with PowerPC chips, but these
there was a good chance together and a potential deal
QuickTime, virtual memory, drag- wouldn’t be compatible with the was on the cards.
and-drop, TrueType fonts, a Force Mac’s operating system as it was. So IBM would have taken Sculley believed Apple
Quit dialog, balloon help and personal Apple released System 7.1.2 in 1994 – over Apple” needed a company to acquire
file sharing. It was two years behind the first Mac system software for it because he couldn’t see
schedule (the initial work having only Power Macs – and the PowerPC range how it could continue alone. Had a
been envisaged to take a year), but it continued until 2006. takeover happened, it would have
was very impressive, giving Microsoft created a force to be reckoned with
a run for its money until the launch of A brighter future but, with hindsight, the consequences
Windows 95. Still, Taligent had clung on for some would have been profound.
time. Hewlett-Packard bought a 15% Jobs is unlikely to have returned to
The Mac killer? stake in Taligent in 1994, adding BELOW The alliance Apple, bringing with him the
Apple had hoped IBM would shoulder credibility, yet more and more helped lead to the NeXTSTEP operating system which
a significant portion of the costs users appeared happy backing development of the formed the basis for the future of Mac
associated with developing Taligent. Windows 3 and Windows 95. As the PowerPC CPU OS and in effect saved the company.
But the persistent issues that plagued months rolled by, Taligent seemed architecture Apple’s subsequent rise is also unlikely
Pink, particularly a lack of focus, less likely to succeed. to have happened, and
were damaging Taligent. Some 350 “Joe Guglielmi left there’s a strong chance
people were employed at Taligent a suddenly [in September we wouldn’t be
year after its formation, a substantial 1995] and his holding an iPhone
increase from 160, and that was replacement Dick Gurino or iPad today unless
causing problems. died suddenly very Jobs had taken his
“I think the biggest challenge in shortly thereafter,” talent elsewhere.
hindsight was managing the project, said Davis. “It all So while the
keeping it from being forever in unravelled as a joint collapse of the Taligent
development,” Davis said. “One policy venture thereafter.” side of the IBM deal
had a horrible impact; people working It certainly did. In wasn’t ideal, it worked
at lower levels of the project would December 1995, Apple out for the best. And
make incompatible changes and it was cut its losses and the alliance did have
up to everyone else on the project to dissolved the project. As a an impact. Its legacy
rewrite their code.” result, half of Taligent’s included the push
In one sense, Taligent’s ongoing 400 staff were made towards reusable,
drama was working in Apple’s favour. redundant and Taligent modular code and the
In 1993, an article in Wired magazine formally ended in 1998. development of the
discussed the wider implications of a IBM absorbed most of PowerPC CPU
successful Taligent, claiming it would Taligent’s assets and architecture. With
effectively kill both the Mac and IBM’s integrated some of its both Apple and IBM
OS/2. If the new operating would innovations into its own also in great health
work across different computers, software. Notably, parts today, there can surely
whether PowerPC or Intel-based, of the OS were used in be no real regrets.

125
Futures
We explore the trends and technologies that are set to shape the future

AI agents:
putting AI to work This year is set to be all about AI agents. Nicole Kobie
reveals what this means and whether the backlash is
beginning before AI agents are even here
126
 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Futures AI agents

H
“ ey, assistant! I sent you a link agentic AI is different from work”, with the company showing off a
to a form. Can you dig out the conventional, narrow AI that may demonstration of an agent making a
sales figures from last month be designed for specific tasks and voice phone call to place an order. A
in order to fill it out? I’ll be at require plenty of human oversight or Bloomberg report said insiders at the
lunch, so message me any questions.” intervention. AI agents have autonomy company discussed OpenAI’s agent
Such dull jobs used to be saved for and context, extending their powers. plans at a staff meeting, suggesting the
junior staff and interns, but soon AI “Agentic AI is a type of AI that company plans to unveil its version
may be taking them on – well, that’s the operates autonomously, capable called “Operator” in January 2025.
promise of AI agents, according to those of pursuing complex goals and Microsoft unveiled its own first
developing the smart automation tools. workflows with minimal direct take on agents in Copilot in October,
It’s high time for AI to start proving human supervision,” said Tammana. highlighting how early adopter
useful, as various surveys suggest a third “At its core, agentic AI aims to function customers used the tools to quickly
of businesses continue to be too scared similarly to a human employee by develop bespoke automated tools to
of the risks to consider implementing understanding context and triage emails and track expenses.
the technology (Indeed), seven in ten instructions in natural language, Charles Lamanna, CVP for Business
employees aren’t convinced it makes setting appropriate goals, reasoning & Industry Copilot at Microsoft, said
them more productive (Resume through subtasks, and adapting its that the tools can help augment
Genius), and a Goldman Sachs report actions based on changing conditions.” business processes and workflows.
suggested the benefits remained too There are some who differentiate “They’re able to work on behalf of a
little given the costs. between AI agents and agentic AI. system as opposed to a person, work
That’s why AI developers – Google, “We see agentic AI as an autonomous asynchronously, or even autonomously
Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic, decision-making capability that can act to complete tasks,” he stated.
among others – are beginning to release independently within
details about their own AI agents, defined parameters,
sparking predictions that the digital allowing enterprises to
helpers will be the big story in 2025. delegate operational
Microsoft and Anthropic have already decisions that do not need
launched agents, Salesforce believes its oversight but still prioritise
customers will have a billion agents in ethical standards, data
use by 2026, and OpenAI chief product integrity, and security,”
officer Kevin Weil said in October: said Manoj Chaudhary,
“These more agentic systems are going CTO of Jitterbit. “This
to become possible, and it is why I think approach ensures that
2025 is going to be the year that agentic businesses can achieve
systems finally hit the mainstream.” efficiency and innovation
But warnings are already sounding without compromising
on security risks, poor performance on accountability
and employee trust, while analyst and control.”
house Gartner says there’s a risk that Chaudhary added: “AI
companies will be overwhelmed by agents, on the other hand,
agents that no-one can remember the are task-oriented for
purpose of – similar to the problems predefined actions and follow specific ABOVE OpenAI’s Anthropic, a rival AI firm formed
raised by creating too many bots in user commands to automate workflow Operator agent is by ex-OpenAI staffers, has already
robotic process automation. management, assist in complex unveiled a very early AI agent as part of
likely to be launched
The AI industry seems dead set on development tasks, and provide in early 2025 an update to its model, Claude. In a post
making this pivot to agents, so here’s real-time decision-making support. on the Anthropic website, the company
what we know, how it will impact you, These agents offer immense potential said that “developers can direct Claude
and how they’re already being used. to improve key areas of business to use computers the way people do
process management with orchestrated – by looking at a screen, moving a
AI agents vs agentic AI oversight, including workflow cursor, clicking buttons, and typing
So what is an AI agent or agentic AI? automation, resource allocation and text”. However, the company added
Well, that depends who you ask. performance monitoring.” that the “computer use”
Some see the idea as merely letting AI Now, it’s worth noting that some “We see agentic AI as an tool is still experimental –
loose in the real, if digital, world, with in the industry are widening the autonomous decision- and prone to errors.
software that can read documents,
type text and click links. Given that’s
definition of AI agents to include any
form of automation or interaction,
making capability that can TammanaWhat’s next? Gupshup’s
is bullish on the
what many of us spend our working including chatbots and transcription. act independently within potential progress for AI
days doing, giving a large-language What’s more, the idea of AI making defined parameters” agents. “The trajectory of
model such skills could mean the decisions and doing things inevitably agentic AI will see rapid
technology gains real capabilities. raises the spectre of artificial general advancement, with increasing
Others believe that AI agents should intelligence (AGI) rising up to take our sophistication expected in the next
have, well, agency – or at least the place as the supreme beings on the 12-24 months,” he said. “While not yet
ability to make decisions. Arguably, if planet. But it’s worth keeping a narrow perfect, these AI agents represent a
a piece of software needs to read a definition of AI tools that can take transformative technology that is
website, understand that information, action – otherwise, it’s just plain old AI. progressively becoming more reliable,
and apply it when choosing which versatile and integral to complex
button to click, that could be seen What’s on the horizon problem-solving across industries.”
as making decisions. The big players all have equally big As always, we’ll have to wait and see
Krishna Tammana, chief technology plans for AI agents in the coming year. how far these tools develop, but with AI
officer of customer engagement OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman has said agents such a clear focus for the
developer Gupshup, explains that that 2025 is the year that “agents will industry we can be certain that plenty

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 Futures AI agents @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO

of money will pour into development. bug fixing and maintenance could in overall the AI agent has improved
With so much competition, we expect theory be partially automated, but not the speed and accuracy of dealing
progress to be rapid. the rest of coding. That doesn’t mean with customer requests.
software engineers will lose jobs.
How could we use agents? “Most software companies go Be wary
We keep being promised that AI will through a painful budgeting process, Those examples highlight some of the
take over the dull, routine tasks that where they have to cut a lot of features upsides. And there are downsides –
prevent us from digging into the from the roadmap because of the beyond the obvious one that many
creative, interesting bits of our jobs. resources required to fix the bugs and of these claims and technologies
By linking company data with an LLM maintain existing solutions,” Filev said. remain largely unproven and
in an organised way, an agent can do “In my decades of experience, I have unverified, especially beyond the
this – or at least some of this. never met a software company that tech-savviest of companies.
“By automating routine cognitive didn’t have to prioritise the features “For anyone considering AI, I’d say
tasks, these technologies dramatically and cut something out. AI coding this: it’s not a magic wand. You still
reduce operational costs, enable faster agents have the potential to offload need strategy, training and a clear
decision-making and allow human some of the bug-fixes, allowing the purpose,” Wood added. “Oh, and don’t
employees to focus on higher-value, companies to execute on more of those skip the ethics. AI is powerful, but
creative work,” said Gupshup’s innovative ideas, which would make making sure it’s fair, unbiased and
Tammana. “Companies can respectful of privacy is non-negotiable.”
leverage AI agents to “Data privacy and security are
process complex data sets, crucial considerations, as AI agents
generate comprehensive may have access to sensitive
market analysis, develop information,” agreed Zencoder’s Filev.
sophisticated predictive “Proper governance and ethical
models and create strategic guidelines must be put in place to
recommendations with ensure that AI agents are used
speed and precision responsibly and do not cause
previously unattainable.” unintended harm. Additionally,
The use case for AI companies should invest in training
agents naturally differs and upskilling their employees to
by sector. In healthcare, work alongside AI agents effectively,
Tammana says, such rather than viewing them as a
agents could continuously replacement for human workers.”
watch patient data to Implementation won’t be easy. And
recommend interventions, though a bespoke AI agent may work
while in financial services, well for a software developer, it could
AI agents could be set to be beyond the capabilities of a small
work in fraud detection, marketing boutique. And these systems
looking for unusual patterns of user experience better, developer ABOVE AI agents can aren’t cheap, so keep a close eye on
behaviour. In HR, AI agents can sift experience better and the company help in areas such as promises about return on investment.
through CVs, schedule interviews and more competitive and innovative.” HR and software All of that means that AI agents may not
even conduct first-pass assessments, That’s coding. Peter Wood, chief development be for everyone.
while in retail such tools can offer technical officer at Spectrum Search, “Practical challenges include the
personalised recommendations and says the company recently started complexity of integrating agentic AI
manage inventory. using an AI agent in recruitment, in into existing enterprise systems, which
particular for data-heavy tasks such as can be time-consuming and technically
AI agents at work – now analysing trends and matching demanding,” added Tammana. “The
Andrew Filev, CEO and founder of candidates to roles. “It’s all about computational resources required for
Zencoder, says that boring, mundane cutting through the noise – things that training and running these advanced
or administrative tasks are good would take a person hours, or even systems can also be prohibitive for
candidates for agentic AI – and that days, to process, this little marvel can some organisations.”
includes some, but not all, aspects of handle in seconds,” he said. If a bit of investment saves your staff
software engineering. “For example, Rather than buy in a solution, the time and frustration, AI agents
when engineers create software company opted to build its own – and it “Don’t skip the ethics. AI may prove worth it. If they
systems, part of their work is highly took time. “Testing it was like teaching is powerful, but making initially prove more trouble
creative, part is intellectually hard,
and part is quite routine. In any
a very clever toddler – lots of patience
and trial runs with anonymised data,”
sure it’s fair, unbiased than they’re worth, you’ll be
glad to have waited for the
large project a lot of engineering he said. “We started small, ironing out and respectful of privacy second wave of AI agents.
time goes to routine bug-fixing quirks before gradually introducing it is non-negotiable” So when it comes to AI
and maintenance, which consists of to the wider team.” agents, although AI leaders
fixing a lot of smaller issues.” Wood adds that there was initial are saying 2025 is the year they go
Filev says that AI coding agents can pushback from human employees. mainstream, patience may be a wise
already handle between 5% and 10% of “Honestly, there were a few raised move. Though marketing materials
those smaller issues, predicting that eyebrows from staff at first – who and business consultants will urge
will increase above a quarter by the end wouldn’t be wary of a robot ‘helper’? companies considering AI agents to
of 2025. That can be further extended to – but when they realised it wasn’t there act now to avoid being left behind,
another 60% of smaller issues by to nick their jobs, just make them it’s worth watching to see how these
breaking those down into smaller tasks, easier, it won most people over.” technologies actually play out – and
guided by human feedback, he adds. There have been challenges, whether they pay off.
To be clear, that means the vast including edge cases that Wood In the meantime, maybe keep the
majority of routine coding work such as says “stumped the system”, but intern around.

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Please note: Labs and features are subject to change 129

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 One last thing... @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO

Ignore the hype

around the Pi 500,
says Jon Honeyball,
and enjoy the
hypermiling instead

I
t’s called hypermiling in the my second-hand computer; you I’m sure I’ll have no problems locating
motoring world: squeezing the might not be so fortunate. an appropriate RDP client on the Pi
most distance you possibly can So I welcome the new computing 500 and thus have access to a fully
from the minimum amount of hypermiling king, the Raspberry Pi cloud-hosted Window 365 session.
fuel. This can be done as a personal 500. This updates the already And at approximately half the cost of
challenge – my 12-year-old Audi A3 marvellous Pi 400 with a Pi 5 processor Microsoft’s CPU-only unit, I’ll accept
typically manages 50mpg on a decent board, so you’re buying a computer the loss of integrated management
run, so I was rather proud when I eked that includes everything you need facilities of the local hardware.
out 100mpg – but this pales against built into the keyboard unit. Well, If you’re an SME, then, what’s
the true masters of the craft. Most almost everything. Raspberry Pi has stopping you? Surely this is all the
famously, VW drove the XL1 100km on also launched a screen, the Raspberry computing resource you need, and at
a single litre of diesel, which works out Pi Monitor, which will do produce a both an energy and price hypermiling
at 280mpg. And it managed this, albeit perfectly reasonable 1080p image on point that cannot be ignored.
in a somewhat pricey and very limited its 15.6in IPS display. There’s a fully Let me repeat the price point. It’s
production run car, over a decade ago. adjustable monitor mount for this, too, two hundred notes, for a full-stack
In the computing world, we only if you want to lift it off the tabletop. fully functional computing device
used to think about absolute The cost? Well, the Pi 500 is £85, with screen, keyboard and mouse.
performance. There was never ramping up to an enormous

Surely this is all the computing

enough, and let’s ignore the power £113 if you bundle in the
consumption. Noisy fans were a sign USB-C power supply, a
of virility in the computing world; micro-HDMI cable and a resource you need, and at both an
energy and price hypermiling point
the higher the wattage of your power 32GB microSD card
supply, the happier you would be. preloaded with Raspberry Pi
Today, with the help of Moore’s
Law and greater environmental
OS. The screen is £94. The Pi
Monitor Stand is £14, which
that cannot be ignored
consciousness, we have moved on. is something of a far cry from
Now I want maximum performance the £949 that Apple wants for the Two. Hundred. Quid.
with minimal energy use. The crown wonderful 6K Pro Display XDR. Of course, I’d rather use my new M4
appears to sit with Apple’s quite Apologies, I misspoke: for the stand Pro Mac mini attached to its Apple 5K
extraordinary M4 family of processors, for the wonderful 6K Pro Display XDR. screen. I’d rather have access to
which offers eye-watering Finally, the Pi Mouse is £7.50. pro-grade tools such as the Adobe
performance with power consumption Call it around two hundred notes, suite, Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, full-fat
that’s almost laughably low. including VAT, plus or minus a bit Microsoft Office and every other
But that’s on a computer that, once depending on whether you have a spare bauble. But we must step back and ask:
you add in all the “extras” like screen, microSD card, HDMI cable or mouse. what do you actually need? And what
keyboard and mouse, costs a lot of And here’s the dilemma. It’s all you price are you prepared to pay to get
money. It wins for efficiency after need for day-to-day home computing. those additional capabilities?
you’ve bought it, but for a computer to I haven’t looked at Pi as a desktop OS Now that I’ve ordered a Pi 500, I’m
claim the hypermiling crown I think for a while, but last time’s outing was tempted to give myself the task of
we need to bring the price into the very positive. A quick search shows using it as my daily driver. I’m not sure
equation. In short: how much is that LibreOffice is available, which is how long I’ll last, given my reliance on
enough performance, and what’s the free and does everything anyone advanced capabilities in Excel, but as a
cheapest way of getting it? actually needs in an office suite. second screen on my desktop, and
The classic approach is to buy an Frankly, it’s all you need for most most especially as a computer in my
older computer and keep it running. normal business computing, too, if work room at home, the hypermiling
That’s good for the green credentials, everything runs in cloud services such king will surely reign supreme.
but it’s still going to be a compromised as Google Workspace or Microsoft 365.
solution when it comes to capabilities, You don’t get the full integrated Jon has been a contributing editor to PC Pro
reliability and overall value. It’s also management stack of Microsoft’s new since issue one. He prefers “inexpensive” to
not repeatable. I might get lucky with Windows Link device (see p33), but “cheap”. Email [email protected].

130