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 CONTENTS This month in APC

42
HOW TO 21
BUILD A
GREAT PC
• Secret tips from the experts
22
• Build the best for your budget
• The PC pitfalls to avoid

28

70 Secrets of home
network administration
Darien Graham-Smith explores the tips
and tools that can help you manage your 74
Colossus: The true story
Tim Danton unravels the WW2 computer
mystery with the help of a professor, engineers
personal LAN like a pro. and historical records.

6 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Welcome | Contents

ON THE COVER

029 Silicon Power DDR5 Storm RAM

029 Silicon Power PCIe Gen 4x4 ALL NEW EXPANDED SECTION
050 US75 SSD

SOFTWARE
042
030 Windows NEWS | OPINION | DEVELOPMENT | REVIEWS
WiseX, Patch My PC Home Updater,
066 CrystalDiskMark, Macroit Disk
034 Scanner Pro
108
026
032 Mac
Create and manage lists with Craft

FEATURES
TECHNOTES
034 Ditch Google for Proton
008 News
042 How to build a great PC
INTRO
Stay up to date with all the important
050 50 ways AI will improve your life
news in tech 102 Gaming news
058 Supercharge your Mac
What's happening in the world
066 8 Powertoys you can use of gaming
every day
104 Incoming
070 Secrets of home network
The new games coming soon
administration
106 Special report
074 Colossus: The true story behind
WW2’s legendary computer Life inside one of World of
Warcraft's biggest private servers
PC BUILDER
010 Tech brief GAME REVIEWS
AI cloud companies might be coming 082 A-list
108 Borderlands 4
for our SSDs, plus, how Agentic AI is The best products on the market
changing how we do IT in business 112 Hollow Knight: Silksong
085 Market watch
012 System news 113 Sword of the Sea
Our spotlight on the PC market
What Intel & Nvidia’s partnership 114 Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor
086 Blueprints
means for you 115 Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound
Value- and performance-driven
014 End user hypothetical builds IN DEPTH
EA is now owned by Jared Kushner and
HOW TO
his Saudi partners
015 One more thing 090 Tidy your messy desktop with
Fences
The AI bubble is expanding so fast it
must surely burst
016 Gadgets
The latest gear and gadgets that have
our attention
THE LAB
116 Tech report
PC gaming needs proprietary
engines more than ever
118 Tech tales
093 What’s the fuss about: Handheld PCs raise some tricky
Adaptive energy saver questions
094 Secret settings and the best 120 Why I love
extensions
Morrowind's Balmora: The RPG
095 AI tips: Search the web using town that became more than just
021 Asus ROG NUC 15JNK an image a hub: it was home
022 Acer TravelMate P4 Spin 14 096 Add your own words to Voice 122 Game changer
Dell Pro 13 Premium Access
023 Drakan: Order of the Flame
Asus ProArt Display 6K 097 Make spreadsheets
024 126 Retro
PA32QCV automatically update linked
Commodore: The comeback
data
026 Asus ROG Falcata keyboard 130 Know how
098 Master notifications on Mac
027 Corsair Vanguard Pro 96 Test the safety of extensions
100 Edit messages you send from
028 Sapphire Nitro+ B850A without risk
Android to iPhone

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 7

 TECHNOTES
Everything you need to know from the month in tech

Commodore

Intel, Nvidia
COMMODORE 64 ULTIMATE
ECLIPSES 10,000 UNITS
SOLD ALREADY
Rebooted firm gives huge thank you
to fans. Nvidia buys $7.5
The new, reinvigorated Commodore has
announced that its maiden product reached billion in Intel stock
in seismic deal
a significant milestone. The official
Commodore account on X shared evidence
that the Commodore 64 Ultimate had
eclipsed the 10,000 units sold milestone.
The statement also offered profuse thanks Both companies were working in secret on
to the community. Retro computing fans
should be cheered by this latest jointly developed processors for a year.
Commodore milestone, even if they aren’t
particularly interested in experiencing a
modern C64. Remember, the new In a surprise announcement that announced product roadmaps and
Commodore has quite boldly claimed that it finds two long-time rivals working architectures, including the company’s
will become a “Founder’s Sandbox,” for new together, Nvidia and Intel have Arm-based GB10 Grace Blackwell
computer tech projects. Its roadmap will announced that the companies will processors for workstations and the
feature as many as 12 major releases over jointly develop multiple new Nvidia Grace CPUs for data centres, as
the next four years – which should be generations of x86 products together well as the next-gen Vera CPUs.
exciting for all computer enthusiasts. Pricing – a seismic shift with profound Nvidia hasn’t disclosed whether it will
starts at $452 via www.commodore.net. implications for the entire world of use Intel Foundry to produce any of
technology. these products yet. However, while Intel
The products include x86 Intel CPUs has used TSMC to manufacture some of
JAPANESE CITY tightly fused with an Nvidia RTX its own recent products, its goal is to
IMPLEMENTS DAILY graphics chiplet for the consumer bring production of most high-
SMARTPHONE USAGE LIMIT gaming PC market, named the ‘Intel x86 performance products back into its own
Two-hour limit applies to usage outside RTX SOCs.’ Nvidia will also have Intel foundries.
work and study purposes. build custom x86 data centre CPUs for For the PC market, the Intel x86 RTX
its AI products for hyperscale and SoC chips will come with an x86 CPU
A draft ordinance that proposes a limit of two enterprise customers. Additionally, chiplet tightly connected with an Nvidia
hours of smartphone use, outside of work or Nvidia will buy $7.5 billion in Intel RTX GPU chiplet via the NVLink
study purposes, was voted on in Toyoake common stock at US$23.28 per share, interface. This type of processor will
City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. “Toyoake City representing a roughly 5% ownership have both CPU and GPU units merged
says that smartphones are essential for daily stake in Intel. into one compact chip package that
life, but prolonged use may affect the home Given the traditionally long lead- externally looks much like a standard
environment, such as lack of sleep, and may times for new processors, it is rational to CPU, rivalling AMD’s competing APU
hinder the healthy growth of children,” expect these products will take at least a products.
reports NHK. Children of school age should year, and likely longer, to come to Intel’s new x86 RTX CPUs will
follow additional advice to put down their market. compete directly with AMD’s APUs. For
devices by 9 pm if at elementary school or Nvidia emphasised that the AMD, that means it faces intensifying
younger, and by 10 pm if a junior high school companies are committed to multi- competition from a company with the
student or above. Mayor Masanori Kouki generation roadmaps for the co- leading market share in notebook CPUs
mused that it would be useful if citizens developed products, which represents a (Intel ships ~79% of laptop chips
checked themselves for health and sleep strong investment in the x86 ecosystem. worldwide) that’s now armed with GPU
Intel, Nvidia

benefits after making changes to their leisure But Nvidia representatives tell us it also tech from Nvidia, which ships 92% of
time smartphone habits. remains fully committed to other the world’s gaming GPUs.

8 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Technotes | News

Daniel Rotar/X
GALAXY RING OWNER
HOSPITALISED AFTER IT
SWELLS
‘Won’t be wearing a smart ring
ever again’.

The battery in a Samsung Galaxy Ring has

reportedly swelled so much that it became
stuck on an owner’s finger, making it
EA

EA strikes a $83 billion

impossible for him to remove by himself.
The swollen ring was reported by
YouTuber and tech influencer Daniel Rotar

deal to go private
of ZoneofTech. He shared photos of the
malfunctioning ring with a visible bulge
and separating interior layer on his finger.
Samsung sent Tom’s Guide a statement
Trump’s son-in-law and Saudi-backed takeover. saying that cases like Rotar’s are
extremely rare. “The safety of our
customers is a top priority. While
Electronic Arts has announced that its with what is to be acquired used as experiences like this are extremely rare,
plans to go private have gone ahead. A collateral in the debt, effectively leaving there are a few ways to attempt removing
consortium that includes Saudi Arabia’s the bought-out company liable for the a stuck ring, including soap and water – or
Public Investment Fund and Trump debt. The company’s future income will submerging your hand in cold water,” the
son-in-law Jared Kushner’s Affinity be used to repay the debt over a period of statement reads.
Partners, alongside the private equity time. In this instance, $30 billion of the
firm Silver Lake, has snapped up EA in a financing for the buyout comes via a
$83 billion deal. loan from JPMorgan. THE AI TOOLS THE CEO
The $83 billion deal also now cements The news comes amid a string of OF NVIDIA USES
EA as the biggest ever leveraged buyout, successes for EA. Having just released a Ever wondered what Jensen Huang
usurping the $68 billion buyout of Texas well-received FC 26 that delivers a huge uses himself?
utility group TXU in 2007. For reference, overhaul to the core game mechanics,
a leveraged buyout is when a private while also gearing up for perhaps the Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has revealed
equity firm uses a large amount of most anticipated FPS this year, some details about his personal usage of
borrowed money to finalise the deal, Battlefield 6. AI tools, including which particular
systems he prefers. “It’s like working with
someone who has known you for a long
QUALCOMM’S NEW SNAPDRAGON X2 time – when you use a word processor or
ELITE EXTREME AND X2 ELITE spreadsheet, every time you use it, you’re
PCs with the chips are scheduled for the first half of 2026. starting from zero - and yet the way you
work with people isn’t like that!” Huang
Qualcomm is back for round two of its The Snapdragon X2 Elite uses a mix of told TechRadar.
push into Windows PCs. The company Qualcomm Oryon Prime cores and what Asked about which specific systems he
revealed its Snapdragon X2 Elite and X2 it calls Performance CPU cores. At used, Huang listed Gemini, Grok, and
Elite Extreme. These chips will serve as normalised power, Qualcomm says it ChatGPT 5, noting he used different
the high-end offerings in Qualcomm’s offers up to 75% more performance than systems for different tasks. This includes
second generation of Arm-based chips its competitors. using Gemini for things that are “a bit
for laptops and other PC form factors. In multitasking, it claims the new chips more technical”, whereas he uses Grok for
The Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme will will offer up to 31% faster performance “more artistic” tasks, Perplexity for “fast
offer up to 18 cores, and Qualcomm at a normalised ISO power, while information access”, and finally, “for
claims it’s the first Arm chip to hit 5GHz needing 43% less power than last-gen near-everyday use, I really enjoy using
(on up to two cores). processors. ChatGPT.”

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 9

 Technotes | Tech Brief

Where the data goes

AI cloud companies have guzzled up so much HDD storage that they might
be coming for our SSDs next.

Oh the times they are a-changin’. effective immediately.” It will also could be that some future QLC SSDs
A few years ago, I don’t think I’d expand its “use of ocean freight”, will be quick enough (and remain
have predicted that HDDs, of all which will increase transport time cheap enough) to be great value
things, would be selling out, but by a few weeks but “significantly propositions for users.
here we are. According to global reduces emissions compared to air Current QLC SSDs, though, are
market intelligence and transport.” certainly a next-best bet for large
consulting firm TrendForce’s If a few weeks seems a long time, collections of warm storage, if
investigations, “nearline” HDDs you’re perhaps not understanding high-capacity HDDs aren’t
are “facing severe supply the scale of the demand, as available. TLC is unnecessarily fast
shortages”, which is pushing TrendForce explains that “lead and expensive when QLC is on the
cloud providers towards QLC times for high-capacity HDDs have market.
SSDs. now extended to nearly one year.” I As such, there shouldn’t be a
Nearline HDDs are ones used for suppose a few extra weeks isn’t too direct impact on storage for
infrequently accessed data, acting much extra. consumer SSDs such as the ones we
neither as cold (long-term) nor hot Given there seems to be no letting slot into our gaming rigs. But the
(rapidly accessible) storage but up on the AI freight train, CSPs key word there is “direct”, because if
the component and chip market in
“It could be that some future QLC SSDs will be quick enough (and 2025 has shown us anything, it’s just
how connected market effects are.
remain cheap enough) to be great value propositions for users.” For instance, if storage companies
start gobbling up QLC SSDs for
something in between. They’re might not be content waiting so warm storage, others who were
primarily used for data such as long for HDDs and might therefore using QLC SSDs for hot storage
backups. The AI boom has meant start buying up QLC SSDs. might shift to TLC, causing those
there’s more of this storage in These SSDs are of course faster stocks to shrink, too.
demand than before, to keep than HDDs, and they also consume The other side of the coin, of
previous AI training data and less power, but they cost more. course, is that more money being
model roll-backs, for instance. They’re not as fast as your average poured into SSDs rather than HDDs
One recent example of this consumer SSD today, though. ‘QLC’ could mean more resources are put
increased demand comes from means ‘quad-level cell’, which into flash storage and SSD
Western Digital. The company means they can store four bits of production. Though it would
recently split from its SSD arm, information in each flash cell. Most presumably take a while for us to
Sandisk, to focus entirely on HDDs. of the best SSDs for gaming or see the effect of that increased
TrendForce relays a notice from the general use that you’ll find will be production capacity.
company that was “spotted by TLC (‘triple-level cell’) SSDs that are In the short term, I’d place my
industry sources” and explains that faster than QLC ones and tend to bets on less SSD stock and higher
there is “unprecedented demand for last longer, too. prices, though hopefully it being
every capacity in our portfolio.” It’s worth noting that that might restricted to QLC NAND will mean
Consequently, WD “will be change, though, as we’re seeing talk it doesn’t affect our PC and laptop
gradually implementing price of some pretty impressive storage too much for now.
© Getty

increases on all HDD products, improvements to QLC storage. It Jacob Fox

10 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Technotes | Tech Brief

Agentic AI
Are you ready for AI bots to start actively working in your business?

Not another sort of AI – is there questions and give advice in a practical job: the idea is that they’ll
no end to them? conversational manner. Other do it to somewhat professional
None in sight yet! And while not types of agent can keep watch over standards. It’s considered good
all AI-related “innovations” are network security, manage enough for a general-purpose LLM
actually distinct and useful, production lines or pursue such as ChatGPT to operate as an
agentic AI does deserve a label of scientific research with a speed opaque “black box” and generate
its own. and persistence that few lab output that’s plausible if not
To define our terms, “agentic” assistants can match. entirely accurate. Agents, however,
refers to the pre-AI concept of an are (or should be) held to higher,
agent – a piece of software that This sounds like something you more tightly defined standards.
acts automatically, without know a lot about! One particularly desirable
requiring a human to click its Well, this is a hot topic for me, characteristic is that the decision-
buttons. Early agents usually took and for all IT professionals. making process comes with a
care of simple tasks such as Although we’ve been hearing for descriptive log, allowing humans to
installing updates or blocking years about how AI is going to take review the machine’s “thoughts”
viruses, following fixed rules or our jobs, the likes of ChatGPT and processes – providing an element
instructions beamed over the Microsoft Copilot are more about of, if not accountability, then at
network, but the new generation improving a person’s productivity least visibility.
of AI agents are far more than replacing them altogether.
autonomous. They can use Agentic AI, however, has the Why has it taken so long for
multi-step reasoning, act potential to completely upend agentic systems to start
proactively and improve based on employment practices, allowing catching on?
past experience. businesses to eliminate entire Good question. While ChatGPT
employee functions and delegate has been with us for nearly three
So the AI just decides for itself them to software. years, agents are only now gaining
what to do? attention. This is partly because
Not exactly: AI agents are What makes agentic AI so the idea of allowing a piece of code
usually tailored to specific tasks. different to regular AI? to directly control a real-world
One popular type is customer It’s not just that agentic AIs are system, with no direct human
support agents, which can answer designed to do a particular, oversight, makes lots of
organisations understandably
“Although we’ve been hearing for years about how AI is going to take uneasy. There’s also the practical
issue that there isn’t currently a
our jobs, the likes of ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot are more about standard interface for AI to
improving a person’s productivity than replacing them altogether.” control all our different
technology systems, so you may
not be able to easily deploy a
neatly packaged AI agent into
your existing IT portfolio –
although you could always build
one yourself.

How can I trust an AI that can

learn and change its own
behaviour?
Another good point. Any job
worth doing needs to be done with
a certain consistency, and this is
something AI has traditionally
been poor at. But if AI agents
provide justifications for their
autonomous decisions, we can use
those to guide them. They may
also give us workflow insights that
we’d never have picked up from
human staff – which can in turn
drive results that, if not wholly
consistent, consistently improve.
Steve Cassidy

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 11

 Opinion | System News

Intel x Nvidia collaboration

Intivia, Nvintel, Nvidtel? Whatever this celebrity couple’s name is,
Mark Williams knows it’ll be making headlines for years to come.

A seismic announcement was Secondly for Nvidia, is the laptop next few years. This gives AMD,
made by Nvidia and Intel during a market. Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang particularly with its Strix Halo-
recent press conference. The two said, “There is an entire segment of based offerings, a few more years to
companies will be working the market where the CPU and GPU capture market share before
together to create both datacentre are integrated, and it’s for form Nvidia-backed products arrive.
and client products going into the factor, battery or cost reasons, and For Intel, this largely represents a
future. To cement the deal, Nvidia that segment has been largely desperately needed cash injection as
is buying some US$5B worth of unaddressed by Nvidia today.” well as ensuring that its CPU IP
Intel stock and becomes the third Nvidia has been wanting its own remains relevant in the ultra-
largest single voting shareholder. CPUs to compete in the laptop lucrative datacentre space. This deal
There are multiple factors at play market on its own for a long while may have come at the cost of its Arc
here that have coalesced into this now, but ARM CPUs aren’t where the GPU architecture, though, as while
partnership making sense for both client PC masses are – it’s in x86. Intel said this won’t affect its
parties. This deal effectively gives Nvidia roadmap or GPU offerings, Intel
notably didn’t specify that Arc
“Nvidia has been wanting its own CPUs to compete in the laptop would continue either. With sources
from within Nvidia leaking that
market on its own for a long while now, but ARM CPUs aren’t where Nvidia will be “making Intel’s future
the client PC masses are – it’s in x86.” iGPU tiles”, it’s beginning to sound
very bad for Intel’s Arc division, and
with it, consumers’ hope of a proper
Primarily for Nvidia’s bottom line access to an x86 license and the third GPU player in the market.
the growth is being powered by AI advanced packaging required to Jensen Huang seems to have
datacentre products, where it’s been make that happen, via Intel. played a masterstroke here, taking
relying on custom in-house Like Kaby Lake-G, which was, advantage of Intel’s recent weakness
designed ARM (Grace) CPUs to then, an unfathomable APU that to simultaneously improve Nvidia’s
co-package with its datacentre was designed by Intel with an AMD AI offerings and potentially killing
offerings. This has frustrated graphics chiplet, this collaboration off the third GPU competitor before
hyperscalers as it limits them to one should see a similar situation, just it fully takes root, all the while
CPU IP. Back in May, Nvidia with an Nvidia GPU. Internal leaks creating an opening for itself in the
announced NVLink Fusion in from Intel report that Hammer Lake laptop APU market that it never had
partnership with Qualcomm and designs had started to be redefined before, further increasing its
Fujitsu, which allows for any ASIC or recently, “to get some new large and product reach.
CPU to be co-packaged with Nvidia’s powerful iGPU with a 2029 release
datacentre GPUs. This collaboration date”. Hammer Lake is four
enables Intel to create custom x86 generations down Intel’s roadmap.
CPUs for Nvidia with NVLink In the meantime, Intel will be using Mark Williams is an IT professional with a
interconnects, providing Nvidia’s its upcoming “Celestial” Arc strong interest in voiding warranties.
customers with more choices. architecture to tide it over for the

12 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

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 Opinion | End user

Electronic Arts isn’t dead, but it’s dying

Following a leveraged buy-out by Saudi Arabia and Jared Kushner’s investment
firm, EA’s creative prospects are dim.

For the videogames industry, the traditional single-player action includes 2K and Rockstar) and 5%
theme of this decade has been games like Immortals of Aveum and stakes in both Nexon and Capcom.
seismic change on a scale that Wild Hearts have struggled to make The list goes on (and on). Before this
would have seemed unfeasible at a dent in the market. Exceptions new buyout, PIF already owned 10%
the turn of the century. Whether include Split Fiction and the Star of EA.
it’s Microsoft buying Activision, Wars Jedi games, but these have the Saudi Arabia’s human rights
the ascent of China and Korea’s whiff of something from antiquity abuses are well-documented.
blockbuster development when we look at what Electronic Human Rights Watch reports that
prowess, or the buckling of the Arts – and most other major the regime has executed “at least”
western blockbuster market, it’s “heritage” American games 241 people already in 2025, while
fair to say that 2025 feels companies – is making its money Amnesty International notes its
dramatically different to 2015, from nowadays. Still, with Battlefield propensity for “arbitrarily
and like an alternate reality 6 just around the corner at time of detain[ing] individuals without
compared to 2005. writing, the second half of 2025 was giving them any opportunity to
Founded in 1982, Electronic Arts is looking pretty positive for EA. challenge the lawfulness of their
hardly the brand it used to be outside If this has the whiff of a eulogy detention”. Prince Mohammed has
of sports and The Sims, but it’s second about it, it’s because last month been accused by US intelligence of
only to Activision in terms of Electronic Arts went private and was the 2018 assassination of
American games companies with sold for US$55 billion, pending Washington Post journalist Jamal
longevity and widespread regulatory approval, to a consortium Khashoggi.
awareness. If you’ve lived long including Saudi Arabia’s Public Are Prince Mohammed and
enough, you probably saw Electronic Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Kushner – among other figureheads
Arts’ logo appear when booting up Affinity Partners, an investment in the buyout – likely to nurture
games for the Commodore 64, Atari firm founded by former Trump whatever creative talent is left at EA?
ST, Amiga, Apple II and PC back in senior advisor Jared Kushner (he’s In an internal memo released
the ‘80s. You can thank them for also, in case you forgot, Trump’s shortly after the buyout
SimCity, Syndicate, Road Rash, System son-in-law). It was a leveraged announcement, EA CEO Andrew
Shock 2… the list goes on. buyout, which means funds for the Wilson wrote that “[This] moment is
EA was a huge concern for most of purchase were borrowed, with the a recognition of your creativity, your
its long history, but it’s struggled to purchased assets serving as innovation, and your passion.”
make any impression in the 2020s. collateral. Honestly, that has the whiff of a
Relying on its annualised EA Sports It’s part of Saudi Crown Prince eulogy about it too.
titles, The Sims and – to a lesser Mohammed bin Salman’s efforts to
degree – Apex Legends, its attempts transform Saudi Arabia into a
to extend beyond these cash cows “global hub for games and esports”
have largely floundered. 2024’s by 2030. PIF’s prints are all over the Shaun Prescott is an Australian editor
Dragon Age The Veilguard was a industry, including a more than 8% for PC Gamer and GamesRadar, and
commercial and artistic failure for stake in Nintendo, ownership of writes for APC, TechRadar and more.
EA’s BioWare, while other more SNK, 3.5% of Take-Two (which

14 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Opinion | One More Thing

The economics of AI
The AI bubble is expanding so fast it must surely burst.

Everyone on the internet to small scale nuclear reactors. good solution, but not if the
appears to be outraged about It is far from clear that this workload is increasing at a rate
something. You can’t move for enormous rush to build ever- that can consume every clock
social media postings larger AI farms will be met with cycle that you throw at it.
lambasting some new cause or appropriate power facilities to Is this a race to the bottom,
public issue. And yet many of feed them, or whether the local where only the companies backed
these postings have little or no networks will be brought down. by the deepest pockets can hang
source referencing, and if they Or the prices of wholesale on long enough to pay the power
do, it’s to a site whose electricity go up in price to match bills, build the data centres and fill
information integrity is often, the demand. them with extraordinarily
shall we say, somewhat lacking. But will it all be necessary expensive hardware?
A claim I read recently is that anyway? Is this a vast bubble that It feels like a game of Russian
you should delete unnecessary is about to burst? I read this post roulette played out by the biggest
photos on your mobile device, on X last week: “Why AI is a house companies on the planet. When
because these are being backed up of cards: You pay $200 a year for the music stops, and the money
to one of many cloud storage an AI app (like Cursor). Cursor runs out, the fall-out will be quite
devastating. Or have we got to a
“Is this a race to the bottom, where only the companies backed point where these companies are
simply too big to fail?
by the deepest pockets can hang on long enough to pay the power At some point, these enormous
bills, build the data centres and fill them with extraordinarily AI factories have to come up with
a business model that actually
expensive hardware?” works. In 2024, OpenAI lost $5
billion on revenue of just under $4
facilities. And all of those pictures pays OpenAI $500 for API tokens billion. But this is small fry:
require storage, and that ($300 of which is VC funding). Google, as Alphabet, is spending
consumes power. Well, this is OpenAI pays AWS $1,000 for $85 billion in 2025, up from initial
entirely true, but it must be put compute ($500 of which is VC estimate of $75 billion, on AI and
into context. Just what proportion funding). $AWS pays $10k for other related technical
of the energy consumption is $nvda GPUs. See the problem?” infrastructure work. And I have
related to those baby photos you Now I am not proposing that the read that Microsoft is spending
took when your offspring first figures are accurate, but there is $80 billion in 2025 too.
started to walk? an underlying truth here. None of At some point, this all adds up
But still, the question arises this infrastructure can make to a lot of money. Will the music
about how much processing power money at the moment. It isn’t an stop soon?
is required to support the huge issue of “we will break even when
data centres that are being built by we can scale out enough”. The
the big AI players. Some are costs just continue to go through
claiming that all sorts of exotic the roof. And adding in newer and Jon Honeyball is neither artificial
power generating systems can be faster generations of technology nor intelligent.
used, from vast solar panel arrays from Nvidia might seem like a

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 15

 GADGETS Nice things to have

The Antigravity A1
drone is equipped with
four propellors and
weighs just 249g.

Antigravity A1
PRICE $TBC WEB antigravity.tech

Described as the world’s first 8K 360 drone, the Antigravity

A1 has everything you need to create amazing aerial
footage in glorious Ultra HD video quality. Available from
January 2026, the Antigravity A1 comes in three parts: the
A1 Drone, which can shoot footage forwards, backwards,
above and below all at the same time; the Grip Motion
Controller, which promises to make flying easy, even for
newbies; and the Vision Goggles, which enables you to see
exactly what the drone sees.
Created by Insta360 – the same people responsible for
action cameras such as the new GO Ultra – the A1
seamlessly stitches together the scenes it captures from
each of its cameras, both when viewing live and when
editing later, and you can choose exactly what you want to
see – so if you want rear-facing clips of the drone soaring The Vision Googles give you the perfect viewpoint through which to see live
upwards, the sky’s the limit! Antigravity A1’s 8K 360 footage.

16 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Technotes | Gadgets

Elipson This bookshelf speaker

pair should instantly

Horus 6B
connect to your PC.

Active BT
PRICE $1,199 WEB en.elipson.com

With a history that stretches back to 1938, French

brand Elipson knows a thing or two about making
great audio – which is why the arrival of the Horus
Active BT is so enticing. Equipped with Bluetooth
5 as well as a USB Audio port, this speaker pair
should be instantly recognised by your PC or
laptop and is ideal for enjoying music and games,
and is a great choice for editing. They even have a
built-in phono stage, so you can use them with a
vinyl turntable as well. Zut alors!

PRICE $TBC WEB benq.com PRICE $463 WEB plaud.ai PRICE $469 WEB owc.com

BENQ PV3200U PLAUD NOTE PRO OWC EXPRESS 1M2 80G

Aimed at both creative pros and ‘YouTubers’ New from the makers of the NotePin, the PORTABLE SSD
(whatever they are), the BenQ PV3200U is a Plaud Note Pro promises to make following This USB4 solid-state drive (SSD) has a
great go-to for the next time you need to up meetings easier – by doing the hard ‘build your own’ vibe to it – giving you the
edit video. This 32-inch 4K display only work of transcription for you. Around the ability to buy the enclosure only (so you can
needs a single USB-C port for both size of a credit card, the Note Pro is able to add your own storage) or fill it with 1TB,
connection and power, and meets 100% of do this thanks to the power of artificial 2TB, 4TB or 8TB of M2 storage at buying
the Rec.709 and 95% of the DCI-P3 colour intelligence (AI), and comes with 64GB of time. Its palm-sized aluminium body is
gamuts. Like other BenQ ‘creative’ displays, onboard storage for voice recordings, equipped with fins so your files can cool
the PV3200U includes a Hotkey Puck for which are captured using its four their heels, with speedy data transfers of
easy tweaking of the display’s settings, microphones. Offering up to 75 days of up to 6,000MB/s possible via its
and features BenQ’s own M-book Mode for battery life on standby, the Plaud Note Thunderbolt 5 compatible port. Ideal for
easy colour matching with your PC. And its Pro should also be ready and waiting anyone who needs high performance, the
stand has tilt, swivel, pivot and height for the next time you’re hauled in front of drive is bus-powered with a USB4 cable
adjustment. the boss. included.

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 17

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NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 19

 REVIEWS
Expert reviews and recommendations to help you buy with confidence

REVIEWS IN THIS ISSUE

021 023 025 027 029

Asus ROG NUC Dell Pro 13 DrayTek Vigor2136ax Corsair Vanguard Silicon Power DDR5
15JNK Premium Pro 96 Storm RAM
022 024 026 028 029

Acer TravelMate Asus ProArt Display 6K Asus ROG Falcata Sapphire Nitro+ B850A Silicon Power PCIe
P4 Spin 14 PA32QCV keyboard WIFI 7 motherboard Gen 4x4 US75 SSD

APC is Australia’s oldest consumer INDEPENDENT REVIEWS invite a vendor to clarify how a particular
technology magazine – having been Championing technology doesn’t mean feature works. If an APC reviewer has any
consistently in print for over forty years, we’re unrelenting yes-men and -women, potential conflicts of interest involving a
since our first issue way back in May 1980 however, and APC aims to be as objective brand, the review will always be assigned
– and we take that heritage and as possible in all our coverage. That means to another writer.
responsibility very seriously. While our identifying the best products from
focus is obviously on the personal multiple perspectives – the best LABS TESTING
computer the very definition of the PC has performance, best value and best features APC strives to conduct the most rigorous,
changed and shifted markedly since the and, ideally, the products that offer the best objective scientific tests and benchmarks
early 1980s. mix of these three attributes. we can so as to make our reviews as
As such, we touch on many other areas As a matter of policy, reviews published unbiased as possible. We use a variety of
of everyday tech, too, from smartphones in APC are not shared with product-makers tools and programs for this, including
and apps to peripherals, accessories, and prior to print. We will contact vendors many freely available benchmark suites for
beyond. We have two goals: to find the best under certain conditions; for example, if assessing media encoding, general system
modern tech and to help you make the we have a problem testing a product that performance including storage read and
most of it. seems to indicate it may be faulty, or to write speeds, gaming and battery life.

APC EDITOR’S CHOICE APC HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

When a product scores 4.5 out of 5, it carries the You will see this award if a reviewed product has
Editor’s Choice Award. These are products that scored four out of five stars. It means most people
exceed expectations and deliver a quality can expect satisfying performance from the
experience up there with the very best. product, and that we would use it ourselves.

20 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 The Lab | Asus ROG NUC 15JNK

PRICE $5,888 WEB tinyurl.com/APC551ROGNUC

Asus ROG NUC 15JNK

Asus’ second-gen ROG Gaming NUC aims to be a well-timed third option
for those seeking a new laptop or desktop.

With Windows 10 deprecation at our vapor chamber cooler, two special

doorstep, discussion amongst those ‘dual-blower’ processor fans and a case fan
farewelling trusty-old PCs (and new to expel heat and promote stability.
buyers) has revolved around whether to Its PCMark 10 score of 8,842
purchase a new desktop or high- demonstrates high proficiency with
powered laptop computer. But, Asus general computing tasks (as do its
posits an attractive third option: the Geekbench 6 scores). It’s Cinebench scores
ROG NUC. show can handle regular processor-based
Now in its second generation, the 2025 rendering tasks. Its 3DMark CPU Max
NUC is a unique, highly engineered threads score of 15,871 underlines the
hybrid-desktop PC with bespoke chassis, prowess of the processor’s eight
motherboard and cooling technologies, Performance and 16 Efficient cores that
plus high-end, gaming-laptop silicon. Its operate between 2.1 and 5.4GHz.
announcement drew criticism for the high Its 3DMark scores show it’s a capable
price but if one diminutive device can gaming machine. I also played Doom: The
negate buying a massive, hideously Dark Ages at 4K at over 200fps. It’s a great
expensive desktop or desktop-replacement gaming PC. Trading blow for blow with the
laptop (that’s going to take up significant Alienware 16 Area-51 we recently reviewed
room on your desk) the value could be (APC 550, score 3.5/5), the differences in
high. performance with the otherwise identical
First up, it looks great with its geometric CPU and GPU are only a reflection of more
fins and flourishes aping hyper cars for review unit came with 32GB of DDR5-6400 recent drivers used with the ROG machine.
form and function. The RGB ROG logo RAM, an integrated 1TB NVMe PCIe 4 The fans can ramp up to a robust
adds flair and only the printed gamer drive plus an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX whoosh when under load, but you can use
slogans might prove divisive. processor and a laptop-grade Nvidia Asus’ Armory Crate app to reduce noise
A single thumbscrew facilitates easy GeForce RTX 5080 GPU (with 16GB of when needed.
access to the internals where you can GDDR7 RAM). That’s some serious power The NUC can support five 4K displays via
swap-out two SODIMMs and populate the in a chassis that measures just 282 x 188 x connectivity that includes one
spare PCIe Gen 5 NVMe 2280 slot. Our 57mm and so Asus utilises a large bespoke Thunderbolt 4, two DisplayPort 2.1 and two
HDMI 2.1 ports. There are also six USB-A
BENCHMARK RESULTS Asus ROG NUC 15JNK Alienware 16 Area-51 3.2 Gen 2 (plus, one type-C) ports, a 3.5mm
CPU Intel Ultra 9 275HX Intel Ultra 9 275HX audio jack and 2.5GbE LAN. Wi-Fi 7 and
GPU RTX 5080 RTX 5080 Bluetooth 5.4 are integrated.
RAM 32GB 32GB Ultimately, the 2025 ROG NUC performs
Street Price $5,888 $5,540.00
like a modern, top-tier, 16-inch gaming
PCMark 10 - Overall (score) 8,842 8,639
laptop and costs similar at $5,888. It’s
Geekbench 6 - Multi-core 18,721 20,244
Geekbench 6 - Single-core 3,048 3,149
much cheaper than 18-inch desktop
Geekbench 6 - GPU 212,120 213,178 replacement laptops. Traditional Desktop
Cinebench R24 - CPU Single Core 134 133 PC builders may hate it but this high-
Cinebench R24 - CPU Multi Core 1,946 2,106 performing portable/stowable pre-built
3DMark SpeedWay 5,761 5,610 gaming PC can also be transported easily
3DMark Port Royal 12,209 11,999 (and hot-desked). Its fast connectivity suits
Steel Nomad 5,249 5,109 data storage on a NAS. It’s perfect for those
Cyberpunk 2077 - 1600p RT Low (DLSS) 122 114 who don’t want a laptop or desktop on
Cyberpunk 2077 - 1600p RT Low (No DLSS) 82 79 their desk anymore.
Cyberpunk 2077 - 1600p RT Ultra (DLSS) 80 72
Cyberpunk 2077 - 1600p RT Ultra (No DLSS) 40 37 VERDICT
Black Myth Wukong - 1600p Cinematic 105 104
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 1600P DLSS Off 176 175
CrystalDiskMark Read/Write (MB/s) 6,852 6,575 The NUC is an expensive (but also
CrystalDiskMark Read/Write (MB/s) 6,410 5,890 very good value) gaming desktop-
laptop-hybrid that will suit many
SPECS Mini gaming desktop PC. Intel Core Ultra 9 Processor 275HX; Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop
GPU; 32GB DDR5-6400 RAM; 1TB NVMe PCIe Gen 4 drive; 6x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports, 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2,
gamers and power users.
1x Thunderbolt 4, 2x DP 2.1, 2x HDMI 2.1, 1x 3.5mm audio jack. 2.5GbE LAN; Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4; 282 x
188 x 57mm, 3.12KG. NICK ROSS

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 21

 The Lab | Acer TravelMate P4 Spin 14

PRICE $TBA WEB acer.com

Acer TravelMate P4 Spin 14

A flexibility business 2-in-1 for those who want something a little bit different.

This month we got hands-on with

Acer’s TravelMate P4 Spin 14, running
the 2025-launched Intel Core Ultra 7
255U – a mid-range CPU aimed at office
workflows that include lighter creative
tasks and frequent multitasking. Our
configuration includes 64GB of DDR5
RAM, but the Spin 14 also stands out
with 2-in-1 flexibility that lets it operate
in tablet and tent modes (with a pen) for
sketching and meetings.
Sure, it’s not the slimmest or the most
eye-catching, but you get a sturdy build
that includes practical touches that will be
appreciated in daily use. Our unit has an
excellent 14in 2880 x 1800 IPS touchscreen
rated at 340 nits brightness and 100%
sRGB, but be aware that some variants
have a lesser 1920 x 1200 touch panel.
On the left you get dual USB4 (with
charging and DisplayPort), USB-A 5 Gbps flex or bounce, though the 1.89cm is decent, but not standout, though the
and HDMI, while the right has USB-A 5 thickness feels chunky compared to 64GB of memory really helps make the
Gbps, RJ-45, 3.5mm audio and a productivity machines that are usually machine feel snappier and more capable
Kensington lock port, plus a handy closer to 1.6cm. The backlit keyboard and when running a lot of different
microSD slot on the front. Connectivity is responsive touchpad are comfortable to applications. The Ultra 7 255U CPU uses
up to date with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 use for extended periods. The design of fairly basic Intel integrated graphics, and
plus a microSD slot and a Gigabit Ethernet the 360-degree hinge is excellent, and the while not as powerful as the excellent Arc
jack. It pairs both IR facial recognition and laptop is easy to switch between modes 140V options, it’s still more than good
a fingerprint reader for logins, plus offers a and use as a tablet. enough. The cooling system keeps the
physical camera shutter and discrete TPM The Ultra 7 255U delivers solid temps in check under sustained loads,
(Trusted Platform Module) for business performance in productivity tasks and though it can get fairly noisy when
needs. You also get an Active Stylus for handles multithreaded workloads well, so running flat out.
notes and sketches that tucks neatly into a spreadsheets, photo tweaks and an In a welcome move, the TravelMate has
slot in the side of the laptop. ever-increasing number of browser tabs upgradable RAM, so it can be kept relevant
The build quality is robust, with little are handled just fine. Single-thread speed for longer. The Ultra 7 255U also includes a
12 TOPs NPU, which can help with some
Copilot features, but does not meet the 40
Acer TravelMate Acer TravelMate TOPs needed for CopPilot+ and AI specific
BENCHMARK RESULTS
P4 Spin 14 P6 14 (2024) workflows.
CPU Ultra 7 255U Intel Core i5-1335U CPU
The laptop has a smallish 53Wh battery
GPU Intel integrated graphics Intel Iris Xe graphics
and charges fast from the 100W USB-C
RAM 64GB 16GB
Battery Capacity 53Wh 65Wh
power adapter. Acer rates battery life at up
RRP $TBA $2,299 to 17 hours depending on tasks and
PCMark 10 5,648 4,984 settings, but we only managed just under
Cinebench R24 - CPU (multi-threaded) 540 510 11 hours for watching video, and under 8
Cinebench R24 - CPU (single-threaded) 110 99 for actual work, so don’t expect to handle a
Geekbench 6 - Multi-core 9,147 9,121 long day without a charger.
Geekbench 6 - Single-core 2,084 2,183
Geekbench 6 - GPU 20,536 12,132 VERDICT
CrossMark 1,428 1,157
3DMark Time Spy 2,414 1,291
3DMark Night Raid 19,916 14,529
A compact yet capable business
Battery life - 1080p video playback (h:min) 10:43 N/A
2-in-1 that stands out for its flexible
CrystalDiskMark Read (MB/s) 4,768 4,512
design and solid performance, but
CrystalDiskMark Write (MB/s) 3,635 3,788
battery life is a little disappointing.
SPECS W11 Pro; 14in, 2.8K (2880 x 1800) IPS; Intel Core Ultra 7 255U CPU, Intel Graphics iGPU; 64GB
DDR5 RAM; 1TB SSD; 53Wh battery; 31.29 x 23.48 x 1.89 cm; 1.43kg LINDSAY HANDMER

22 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 The Lab | Dell Pro 13 Premium

PRICE $2,750 WEB dell.com

Dell Pro 13 Premium

A compact business laptop with solid mid-range performance.

Aimed at professional users, the Dell

Pro 13 Premium is a compact business
laptop that’s well matched to typical
workplace use where battery life
matters more than raw performance.
Our review configuration pairs an Intel
Core Ultra 5 238V with 32GB LPDDR5X and
a 512GB NVMe SSD, while the cheaper
variant uses a Core Ultra 5 236V with 16GB.
There’s also a more powerful (and
expensive) Ultra 7 268V model. The Ultra 5
iGPU is an Intel Arc 130V, which suits
productivity work and light creative tasks
without the heat or bulk of a discrete GPU.
All models include dual Thunderbolt 4
ports (40Gbps with DisplayPort and PD
charging), one USB-A 3.2 port, HDMI 2.1, a
3.5mm headset jack and a wedge lock slot
for security. Wireless is modern Wi-Fi 7
and Bluetooth 5.4 for fast links to
networks and other peripherals like mice
and headsets.
The 13.3in display comes in three when you return. The 8MP camera gives sustained CPU load, the fans are
flavours that all have the same maximum sharp video and decent low-light noticeable, yet during normal use, the
60Hz refresh rate. The entry FHD+ performance, while the presence detection machine is near silent.
non-touch option is rated at 300 nits and features are pretty fast and reliable for The trackpad is responsive and the
45% NTSC colour, but our variant has the auto lock/unlock. backlit keyboard, while small, is well laid
FHD+ 400 nits panel with 100% sRGB The base spec is well balanced, and the out and longer typing sessions are
coverage that suits workflows where Ultra 5 is more than powerful enough for comfortable even for people with larger
colour accuracy matters. The QHD+ everyday business use with headroom for hands. The speakers are better than
configuration is on the Ultra 7 machines heavier tasks like number crunching and expected considering the size, and video
and is upped to 500 nits (also 100% sRGB) huge spreadsheets. The Ultra 5 is very calls are nice and clear.
and adds a touchscreen. punchy for single-core workloads and is Dell advertises an “ExpressCharge”
All three configs have an IR webcam not far behind the Ultra 7, and only slightly mode, but this needs a 100W charger and
that provides facial recognition and a slower in multi-core tasks. The Arc 130V isn’t available with the included compact
proximity sensor that can lock the PC iGPU is excellent and is on par with 140V 60W USB-C power adapter. That said,
when you move away and wake it quickly performance in slimmer laptops. Under top-ups are still quite quick, and we got
50% capacity back in 37 minutes. Battery
life is excellent thanks to the very efficient
BENCHMARK RESULTS Dell 13 Pro Premium Acer Swift 14 AI CPU, and in our testing we managed over
CPU Intel Ultra 5 238V Intel Ultra 5 226V
24 hours of video playback at 50%
GPU Intel Arc 130V Intel Arc 130V
brightness and Wi-Fi on. In light office
Battery Capacity 60Wh 75Wh
RRP $2,750 $1,899
tasks, it can last just over 12 hours, but that
PCMark 10 6,909 6,442 drops closer to 8 hours with heavier
Cinebench R24 - CPU (multi-threaded) 582 541 workloads. Still, that is an impressive
Cinebench R24 - CPU (single-threaded) 119 113 result and it’s quite capable of making it
Geekbench 6 - Multi-core 10,275 9,961 through a day without charging.
Geekbench 6 - Single-core 2,744 1,884
Geekbench 6 - GPU 26,091 24,654
CrossMark 1,732 978 VERDICT
3DMark Time Spy 3,760 4,438
3DMark Night Raid 34,285 36,616
Battery life - 1080p video playback (h:min) 24:34 13:43
Excellent productivity focused
CrystalDiskMark Read (MB/s) 6,489 N/A
performance and battery life from a
CrystalDiskMark Write (MB/s) 4,800 N/A
very compact business laptop.
SPECS W11 Pro; 13.3in, 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution, 400 nits, 100% sRGB; Intel Core Ultra 5 238V; Intel
Arc Graphics; 32GB LPDDR5X RAM; 512GB SSD; 60Wh battery; 29.6 x 20.9 x 1.7 to 1.8cm; 1.07kg LINDSAY HANDMER

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 23

 The Lab | Asus ProArt Display 6K PA32QCV

PRICE $2,499 WEB tinyurl.com/APC551proart

Asus ProArt Display 6K PA32QCV

Asus’ 6K professional display aims to deliver uncompromising performance
to creative workers.

When we saw the 32-inch 6K

PA32QCV at Computex, the specs
alone sounded mind-blowing. Now
that we’ve been living with it for
weeks, does it fulfil its potential?
The core benefits of having a 6K
professional display are that
videographers shooting in 6K can see
all their footage at once and that those
shooting in 4K can see all their footage,
plus all of their video editing toolbars,
at the same time. These productivity
benefits alone will be enough for some
videographers to justify buying the 6K
PA32QCV.
It has a solid, classy, (easy to fit-
together) metal stand that will blend
into any stylish studio. It comes with
high-end HDMI and Thunderbolt cables
which you’ll likely need to avoid the
screen occasionally blacking-out (as we
discovered with our older cables) – they
transmit a great deal of information!
Once up and running, the IPS panel “Videographers shooting in 6K can see all their footage at once
presented us with a very impressive
6,016 x 3,384 resolution (218PPI)
and that those shooting in 4K can see all their footage, plus all
Windows Desktop that has bright and of their video editing toolbars, at the same time.”
vibrant colours plus no reflections and
minimal glare, thanks to special transitions are stunningly smooth. The facilitates multiple adjustments to a
coatings. It’s also Mac compatible. Just only thing you’ll struggle with is plethora of pre-set modes including
for office tasks, it offers an attractive fast-and-frantic gaming due to laws-of- BT.2020, DICOM, Rec.709, multiple P3
multi-windowed working space where physics issues surrounding the options and user-defined modes. You
you can clearly see four windows at combination of fast refresh rates with can even install voice recognition
once without moving your neck extremely high resolutions: very-fast- integration to adjust some features.
around. An ambient light sensor, TÜV moving objects can get blurry. Still, But, this felt slow and gimmicky (and a
flicker free and Ultra-low blue light slower-paced games look phenomenal. bit privacy-violating) when we tried it.
technologies all help make it very Image and video editing is indeed a The copious connectivity supports
comfortable to stare at all day. A joy thanks to all the screen real-estate multiple picture-in-picture
backlight sensor ensures that colours and it’s generally brilliant to interact arrangements and daisy-chained
are accurate across the screen from the with. It’s just a shame that the tinny, displays and there’s a USB-A and USB-C
moment you turn it on. quiet, twin 2-Watt speakers let the side KVM hub too.
It supports HDR10 and this makes down. Surprisingly for new, top-tier
multimedia look superb: details are For those who want the techie technology, it’s not massively expensive
visible in the darkest areas while the details, know that it’s a factory- at $2,499. However, as a professional
brightest areas, elsewhere on the calibrated and Calman Verified display tool, its potential productivity boosts
screen, can melt your eyeballs. Some that supports 98 per cent of the DCI-P3 will mean the price is irrelevant for the
details can get lost in highlights, but colour space with a ΔE<2. The OSD target market, anyway.
this is easily addressed via the menu is extensive but you’re best-off
multitude of settings available. Both using the impressive Asus VERDICT
colourful and monochromatic DisplayWidget app which effortlessly

It’s phenomenal for anyone who

SPECS 32-inch, matte, 6,016 x 3,384, HDR10, 60Hz, IPS; 5ms GTG response time; 600cd brightness;
3,000:1 contrast; 2x Thunderbolt 4 (Daisy Chain), 2x DisplayPort 1.4 DSC, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x USB-C (96-Watt
does professional work.
PD), 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (Hub), 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 (Hub), headphone jack; Tilt +23° -5°, Swivel +30° -30°,
Pivot +90° -90°, Height +-130mm; 714 x 618 x 240mm, 9.3KG. NICK ROSS

24 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 The Lab | DrayTek Vigor2136ax

PRICE $544 WEB www.draytek.com.au

DrayTek Vigor2136ax
Draytek’s latest router has faster ports and an overhauled OS with many
business-management upgrades.

If you’re not familiar with Draytek,

it’s an old-school router maker that
makes old-school routers that use
old-school user interfaces along
with bleeding edge security, privacy
and VPN technologies for modern
businesses. I could review the latest
model, the SMB-focused
Vigor2136ax, by simply listing all
the relevant code numbers and
acronyms that define it. So, let’s see
if we can humanise what’s on offer...
The basic-looking router thumbs its
nose at rivals which take their design
cues from furniture, robot crabs and
space ships. It has a 2.5GbE WAN port a
2.5GbE configurable WAN/LAN port
and three Gigabit LAN ports. There are
also two USB ports that can be used for
connecting an FTP server, print server,
thermometer or 4G failover adapters.
It supports Wi-Fi 6 at dual-band
AX3000 speeds. Being Draytek, there’s
also a version without Wi-Fi for those
who view it as a security risk. Either “No surprise, the beefy hardware offers standout performance
unit can function with up-to seven of
DrayTek’s new, modern-looking for productivity tasks, but what about gaming?”
(cylindrical) VigorAP 805 access points
which run the same firmware. and the W/LAN port, can guarantee of telemarketers). Multi-factor security
DrayTek makes the point that, uptime by bringing the number of features are available (as are one-time
compared with the previous Vigor2135, potential, simultaneous, failover passwords) and Draytek’s free Smart
the 2.5Gbps ports push throughput up connections to five(!) VPN Client can be used on Windows,
from 950Mbps to 2.3Gbps (and make Other features that go above and Mac, Android and iPhone. Numerous
IPSec throughput 2.3x faster). beyond the norm include DrayDDNS monitoring, logging and reporting
For new users, the DrayOS 5 which is a service which provides easy features are also present.
firmware is the star of the show. and secure remote access to the router At the end of the day, the DrayTek
Accessed via web browser, it provides from anywhere in the world; multiple Vigor2136ax is the router you use to
responsive access to countless settings QoS configurations that revolve around remotely manage an office that caters
related to all things networking. manual settings and applications; a to remote workers. It prioritises
Notable features (for the target business-grade firewall; plus, extensive security and reliability much more
market) include it arriving fully web-content filters with an option for than any other networking product
optimised to easily connect to utilising pre-configured subscriptions. we’ve reviewed here and it offers
multiple, ANZ broadband WAN It’s statement features revolve significantly more supporting
technologies from providers including around the VPN capabilities. The new hardware and services too. You’ll know
NBN and Starlink. It also lets you hardware has four built-in VPN tunnels if you need it. If you don’t, it’s not for
easily set-up and configure multiple (up from two in the previous model) but you.
LAN and Wi-Fi networks. the main attraction surrounds the
Both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi identity and access management VERDICT
channels can be set to connect to Wi-Fi features. There are numerous options
hotspots for failover provision which, to manage both individual users and
in conjunction with two 4G dongles user groups (which might mean teams If you need a Wi-Fi router to manage
an office with reliable and secure
SPECS Speed: Dual-band Wi-Fi 6 AX3000Mbps; Connectivity: 1 x 2.5Gbps Ethernet WAN, 1 x 2.5Gbps
connectivity, this is it.
Ethernet W/LAN, 3 x Gigabit Ethernet LAN, 2x USB 2.0 ports. Features: Four built-in VPN tunnels, bandwidth
management, content filtering, failover management, remote user management. NICK ROSS

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 25

 The Lab | Asus ROG Falcata

PRICE $579 WEB rog.asus.com

Asus ROG Falcata

A fast, responsive, feature-rich keyboard that looks ergonomic but prioritises gaming.

When is an ergonomic keyboard not an

ergonomic keyboard? The ROG
Falcata looks like an ergonomic
keyboard, and it even has many of the
usual features of boutique ergonomic
keyboards, but essentially, it’s a
full-on gaming keyboard that just so
happens to be fully split, with optional
tenting and tilting. So why go to all
that bother if it’s not about
ergonomics? Well, Asus says, “the
unique split design allows users to
detach the side of the right keyboard,
retaining the left half when gaming…
free[ing] up even more space for mouse
movement.”
At its core, the ROG Falcata is a
compact 75% mechanical keyboard
featuring ROG’s HFX V2 magnetic (Hall
effect) switches, 8kHz polling, per-key
RGB lighting, and a multifunction media
wheel. It measures 327mm by 127mm and
weighs just under a kilo without the
wrist rests—add those and the risers, and
it gains another 750g, making it a The HFX V2 switches are honestly a You can also tweak the board setting
surprisingly hefty and robust little unit. dream – super fast and incredibly with Asus’ beta online interface Gear
While the ROG Falcata isn’t a true responsive. In fact, until using the Link. It’s intuitive, lightweight, and (in
ergonomic keyboard, it does offer Falcata, I hadn’t realised just how much I theory) regularly updated, doing away
better-than-average comfort for a gaming rest my fingers on keys during gaming. with the need for local installs. It’s a
board. The split chassis is great for The default sensitivity of the HFX V2 welcome move for ease of use and
getting your shoulders into a comfortable switches is so fine that they trigger on the ongoing feature support.
position, and you can attach large slightest of pressures. That’s easy to The most limiting factor with the ROG
silicone wrist pads that screw to each adjust, but you could easily use them in Falcata? Connectivity. The two halves of
half of the keyboard. default mode and instead control your the keyboard don’t communicate
You can adjust its angle using own gaming style. wirelessly. They require a proprietary
interchangeable feet for either tilt or The multifunction media wheel on the interconnect cable looks like standard
tenting, which further helps improve left side of the board is brilliant. A button USB-C, but has non-standard wiring.
posture. The included silicone wrist pads just above it cycles through volume Asus includes two cable lengths, but both
are dense and feel premium, but they’re a controls, the sensitivity of the rapid are quite short, which severely restricts
bit low given the keyboard’s high-profile trigger, keyboard actuation points, layout flexibility – an odd oversight for a
keys. After extended use, I did notice media playback, lighting, and even split keyboard.
some wrist strain due to the height. This custom commands. Below the wheel, The ROG Falcata is fantastic for pure
is probably one reason why Asus chose there’s a large dynamic LED strip that lets gaming. It’s easily the fastest and most
not to market the ROG Falcata a board you know what level you’ve set responsive keyboard I’ve used. It’s just a
with ergonomic benefits. everything to at a glance. bit too uncomfortable for long sessions,
thanks to the low wrist pads and high
keys.

VERDICT

Asus’ split keyboard delivers lightning-fast

performance and premium features, but
comfort quirks and a tethered design keep
SPECS Size: 75% fully-split; Switches: ROG HFX V2 Magnetic Switch; Backlighting: Per key RGB;
Anti-ghosting: N-key rollover; Polling rate: up to 8,000Hz (USB/2.4G); Dimensions: 327 x 127 x 38 mm
it from true ergonomic greatness.
(without wrist rests); Weight: 968 g (without cable and wrist rests); Connections: 2.4GHz, USB Type-C,
Bluetooth 5. NICK EVANSON & TROY COLEMAN

26 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 The Lab | Corsair Vanguard Pro 96

PRICE $349 WEB www.corsair.com

Corsair Vanguard Pro 96

For you are a magnet, and I am steel.

For newcomers to keyboards with

magnetic, Hall effect switches, the
Corsair Vanguard Pro 96 is a
showcase of what next‑gen input
can feel like. Drawing inspiration
from Dutch startup Wooting and
its revolutionary Wooting 60HE
keyboard, the Vanguard Pro 96
delivers magnetic precision with
every keystroke, paired with the
quality and reliability you’d expect
from a top brand like Corsair.
Thanks to Corsair’s hot-swappable
MGX Hyperdrive magnetic switches,
the Vanguard Pro 96 delivers an
ultra-smooth, linear-like typing
experience. Unlike traditional
mechanical switches that use metal
contacts, Hall effect switches rely on
magnetic sensing for actuation.
Because of this, gamers can take “You can also set your own incredibly-precise actuation points
advantage of Rapid Trigger
functionality for repeated key presses (from 0.1mm to 4mm) on a per-key basis, allowing you to go
without fixed reset points and with ultra-shallow for lightning-fast inputs in a competitive shooter
minimal latency.
You can also set your own
like CS:GO, or apply deeper actuation for deliberate,
incredibly-precise actuation points mistake-free typing.”
(from 0.1mm to 4mm) on a per-key
basis, allowing you to go Mode’ button, which instantly adjusts quickly check keyboard stats and
ultra-shallow for lightning-fast the Vanguard Pro 96’s RGB lighting to a access settings, like actuation points,
inputs in a competitive shooter like simplified colour scheme and disables without needing to open the Web Hub.
CS:GO, or apply deeper actuation for the Windows key. These keys are now Alternatively, you can use the screen to
deliberate, mistake-free typing. If you low-profile and angled, making them showcase your favourite GIF or even a
want to dive deeper, multi-actuation more discreet and less prone to picture of your cat – the choice is yours.
can also be set in the Corsair Web accidental presses compared to earlier In the parlance of today’s YouTube-
Hub, allowing you to assign different models. Streamers and content creators obsessed kids, the Vanguard Pro 96’s
actions based on how far you press a will soon have the ability to assign sound profile strikes an excellent
single key. This means you could shortcuts to these G keys for use with balance between ‘thocky’ and ‘creamy’,
potentially switch from a jog to a full Elgato’s Virtual Stream Deck, although where each silky keystroke’s soft edge
sprint depending on the depth of your this feature is currently in beta at the is rounded out by an exceedingly
keystroke. Of course, if the benefits of time of writing. pleasant and buttery tone. The
magnetic switches aren’t a priority for To prove how serious Corsair is about keyboard also features four layers of
you, you could save money by opting this functionality, the Vanguard Pro 96 sound-dampening foam, further
for Corsair’s standard Vanguard 96 sports a dedicated key for launching the enhancing its acoustics for an
keyboard, which is offered with a on-screen Stream Deck, conveniently incredibly satisfying typing
selection of linear and tactile positioned to the right of the FN key. experience.
mechanical switch options. Additionally, the keyboard’s volume
Design-wise, the Vanguard Pro 96 knob is set to gain new functionality
isn’t too much larger than a standard with a future update, enabling users to VERDICT
tenkeyless (TKL) keyboard, despite adjust settings like white balance,
sporting a 96% layout with full brightness, lighting and more on the fly
numpad. On the left side of the board, – much like the knobs on a Stream Corsair’s Vanguard Pro 96 keyboard offers
there’s a set of five programmable G Deck+ unit. Next to the knob is a an outstanding typing experience and
keys alongside a dedicated ‘Game 1.9-inch LCD screen that lets you comes packed with features that would
make even the most exacting gamer happy.
SPECS Length: 388 mm, width: 141 mm, height: 43 mm, weight: 1095g, wired USB (3.0 or above
recommended), actuation force: 30-35g, actuation point: 0.1-4.0 mm, total keypress travel distance: 4.0 mm. STEPHEN LAMBRECHTS

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 27

 The Lab | Sapphire Nitro+ B850A WiFi 7

PRICE $TBA WEB sapphiretech.com

Sapphire Nitro+ B850A WiFi 7

A modern ATX AM5 board built for fast memory and the latest Ryzen CPUs.

It’s been over a decade, but Sapphire capable of pushing RAM performance, Power delivery uses a 12 plus 2 plus 1
is back with a new motherboard – the the board can also be configured to phase setup rated at 55 amps per phase,
Nitro+ B850A WiFi 7. It’s an AM5 cater for latency sensitive gaming or with large heatsinks, giving the board
board pitched at builders who want creator workloads where stable plenty of capacity to handle sustained
dependable power delivery, fast memory is the most important metric. multi-core loads without issue and still
storage options and a clean, simple Storage options are decent, and you leaving headroom for manual tuning.
setup. It’s ideal for Ryzen 9000 can run three 2280/2242 M.2 drives in Rear I/O covers three 10 Gbps USB-A
processors, as well as 8000 and 7000 total (with built-in heatsinks), with one ports and one 10 Gbps USB-C, plus four
series chips and uses an ATX layout configured for fast PCIe 5.0 x4 and the USB 2.0, DisplayPort, HDMI and a Flash
with four DIMM slots for dual other two using PCIe 4.0 lanes from the BIOS button. Front panel headers add a
channel DDR5. For those wanting chipset. That lets your system drive use 5 Gbps USB-C and two 5 Gbps USB-A
something smaller, Sapphire has also the fast Gen 5 connection, while project ports. While USB4 isn’t expected at this
released the micro-ATX Nitro+ files and game libraries live in price point, 20 Gbps USB would have
B850M WiFi with similar specs. In a additional NVMe drives. For even more been nice. Networking is via Wi-Fi 7 for
nutshell, if you need a home for a storage, there are four SATA ports for wireless and 2.5 Gb Ethernet for wired,
Ryzen CPU, loads of memory and 2.5-inch SSDs or bulk storage with while audio is handled by a Realtek
quick NVMe drives, or you like to 3.5-inch HDDs. codec with 7.1 channel output (no S/
tune BIOS settings for a little extra The B850A has a full speed PCIe 5.0 PDIF).
performance, this board is for you. x16 slot for your graphics card, plus a While we don’t have a local street
The memory setup uses the PCIe 4.0 x4 and a PCIe 4.0 x2 slot for price yet, with an expected price in mid
conventional four slots, which suits other options like capture, storage or $300s based on the $189 USD RRP, the
bigger kits and avoids the trade-offs network cards. The slot spacing is Nitro+ B850A WiFi 7 is an excellent
that come with two-slot designs. reasonable, but some large air coolers mid-range choice that focuses on the
Official support stretches to high might be tight and the main M.2 features most builders need rather than
8000MHz (OC) DDR5 speeds when connection does sit under the GPU, shiny extras that are rarely used.
overclocked, with a capacity up to which limits third party SSD heatsink
256GB across four modules. While height.

VERDICT

A practical four slot memory layout and

capable VRM make the Nitro+ B850A
WiFi 7 ideal for fast DDR5 and AM5
SPECS ATX, Socket AM5; 1x PCIe 5.0 M.2 plus 2x PCIe 4.0 M.2; 4x SATA; 4x USB 10 Gbps, 2x USB 5 Gbps,
chips without stretching the budget.
header 1x USB 5 Gbps Type-C, HDMI 1.4, DisplayPort 1.2; 1x PCIe 5.0 x16, 1x PCIe 4.0 x4, 1x PCIe 4.0 x2;
Wi-Fi 7, 2.5 GbE; Realtek ALC897 7.1 audio. LINDSAY HANDMER

28 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 The Lab | Silicon Power XPower Storm RGB DDR5 | Silicon Power US75 SSD

“The 1TB US75 (as tested) is rated for 7,000

MB/s sequential reads and 6,000 MB/s
sequential writes – making it a good fit for
handling large media files, giving fast game
access or other storage heavy tasks.”

PRICE $165 WEB silicon-power.com

Silicon Power XPower

Storm RGB DDR5 PRICE $109 (1TB) WEB silicon-power.com

A stylish RGB kit that balances speed, Silicon Power

compatibility and value. US75 SSD
DDR5 prices keep trending Xpower kit proved trouble Fast yet affordable PCIe Gen4 storage
down in Australia, making a free with no stability or
32GB 6000 MT/s kit a great compatibility issues to report, for creators and gamers.
choice for AM5 builds and and it happily met its ratings,
upgrades. For Ryzen 7000, plus could be pushed further We have the Silicon Power backed by a 5-year warranty.
6000 MT/s with modest without issue. US75 in the labs this month In CrystalDiskMark the
timings is still the practical Beyond performance, the – a Gen4 NVMe SSD that US75 hit 7,356 MB/s sequential
sweet spot, whereas for Ryzen hardware looks and feels offers high-end performance reads and 6,233 MB/s writes,
9000, 6400 MT/s is slightly premium. The aluminium for mainstream builds and the real world profile
better if your board can spreader stays cool and the without trying to get too which mimics everyday file
handle it. Intel users can get shark-gill lightbar gives a fancy. It slots into the middle work more closely gave 4,412
some benefit from higher nicely diffused RGB effect. of the Silicon Power range and MB/s reads and 5,806 MB/s
frequencies if you are The module dimensions are is one of the cheaper 7GB/s- writes. Using the Blackmagic
running bandwidth-heavy normal for mid-height RAM class Gen4 drives in speed test, we got 5,847 MB/s
workloads. at 133.4 x 43.5 x 8.8mm, so Australia. reads, and 5,626 MB/s writes.
Silicon Power’s Xpower clearance won’t be an issue. The 1TB US75 (as tested) is In Iometer the drive gave
Storm RGB is a 32GB (2x16GB) Availability locally is good rated for 7,000 MB/s 690k read IOPS and 982k
kit with a simple white heat and street pricing is sequential reads and 6,000 write IOPS – a great result that
spreader (also available in competitive against bigger MB/s sequential writes – keeps up with pricier Gen4
black) and a lightbar that brands. If you want stable making it a good fit for drives. Even in sustained runs
syncs with most motherboard plug-and-play DDR5 with tidy handling large media files, the US75 stayed reasonably
software. The exact kit in the aesthetics and broad platform giving fast game access or cool despite the lack of
lab is SP032GXLWU60FFDL, support, the Storm RGB is a other storage heavy tasks. heatsink, but adding one is
rated DDR5-6000 at CL36-46- great choice. The US75 is a single sided still a good idea for hot
46-86, 1.35V and PC5-48000. It module and uses the Maxio gaming builds.
supports Intel XMP 3.0 and MAP1602 controller for
AMD EXPO and includes a VERDICT decent efficiency. While VERDICT
limited lifetime warranty. currently hard to find in every
Installation was painless and capacity, Silicon Power offers
on our test setup the Storm A sleek RGB DDR5 kit that it in 500GB, 1TB, 2TB or 4TB Excellent Gen4 speeds at a
RAM remained stable gives solid performance versions with endurance of price that few other drives
through extended testing of a for the price. 300TBW for 500GB, 600TBW can match.
Sapphire Nitro+ B850A Wi-Fi for 1TB, 1.2PBW for 2TB and
7 motherboard. Overall the LINDSAY HANDMER 2.4PBW for the 4TB drive – all LINDSAY HANDMER

SPECS 2x 16GB; CL36-46-46-86; PC5-48000; 1.35V; Profiles: Intel XMP 3.0, SPECS M.2 2280 NVMe, PCIe 4.0 x4; 500GB (300TBW), 1TB (600TBW), 2TB
AMD EXPO; Limited Lifetime Warranty; 43.5(H) x 133.4(L) x 8.8(W)mm. (1.2PBW), 4TB (2.4PBW) capacity; 80mm x 22mm x 3.6mm, 8g; 5-year warranty.

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 29

 Software | Windows

AI ASSISTANT

NEEDS Windows 10 or 11 WEB www.wisecleaner.com/wisex.html

WiseX 1.01
A new AI assistant you can use on your desktop.

From the company behind the free tools, including Hugging Face and an account and enter a verification code.
software Wise Disk Cleaner and Wise Brave Leo, also provide independent However, certain AI models place limits
Program Uninstaller (see our Best access to DeepSeek. on how many requests they’ll process for
Free Apps feature in APC 549), WiseX To use WiseX, simply type a query or free. After that, they require tokens for
is a new AI assistant you can use on command into the message box and which you need to purchase credits.
your desktop. Rather than limit you click Send. Depending on the model WiseX gives you five complimentary
to its own set of large language you’ve selected, it can search the web credits, which doesn’t sound like much,
models (LLMs), it lets you switch to provide up-to-date answers and but as most tokens use only 0.1 credits
between multiple AI tools without analyse files you upload. it’s enough to decide whether you like
having to open their apps or websites. Its AI models include useful tools for the program. Further credits cost from
Options include OpenAI’s GPT 4-o, working with images, such as $1 for 10 via PayPal.
Google’s Gemini 2.5 Pro and the generating pictures from text prompts, It’s early days for WiseX, and we
Chinese-owned DeepSeek. The latter erasing unwanted objects and people, experienced a few errors and noticed
may raise eyebrows, but by accessing the and removing backgrounds. These some spelling mistakes in its options
LLM through WiseX (without a generally work well, though images (‘Photo Restioration’, for example). But
DeepSeek account), you’ll avoid the you upload must be under 10MB in size it’s fun to play around with and, if you
privacy concerns surrounding the and 2048x2048 pixels in resolution. don’t get the answer you need from one
DeepSeek app and website. Several AI WiseX is free to use, after you create AI model, just switch to another.

1 Click the dropdown menu at 2 Delete a chat from WiseX by 3 Click the globe icon above 4 To check how many free

the top to choose from over 20 hovering your cursor over it and the message box to activate credits you have left from the
AI models. These include clicking the bin icon, or wipe all web search for the current AI five that WiseX gives you, click
GPT-4o, Gemini 2.5 Pro and your conversations by clicking model, so you can get up-to- your profile icon in the top-right
DeepSeek (plus some other Clear History. It’s always good date information. Click the corner. When you hit your
Chinese LLMs), and tools for practise to delete your data paperclip icon to upload a file quota, click the Buy Credits link
generating, enhancing and from AI tools to protect your from your hard drive and ask to get more - prices start from
removing unwanted elements privacy. the AI tool about its content. $1 for 10 credits.
from images.

30 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Software | Windows

Should I pay for?

Choose the right version of software

SOFTWARE UPDATER

NEEDS Windows 10 or 11 WEB tinyurl.com/APC551patch

PATCH MY PC HOME UPDATER 5.2.3

Patch My PC has been updated again to make it even better at
managing software. The big new feature is a startup manager,
which you access by clicking Startup in the left-hand toolbar
(see screenshot). This lists all the tools that launch automatically
DISK SCANNER
when you start Windows and lets you disable them with a single
click. Doing so will help your PC boot faster and stop PRICE $30.39 1 FREE TRIAL PERIOD N/A
unnecessary background processes slowing it down. You can NEEDS Windows 7, 8.1, 10 or 11
re-enable programs if you change your mind. Another new option WEB tinyurl.com/APC551macrorit
lets you remove portable tools (that aren’t actually installed)
from the Apps and Uninstaller tabs by right-clicking them. Patch CRYSTALDISKMARK
My PC has added support for further software, including Wise Rather than test the speed of your drives like CrystalDiskMark
Video Converter and Microsoft’s PC Health Check. (see left), Macrorit Disk Scanner checks for bad sectors. These
are areas that can no longer store data, which can result in files
becoming lost and unreadable, and affect the speed and
reliability of your system.
Both the Free and Pro editions perform thorough scans of
your hard drive or SSD, and provide a visual map. This marks
bad sectors in red and healthy ones in green. The Pro version
has the advantage of scanning multiple drives at the same time,
to save you having to check them individually.
However, it’s important to note that neither edition – or the
pricier Macrorit Disk Scanner Unlimited, which osts $176.34 –
actually fixes bad sectors. Instead, they merely tell you if a drive
is putting your data at risk so you can replace it.
This makes Macrorit Disk Scanner a useful tool to add to your
arsenal of PC-maintenance software, but also highlights that it’s
not worth paying for. Other than multiple-disk scanning, the only
extra feature it offers is automatic shutdown once a scan is
BENCHMARKING TOOL complete (see screenshot).
NEEDS Windows 7, 8.1, 10 or 11 Because scans take a long time, this option means you can
WEB crystalmark.info/en/download leave the program running while you get on with other things and
let it turn off your PC for you. But as you’re unlikely to use
CRYSTALDISKMARK Macrorit Disk Scanner very often, it’s hardly essential.
CrystalDiskMark tests the read and write speeds of hard drives,
SSDs and external drives, so you can check if they’re becoming OUR VERDICT: DON’T PAY FOR IT
slower over time. It performs four tests to verify how fast your Macrorit Disk Scanner offers a reliable way to detect bad
drive can read and write both sequential and random data. The sectors on your hard drives. But the only features in the Pro
latest version reduces the default number of times these four version not available for free are scanning several drives at
tests are carried out, from five to three. This will save you time once and automatic shutdown.
while still providing accurate results, but you can increase it to
nine if you prefer. CrystalDiskMark has also added a setting for
testing the flash memory in SSDs, USB sticks and SD cards. “Both the Free and Pro editions perform
Click the Settings menu and choose Flash Memory (see
screenshot) to adjust its tests accordingly. Although it’s a great thorough scans of your hard drive or SSD,
program, CrystalDiskMark has a confusing website, so we and provide a visual map. This marks bad
recommend downloading it from SourceForge (tinyurl.com/
APC551crystal) instead.
sectors in red and healthy ones in green.”

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 31

 Software | Mac

WRITING AND TRACKING APP

PRICE (IAPs $17.99/month, $149.99/year) WEB craft.do NEEDS macOS 12 or later

Craft
Create and manage lists, text and more.

Craft is a multi-platform application Microsoft Word for refusing to let you

that combines different kinds of place a box in a location without
functionality found in various snapping it incorrectly somewhere else
writing, note-taking, calendar and will find this a breath of fresh air.
to-do apps. It’s free to try with a few Apple’s Pages is better, but still
limitations, then fairly inexpensive to restrictive. To compare it to writing apps
subscribe to if you want all the bells alone is to do it an injustice however,
and whistles. But does it provide more since there’s much more on offer.
than the free apps you may already There are templates of course, and you
own? can also add content by dragging,
Craft takes its own approach to pasting or pressing the [/] key, which
content creation and a quick spin reveals a menu of shortcuts – a system
through the intro videos is helpful if which will be familiar to anyone who
you’re new to the app. At the top level has ever written code. It’s a great Craft enables you to add or format content
you have Documents, which are a canvas approach and quickly becomes second very quickly with a simple, universal key
into which you can place all sorts of nature. Typing the first few letters shortcut command.
things. Every piece of content from text reveals all available content types, so for
to images, lists and links is known as a example start to type “list” and you’ll around items, press the [/] key and
“block” and is editable within a see all available list types. Similarly, choose an action, say adding bold
document. “table” gives you a bunch of table types formatting to text or aligning images in
This editability includes free and easy and sizes. a specific way. If a content type isn’t
movement of blocks – so any content – Formatting content is also nicely compatible with the command it will
on a page. Anyone who has cursed handled so you can simply drag to draw simply be ignored. It’s hard to overstate
how natural this feels as a system for
editing and formatting content,
“It’s hard to overstate how natural this feels as a system for especially when you’ve spent years
editing and formatting content, especially when you’ve spent fighting the absurdities of other leading
desktop publishing (DTP) software.
years fighting the absurdities of other leading desktop
publishing (DTP) software.” EASY EDITING
There’s also built-in access to a variety of
online artificial intelligence (AI)
engines you can use to summarise, edit,
spell check or rewrite your text directly
from inside Craft. Documents can use
graphical and colour styles and there’s a
formatting panel with all the usual stuff
– colours, fonts, alignment and so on,
but also Rich Blocks including things
like Collections, which are mini
databases you can insert into
documents and populate with fields.
Cards are another system Craft uses for
managing and displaying content and
are a little like sub-pages.
Craft incorporates a task manager
section with an inbox, reminders and
task tracking plus integration with
Apple’s Calendar and Reminders. The
editability continues with the option to
nest and link blocks, enabling you to
take your content and quickly combine
Craft has access to multiple artificial intelligence (AI) engines to suggest, correct it into a sub-section, convert it to a
or summarise content. different content type and more.

32 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Software | Mac

Collections are mini databases – just one of the types of content you can create and edit.

“There’s also built-in access to a variety of AI engines you can

use to edit, check or rewrite text”

Anything you create will sync across such as Omnifocus, Things, IA Writer
Craft on your Mac, iPhone, iPad and a PC and others if they are installed.
whenever you have an internet Craft is a very powerful app, though
connection, so it’s all able to be edited this means there is a bit of a learning
from anywhere and saved in the cloud. curve. While some things such as
This seems to work using the company’s formatting are natural, the depth of
cloud and not iCloud, so the free plan features and the concepts in use mean
has 1GB of storage while the paid plan’s not everything is obvious at first. It’s
storage is unlimited. The free plan also also overkill if you’re only going to use a
limits you to 1,500 blocks of content, couple of its features. If you plan on
which is fine for light use but not for doing more however, it’s a multi-
creating bigger projects over time. talented and fairly inexpensive
alternative to a number of mainstream
SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE apps, all rolled into one.
When your document is finished you
can share it, including inviting online VERDICT
collaborators (even if they do not own a
copy of Craft), exporting in all major
formats including PDF, Word and A powerful writing and tracking app with
Markdown, and publishing directly to strong features, though potentially
Share your documents in multiple formats the web with a password-protected web overkill for some.
and to a large range of online formats and link. You can also transfer the
locations. documents and their content to apps HOLLIN JONES

NOVEMBER 2024 APC MAGAZINE 33

Google tools may
be free and easy to
use, but they also
compromise your
privacy. Robert
Irvine explains

why you should
switch to Proton’s
safer and better
alternatives.

D What you can do

espite fierce competition from passwords, but Google infamously
Amazon, Meta and TikTok, doesn’t protect that data using
Google remains the most end-to-end encryption. Although • Transfer Gmail messages to
notorious tech company for there are alternative tools that do, they a secure alternative
invading its users’ privacy. It tracks you can be tricky to master and you’ll need • Block tracking pixels and
around the web, across your devices and to switch between multiple services. links in emails you receive
even in the real world, collecting your Proton (https://proton.me) • Check the security of all your
data so its ‘partners’ can target you with provides a solution to this privacy account passwords
personalised ads. problem. It offers equivalents to many • Protect your files and photos
In previous features, we’ve Google tools, which don’t collect, with end-to-end encryption
recommended ditching Google Search share or analyse your data, and stores • Share documents securely
for more private search engines such as it securely so only you can access it. using time-limited links
DuckDuckGo, and Chrome for a a less Proton’s services and software are as • Connect to free VPN servers
intrusive browser like Brave (or simple to use as Google’s, and are with no data limit
DuckDuckGo again). But what about integrated in a similarly convenient
other Google tools such as Gmail, way. Here, we explain why you can
Google Drive and Google Password trust Proton with your private data and
Manager? show you how to use all its brilliant
These store sensitive data including free tools on your PC, phone and
your emails, personal files and tablet.

34 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Feature | Ditch Google for Proton

YOUR PROTON QUESTIONS ANSWERED

What is Proton?
Proton is a Swiss technology company, Switch between
Proton tools
based in Geneva, that specialises in by clicking
privacy-focused software and services. It the ‘Proton
was founded in 2014 by a team of scientists applications’
button in the
who met at CERN (the European top-left corner.
Organisation for Nuclear Research)
and “decided to build a better internet
where privacy is the default” (https://
proton.me/about).
The company launched its first tool,
Proton Mail, through a crowdfunding
campaign with the goal of creating the
world’s most secure email service. Proton
is now funded by grants and paid
subscriptions, and last year set up a
non-profit organisation called the Proton
Foundation, which is now its controlling
shareholder (tinyurl.com/
APC551foundation). Where does Proton
store users’ data?
How is Proton more private Proton initially stored its users’ data in
than Google? a former military bunker, built into a Swiss
As a Swiss company, Proton is protected mountain under 1,000 metres
by the country’s privacy laws, which are of granite. When Proton Mail and the
among the strictest in the world. company’s other tools became popular,
Switzerland’s neutrality means it’s not it moved to a larger data centre in Zurich
subject to intelligence-sharing and additional centres in Germany
agreements, such as those of the Five Eyes, and Norway.
Nine Eyes and Fourteen Eyes alliances These data centres outside Switzerland
(tinyurl.com/APC551eyes), and Swiss allow Proton to provide a faster and more
companies are prohibited from passing reliable service. All user data is still
data to foreign law-enforcement agencies. protected by Swiss privacy laws, and
Proton further prevents surveillance Proton says its zero-access encryption
by providing end-to-end encryption ensures your data remains private no
for all its tools (see screenshot below), matter where its servers are located. Proton Unlimited offers all its premium
so your privacy is “mathematically features for $16.29 a month.
guaranteed”. Unlike in Australia, the US, What tools does Proton offer?
UK and EU, the Swiss government has not As well as Proton Mail, the company offers more storage and greater flexibility, such
introduced or considered any legislation an online storage service (which includes a as letting you choose which VPN server to
to limit users’ right to encryption. document editor), password manager, connect to. We focus on the free versions
The company says it doesn’t possess the VPN, calendar and digital wallet. We’ll in this feature, but we’ll also explain the
keys required to decrypt users’ data: “As a explain how to use all these tools in this benefits of upgrading.
result, even if Proton were forced to turn feature, and reveal what makes them You can save money by subscribing to
over all our computer systems, your data better than Google’s equivalents (where Proton Unlimited, which combines all the
would continue to be encrypted” (https:// applicable). Plus plans and gives you 500GB of storage.
proton.me/blog/switzerland). What’s Once you’ve registered for a Proton It costs $21.19 per month, discounted to
more, unlike Google, all Proton tools are account, you can switch easily between $16.29 if you pay for a year’s subscription
free of ads and don’t collect or share your Proton’s online services by clicking the (see screenshot above). See https://
data for advertising or any other purpose. ‘Proton applications’ button in the top-left proton.me/pricing for details.
corner (see screenshot above).
All its tools now have Android and How popular is Proton?
iOS apps, too, so you can use them Proton says more than 100 million
on your phone and tablet as well as on people and businesses have signed
your computer. up for an account. Its popularity may
pale in comparison to Google’s billions
Are Proton’s tools free to use? of users but, unlike Google, Proton’s
Yes, all Proton tools are free to use, but end-to-end encryption ensures everyone
All Proton tools guarantee your privacy they also have paid-for Plus plans. These who uses its tools can do so privately
using end-to-end encryption. include extra ‘premium’ features, a lot and securely.

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 35

 Feature | Ditch Google for Proton

DITCH GMAIL FOR PROTON MAIL

You need a Proton Mail account to use Increase your
the company’s other software and storage to 1GB
by completing
services, in the same way a Gmail account Proton’s checklist
is necessary to access most of Google of actions.
tools. The free version of Proton’s secure
email service gives you 500MB of storage
and one private email address, with
end-to-end encryption enabled by default.
You can use Proton Mail on as many
devices as you want.
Visit https://proton.me/mail, click
‘Create a free account’ and select the Free
plan. Enter a username and password, and
choose between an ‘@proton.me’ or ‘@
protonmail.com’ email address. Click
‘Start using Proton Mail now’ – choose ‘No
thanks’ to decline the upgrade to the Plus Proton Mail will tell you which (confusingly, Proton also says 18 days) and
version – and complete the Captcha. email data it’s going to import. Click you’ll unlock that extra 500MB.
Select a display name for your Proton ‘Customize’ to exclude specific folders You’ll find this checklist under
Mail account, and optionally set up a or include only messages from within a ‘Get more storage’ in the bottom-left
recovery method in case you get locked certain date range. It will import the corner of your Inbox (see screenshot in
out. You’ll now be taken to your new most recent emails first, and stop previous tip). The actions include learning
Inbox. Here’s what to do next. when it hits the 500MB limit (you can about Proton Mail’s privacy features,
delete unwanted messages to reclaim auto-forwarding Gmail messages (see
Import your emails space). Click ‘Start Import’ again to import above), updating your website logins to
from other services your data. use your new email address and installing
Proton Mail lets you import emails from Alternatively, rather than filling up your Proton Mail’s mobile app.
Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo Mail, so you Inbox with old messages, you can forward Once you’ve completed these tasks,
can store and read messages in a private, new messages from Gmail to Proton Mail. Proton will increase your storage limit to
ad-free environment. However, because This will also remove trackers (see ‘Block 1GB. You can get 15GB by upgrading to
the free plan includes just 500MB of hidden trackers’ tip) and encrypt their Proton Mail Plus (see the box on the
storage, you may not have enough space content. On the ‘Import via Easy Switch’ opposite page) or 500GB (across all Proton
for all your emails – see the next tip to find page, click ‘Set up auto-forwarding from tools) by subscribing to Proton Unlimited
out how to double your storage. Gmail’ 3 then ‘Sign in with Google’. Select (see previous page).
To import emails and contacts from your Gmail account and grant Proton
Gmail, click the Settings cog in the access to auto-forward emails. Block hidden trackers
top-right corner and choose ‘All settings’. and spam
Select ‘Import via Easy Switch’ Double your email storage Proton Mail automatically blocks hidden
( 1 in our screenshot below) then ‘Import To make room for more messages, you pixels in emails that let senders spy on
from Google’ 2 , and tick Emails and can double your 500MB of Proton Mail you to see when and where you open their
Contacts. Click ‘Start Import’ and give storage to 1GB for free – but you need to messages. Senders can use these pixels to
Proton Mail access to your Google act fast. Complete a checklist of actions collect data for personalised advertising,
account. within 15 days of opening your account so it’s no surprise that Gmail allows them.

Import your Gmail

messages into Proton Mail
– or auto-forward them to
your new inbox to encrypt 3
them.

1
Proton Mail automatically blocks hidden
trackers in emails.

36 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Feature | Ditch Google for Proton

Proton also removes tracking elements

from URLs in emails. This prevents
senders from seeing how you interact
What else do you get in Proton Mail Plus?
with their websites when you click those Proton Mail Plus costs $77.88 a year – three folders and labels, and one
links. which works out at $6.49 per month – or custom filter, to organise your emails,
When you receive an email containing $8.19 for one month if you pay monthly. while the paid-for version is unlimited.
tracking pixels or links, a shield icon As well as the features we’ve Paying customers can also set up
appears in its top-right corner. Click this mentioned, Proton Mail Plus lets you add automatic replies and send more than
to see how many trackers Proton has up to 10 email addresses. These 150 messages per day.
blocked and the number of links it has are technically ‘aliases’ rather than Frustratingly, whatever plan you have,
cleaned (see screenshot below left). additional accounts, and allow you to Proton Mail limits attachment sizes to
To block an unwanted sender in Proton send and receive messages without 25MB. To share larger files, you’ll need to
Mail, such as a spammer or scammer, revealing your real Proton Mail address. use Proton Drive (see page 39).
simply right-click a message from them If you own a domain name, you can use Mail Plus also provides 15GB of
and choose ‘Block sender’. This will reject that in your custom email address. storage, while Proton Free gives you
all their future messages. The free plan lets you create only 1GB by comparison.

Password-protect all of your

emails whether they’ve read it or
All emails you send to and receive from not. To change the expiry
other Proton users are protected by time, click the Edit button,
end-to-end encryption. But messages to specify the number of days
people who don’t use Proton Mail are and hours you want, and
secured using TLS encryption. This tick ‘I’m sending this
encrypts the connection between the message to a non-Proton
sender and recipient, but not the actual Mail user’. Click ‘Set’ to
messages, which means they’re only confirm.
protected in transit. The recipient will
To communicate more securely with receive a message
people who are not using Proton Mail, you explaining they have an
can encrypt your emails using a password. encrypted email from your You can customise Proton Mail’s appearance with different
Click the padlock icon in the bottom-left Proton Mail address, which themes.
corner of a new message window. Type includes a button to ‘Unlock
the password you want to use – either message’. Clicking this will prompt them Proton Mail also has a Windows app
share this separately with the recipient or to enter your password so they can read (https://proton.me/support/
provide a hint to help them guess it – and the content. mail-desktop-app) that you can use as
click ‘Set encryption’ (see screenshot your desktop email client. This is available
below). Download Proton Mail’s apps only with its paid-for plans, but you can
Your encrypted email will expire in 28 Proton Mail’s free apps for Android try it for free for 14 days.
days, after which it is deleted from your (tinyurl.com/APC551mail) and iOS
Sent folder and the recipient’s Inbox, (tinyurl.com/APC551mailio) encrypt Customise Proton Mail’s
the emails you store on your phone or interface
tablet – and those you send to or receive Proton Mail offers several ways to
from other Proton users. Both apps offer customise its interface. Click the Settings
most of the same features as the web button in the top-right corner to open its
version, though only the iOS app blocks panel of options. For example, you can
hidden trackers in messages. switch from the default Row layout to
You can set Proton Mail as the default Column, which displays the content of
email app on your Android or iOS device. emails to the right of the message list. The
On an Android phone, open Settings and Density option lets you choose a more
choose Apps then ‘Default apps’. Tap compact layout, and there are eight
‘Email app’ or ‘Mail app’ and select Proton different themes, which transform Proton
Mail. If you don’t see that option, Mail’s appearance (see screenshot above).
long-press the Gmail icon on your home Last year, Proton Mail introduced a
screen and tap the ‘i’ icon. Choose ‘Open private AI-powered writing assistant
by default’ then press ‘Clear default called Proton Scribe (https://proton.me/
preferences’. The next time you tap an blog/proton-scribe-writing-assistant),
email link, select Proton Mail and choose which drafts emails on the subject and in
Always to set it as the default mail app. the style of your choice. However, this is
To do the same on an iPhone or currently limited to Proton Duo
iPad, open Settings and tap Apps then subscribers (see page 40) so ignore the
Encrypt your emails to non-Proton Mail Default Apps. Press ‘Email’ and choose option to enable the writing assistant.
users using a password. Proton Mail.

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 37

 Feature | Ditch Google for Proton

MOVE YOUR PASSWORDS TO PROTON PASS

Proton Pass (https://proton.me/pass) Import and check the safety
provides a private and secure alternative of passwords
to the Google Password Manager. It The Proton Pass extension offers to
protects your passwords and other data save your login data when you sign up
1
with end-to-end encryption and stores for or into a website – as does its mobile
unlimited logins in both its free and app if set as your default password
paid-for plans. manager. You can also add passwords
Whereas Google’s tool only works in 2 manually and import them from an
Chrome and Android, Proton Pass is existing password manager.
available in any browser, on any mobile Protect your email address using a Proton Proton provides import instructions
device and on your desktop through its Pass alias. for different services at https://proton.
extensions and apps (https://proton. me/support/pass/import-export-
me/pass/download). address. You can create 10 aliases in passwords. To transfer passwords from
the free Proton Pass plan, and an Google Password Manager, export them
Disguise your email address unlimited number in the paid-for Plus from Chrome as a CSV file. Click the
with aliases version. This costs $4.89 a month, or Settings cog in the bottom-left corner of
Proton Pass protects your email address $58.68 for a year. the Proton Pass website, select Import,
from spammers and scammers using The easiest way to use aliases is to then Chrome and upload the CSV file.
‘Hide my email’ aliases. This means install the Proton Pass browser extension. Once imported, you can check the
when you sign up for a new account or This adds an icon to email boxes ( 1 in security of your passwords by clicking
subscribe to a newsletter, you can use a our screenshot above) you can click to Pass Monitor. This highlights weak
fake email address to stop your real one generate a ‘Hide my email’ alias 2 . You and reused passwords, and those for
being leaked or stolen. can also create aliases manually by which you haven’t enabled two-factor
Messages sent to your alias are selecting ‘Create a hide-my-email alias’ authentication. Sadly, Proton’s dark-
forwarded to your standard Inbox, where in the extension, Proton Pass website web monitoring is only available in its
you can reply to them from the fake or mobile app. Plus plan.
 Feature | Ditch Google for Proton

DITCH GOOGLE DRIVE FOR PROTON DRIVE

Proton Drive (https://proton.me/drive) Proton
is a much more private way to store your Drive lets
you share
files than Google Drive. It doesn’t analyse files and
their content using AI, collect metadata 1 folders
about items you upload or comply with securely
government requests to share data. with
anyone.
Most importantly, your files are
end-to-end encrypted and only accessible 2
by you. Files in Google Drive are encrypted,
but Google holds the encryption keys, so 3
it can decrypt them at any time. Here we
outline the best things you can do with
Proton Drive.

Share files and folders securely

Proton Drive’s free plan gives you need to enter your password to view the import files from Google Drive via
2GB of online storage, compared with content. To deactivate a link before the Google’s Takeout service. See tinyurl.
200GB in the Plus version. This costs expiry date, click ‘Stop sharing’ 3 . com/APC551gdrive for full instructions.
$6.49 a month or $77.88 a year, but Proton Drive can back up photos and
doesn’t offer much extra aside from Back up documents and videos automatically from your phone or
recovering all previous versions of files photos automatically tablet. These are end-to-encrypted and
– the free version limits recovery to the As with other Proton tools, Proton Drive have their metadata removed to keep
last seven days. has PC and mobile apps as well as a web their content private.
You can increase your free storage to version (download them from https:// To activate this option in the Proton
5GB by clicking the gift icon in the proton.me/drive/download). Unlike Drive app for Android or iOS, press the
bottom-right corner and completing a Proton Mail, you can use its Windows app Photos tab at the bottom of the screen ( 1
checklist of actions within 30 days of for free to back up selected folders – such in our screenshot below left), and turn on
signing up. These actions are uploading a as Desktop, Documents and Pictures – backup 2 . Once you grant Proton Drive
file, setting up a recovery method and and keep them synced between your permission to access your photos, it will
sharing a file or folder securely. computer and online account. Just click scan your entire library and back up all
There’s no limit on the size of files ‘My computer’ in the left-hand menu the images and videos until you hit your
you can share, and because they’re followed by ‘Add folders’. storage limit.
end-to-end encrypted, only the people You can also use the Windows app to
you share a link with can view their Create and collaborate on
contents. For extra security when you documents
share files and folders with non-Proton Last year, Proton added a Google
users, you can encrypt the sharing link Docs-style document editor to Proton
with a password and set it to expire on a Drive. As you’d expect, Proton Docs
specific date. 2 protects the documents you create
Right-click an item and choose Share, and edit with end-to-end encryption, to
then switch on ‘Create public link’. Click keep them safe from data breaches,
the Settings cog to set an expiration date online surveillance and AI.
for the link ( 1 in our screenshot above It has the same sharing features as
right) and protect it with a password 2 . Proton Drive, so you can collaborate
Click ‘Save changes’ to create a public
1 securely with other people by sending
(but private) link you can share however Back up photos stored on your phone to them a password-protected and
you want. Anyone who clicks the link will Proton Drive. time-limited link. Proton Docs includes a
choice of fonts, standard formatting
options (such as bold, italics, highlights
and alignment) and toolbar buttons for
inserting images, links and tables. You
1 can download documents in DOCX,
PDF and TXT format.
To use it, click the ‘New document’
button in Proton Drive’s top-right toolbar
( 1 in our screenshot left). You can also
2 edit a document you’ve uploaded by
right-clicking it and selecting ‘Open in
Docs’ 2 .
Create, edit and share documents securely using Proton Docs.

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 39

 Feature | Ditch Google for Proton

STAY ANONYMOUS ONLINE WITH PROTON VPN

Browsing the web with Chrome leaves Proton VPN
you open to all manner of tracking, data connects you to its
fast free servers –
collection and personalised advertising including in the US.
– much of it from Google itself. Back in
2020, Google addressed this criticism
by launching its own VPN service to
“provide an extra layer of online
protection”. It discontinued the VPN
last year, though it’s still available on
Google Pixel phones – but you’re much
better off using Proton VPN (https://
protonvpn.com). Here’s why.

Automatically connect
to the fastest server
The free version of Proton VPN
automatically connects you to the Boost your privacy multiple servers. Proton VPN Plus also has
fastest available free server, so you can with expert features a ‘Tor over VPN’ feature
browse the web privately and speedily. Proton VPN’s ‘Kill switch’ automatically that encrypts your data through the Tor
Servers are located in Japan, Poland, disconnects you from the internet when network, and offers split tunnelling for
Romania, the United States and the your VPN connection drops. This prevents excluding certain software and services
Netherlands. your IP address and other sensitive data from VPN protection.
Although Proton says the nearest from being exposed – turn it on by clicking
server is usually the fastest, it often ‘Kill switch’ (see screenshot below) on the Use Proton VPN in your browser
connects us to a server in the US (see home screen and selecting Standard. Proton VPN’s extension for Chromium
screenshot above right) – handy for A Plus plan includes additional privacy browsers (tinyurl.com/APC551vpn) and
unblocking US streaming services. Just features that make it worth paying for (it’s Firefox (tinyurl.com/APC551vpnff)
click Connect to instantly disguise your reasonably priced compared with many boosts your online privacy at the click of a
location, IP address and activities. VPNs). The NetShield tool blocks ads and button, without you having to open the
Following a recent update, you can trackers, while Secure Core boosts desktop app. It’s particularly useful on
also connect by right-clicking Proton protection by routing traffic through public Wi-Fi and can potentially unblock
VPN’s system-tray icon. US-only content (if you get connected to a
Unusually for a free VPN, there’s no US server).
limit on your encrypted data usage. If you use Vivaldi (www.vivaldi.com),
Proton VPN has a strict no-logs policy, you don’t need to install the extension,
and no ads or trackers. because the browser added Proton
Its Plus version, which costs $6.48 per VPN earlier this year (vivaldi.com/
month or $77.71 a year, lets you choose protonvpn). Click the VPN button in
from more than 13,600 high-speed Vivaldi’s top-right corner and choose
servers in 122 countries, including some ‘Already have a Proton Account’ to link
“optimised for streaming”. You can have Proton with Vivaldi.
up to 10 simultaneous connections across The built-in Vivaldi tool looks and works
your PC, mobile devices, smart TV and just like the Proton VPN extension, with
streaming stick – get the apps from Turn on Proton VPN’s ‘Kill switch’ in case the same restrictions for free users. Both
https://protonvpn.com/download. you lose your VPN connection let you switch on ‘WebRTC leak protection’
(see screenshot below) to stop your browser
leaking your IP address – click the Features

Split the cost of a Proton subscription (sliders) button to find this option.

Switch on
Last August, Proton introduced a Duo encrypted storage, plus a bonus 15GB ‘WebRTC leak
plan to “make online privacy easy for every year, and Proton Scribe (see page protection’ in
two people” (https://proton.me/blog/ 37). You get individual logins, so you can Proton VPN’s
proton-duo). This gives you and your keep your Proton emails, files and other extension to
keep your IP
partner, or a friend or family member, data to yourself. address secure.
everything in Proton Unlimited, but for a Alternatively, the Proton Family
lower price than paying for two separate plan (https://proton.me/family) offers
accounts: $293.88 a year compared with all Proton’s tools to up to six family
$390.96. members, and 3TB of storage (plus an
That includes a whopping 1TB of extra 20GB). It costs $441.48 a year.

40 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Feature | Ditch Google for Proton

DITCH GOOGLE CALENDAR FOR PROTON CALENDAR

Proton Calendar (https://proton.me/
calendar) lets you plan your life more
privately than Google Calendar. Unlike
Buy and send Bitcoin securely
that tool, it can’t see the titles, Proton’s newest tool is likely to be its
descriptions and locations of events, or least interesting for most users: a digital
details of people you’ve invited to them, wallet for sending, receiving and buying
and it secures your calendar data with Bitcoin. But for those who dabble in
Proton’s end-to-end encryption. cryptocurrency, or are tempted to,
When you sign up for a Proton Mail Proton Wallet (https://proton.me/wallet)
account, you automatically get access to is a secure and reliable option.
Proton Calendar and you share your It protects your coins with end-to-end
online storage between the two services. encryption and makes it easy to buy
Unlike other Proton tools, it doesn’t have Bitcoin via credit card or bank transfer,
its own paid-for plan (that’s covered by through Proton’s ‘financial partners’.
Proton Mail Plus), but it does have free Sending someone Bitcoin is as simple
Android and iOS apps (https://proton. as sending them an email, with no risk
me/calendar/download). of entering the wrong 26-character Mail email address. You can use Proton
Bitcoin address. Wallet online and via its free apps for
Add and encrypt events Proton Wallet gives you two accounts: Android (tinyurl.com/APC551wallet) and
Adding and editing events is as simple one for receiving Bitcoin from anyone, iOS (tinyurl.com/APC551walletio). Set
as in Google Calendar. You can specify and the other for speedier transfers Australian dollars as the currency when
the time and location, schedule reminders, from other Proton users to your Proton you create your wallet.
provide a description and invite
participants by entering their email
addresses (see screenshot below) – upcoming ones directly from
they don’t need to be Proton users. the home screen of your
Proton’s encryption is applied phone or tablet.
automatically and also protects events
you’ve been invited to and have added Secure your existing
to your calendar. Note that to share a calendars
calendar, or set up a Zoom meeting, you You can import and encrypt
need to upgrade to Proton Mail Plus. your Google Calendar using
Proton recently introduced widgets Proton’s ‘Import via Easy
for Calendar’s mobile apps. These let Switch’ feature (see page 36).
you add events and view details of Either tick the Calendar box
when you import your
Gmail messages to
Proton Mail or do it
directly in Proton You can include public holidays in your Proton Calendar.
Calendar.
Click the Settings cog top-right, add and encrypt public and shared
choose ‘All settings’ and click calendars. Click the plus sign next to ‘My
‘Import/export’. Select ‘Import calendars’ in the left-hand sidebar,
from Google’ and grant Proton choose ‘Add calendar from URL’ and paste
access to your account. Use the the calendar’s web address. Select ‘Add
‘Import from ICS’ option to public holidays’ (see screenshot above) to
import calendars from other show public holidays in your calendar. To
Add events to Proton Calendar and invite people to services. add more than three calendars, you need
them, without compromising your privacy. Proton Calendar also lets you Proton Mail Plus.

More great mazagines

from Future Publishing
Subscribe at www.techmags.com.au
Free delivery across Australia

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 41

TIM DANTON SPEAKS TO PC-BUILDING
EXPERTS TO DISCOVER THEIR TIPS ON
CREATING THE BEST POSSIBLE PC FOR YOUR
BUDGET, WHETHER BUILDING IT YOURSELF
OR CHOOSING ONE FROM BUYERS.

42 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Feature | How to build a great PC

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 43

 Feature | How to build a great PC

W
hether you want to
buy a new PC or
build one yourself,
squeezing the most
out of your budget is
a challenge akin to
four-dimensional chess. Every
decision you make has repercussions,
some of which may not show
themselves until three years down the
line. This article is here to help. Based
on my own 25 years’ experience ABOVE The big choice for value and
reviewing desktop PCs, responses from advantage that upgrades. Much like
PC vendors and an interview with our desktop PCs have Trigger’s broom, if you
very own Lee Grant, I aim to cover the over laptops is choose wisely they can
big questions, the pitfalls and squeeze that they’re morph over the years to the
in a few handy tips. upgradable. point where virtually
While you can visit sites such as nothing remains of your
PCPartPicker (pcpartpicker.com), RIGHT If you’re original machine.
which is a great starting point as it does building a gaming
an excellent job of ensuring your parts rig, it makes sense
are compatible, this – like all
“configure it yourself” systems –
to spend a lot of
your budget on the
LAPTOPS vs desktop,” he said.
assumes you know roughly what you
want already. It reduces our game of
graphics card. DESKTOP PCS “Mobile versions of CPUs and GPUs
have closed the gap compared to
chess to two simplistic and manageable So let’s start with that question: should desktop variants over the years, but are
dimensions, of price and spec, but lacks you buy a laptop or desktop PC? “The still hamstrung by power envelopes
soul. There’s also the very real risk of beauty of desktops is that they’re that get overwhelmed by real-world
either under-specifying or over- upgradable,” said Lee Grant, who is not gaming workloads, even if they can
specifying. only a tech journalist, but runs a sneak through a typical benchmark
This guide to buying PCs is also a computer repair shop with his wife run at full speed.”
dog-eared love letter to desktop PCs BELOW Even the Alison. “They can be fixable. They’re The other key difference is that
as a whole. Modern laptops pack fastest gaming the nearest thing you get to sustainable Nvidia’s mobile chips fall a long way
phenomenal amounts of power into a laptop can’t keep technology.” short of their desktop equivalents,
tiny space, but if you find yourself up with a desktop Away from games, however, a despite sharing the branding of, say,
computing from the same desk 99% of PC with an RTX modern laptop may be just as fast as a RTX 5090. “A mobile RTX 5090 is
the time then PCs remain the best 5070 Ti inside. desktop PC. In recent years the CPUs barely as fast as a desktop RTX 5070 Ti,”
inside laptops have caught up said Ben, “so is quite misleading in
with their desktop counterparts terms of its actual positioning in the
to a quite incredible degree, and market. Plus, gaming laptops aren’t
have actually overtaken them in meaningfully upgradable beyond RAM
terms of running AI tasks: there and storage, and are often loud and
isn’t a single desktop chip that uncomfortable to use as a primary
meets Microsoft’s criterion of gaming device.”
including an NPU rated at 40
TOPS. And while you can’t fit as
much storage into a laptop, THE DIY PC
which usually has a single socket
for SSDs, both desktop PCs and
BALANCING ACT
laptops have standardised on the So, let’s assume that you’re persuaded
M.2 form factor. by Lee and Ben’s arguments and that
Games are a different matter, you want to buy a desktop PC. The next
as Ben Miles from Wired2Fire big question is how you set about
points out. “Laptops make for choosing the various components. The
great mobile gaming processor, the motherboard, the
companions, but the form memory, the graphics card, the chassis,
factor isn’t as performant, the amount of storage?
upgradable or “The most commonly asked
aesthetically striking as questions we receive are usually
a good gaming regarding what performance [you can

44 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Feature | How to build a great PC

DON’T WASTE CASH!

If you find you simply can’t build the right PC for your budget, how do you make
sure you trim in the right places? “Performance first, aesthetics later,” said
CyberPowerPC’s Dave Gornall when we asked him this question. “There are many
different ARGB, LCD and OLED options out there, from cases to fans to coolers
and even motherboards, but these usually come with a premium price. Make sure
the core components of the PC meet expectations first, before spending a ton of
money on cosmetic upgrades. These can usually be upgraded down the line, but
having a strong, well-performing PC is the most important thing.”
Wired2Fire’s Ben Miles points out that some customers decide to save money
on the monitor and peripherals, which in his view is the most foolish decision of all.
“There’s no point in having an RTX 5090-based PC plugged into a 1080p or even
1440p monitor, yet we see this time and again,” he said. “Likewise, a premium
setup demands a premium keyboard, mouse, monitor and headset. Not Amazon
get for a budget] on a given game or set ABOVE Sites such specials. Within the build itself we often see bargain-bin system builders coupling
list of games, or in relation as PCPartPicker five-year old processors with modern GPUs... this creates dreadful bottlenecks
to streaming or content creation,” said assume you and poor performance, not to mention limited upgrade potential.”
Dave Gornall of CyberPowerPC. already know
“For example: ‘I would like to roughly what you
achieve 165Hz at 1440p on Warzone, want . 64-core Threadripper, for example, powerful GPU if the CPU, RAM or
what is the best streaming system you might be incredible for video encoding, cooling is not up to the standards set by
can build for me under $3,000?’ Which but is bested by a simple Ryzen 7 costing that component.”
we would usually ask for more 90% less money for gaming. So how should you split your
information on other use cases to make “The key is balance,” he continued. budget? “There are no rules of thumb
sure we’re checking all of the boxes, “If you overcook one component at the that fit every user’s scenario,” said Ben,
before offering a selection of different expense of another, you’ll end up with a “but it’s a generally accepted truism
specifications within the budget (for bottleneck in the usability and overall that 40-50% of your total PC budget
example, an AMD CPU spec, an Intel performance of the device. Wired2Fire should go on the GPU for a premium
CPU spec, both short of and at the higher would never, for example, couple a gaming system. It’s the most expensive
end of the budget).” Ryzen 9 or Core Ultra 9 CPU with an component and has the largest impact
Ben gave a similar reply. “Our most entry-level motherboard, as the power on the frame rate you’ll experience.
often asked question is ‘what do I need phases in the board would be The art is in balancing the remainder of
to run X smoothly?’, where X could be overwhelmed and aggressively throttle the budget to rule out any bottlenecks
any game, application or simulation the the clock frequency.” For the sake of caused by poor combinations of
customer is passionate about. It’s very BELOW Tailor balance, I should point out that I’d be the motherboard, CPU, case and
easy to spend money unwisely on PCs your components shocked if any reputable PC cooling components.”
and end up with a spec that is grossly to the tasks you’ll manufacturer did this. “Likewise, you We’ll come back to how to balance
over-specified in the wrong area. A be doing every day. can totally hobble the performance of a the rest of your budget in a moment.

THE ADAGE OF
‘BUY CHEAP, BUY
TWICE’ APPLIES
TO PCs MORE
THAN ALMOST
ANY OTHER
PURCHASE
 Feature | How to build a great PC

IN THE ‘MONEY
NO OBJECT’
CATEGORY, AMD
X3D PROCESSORS
HAVE A CLEAR
ADVANTAGE
OVER INTEL

A PC FOR MORE ABOVE The AM4 However, budget is also important as it

AMD vs INTEL
THAN JUST
platform has given allows us to develop an expectation of
users confidence how the system will operate given Next we asked about the ongoing battle
GAMING that AMD will
support a standard
requirements.”
While budget is important, don’t tie
between AMD and Intel on the
processor front, and AMD versus Nvidia
While gaming is clearly a big focus for years to come. yourself down too exactly: you should for graphics cards. What would you
for many buyers, it isn’t the only one. have a ballpark figure, which you then recommend at the moment?
When Lee talks to customers who want use (either with the help of websites “In the ‘money no object’ category,
him to help specify and build a such as PCPartPicker or using the AMD X3D processors have a clear
computer, he starts with the basics: experts on-hand at PC manufacturers) advantage over Intel alternatives for
“What are they going to use it for? to determine what level of processor, gamers, and anyone spending upwards
What do they use their current motherboard and graphics card you can of $4,000 should really accept no
machine for? What software packages afford. After that cornerstone is in substitute,” said Ben.
are key? place, everything else should follow “In the HEDT [high-end desktop]
“You get your generalists who just without stress. space, AMD Threadripper has ruled
want an everyday machine, and then But there’s one more thing to supreme for many years now with
you get the people that say, ‘Oh, I use it consider: your budget may be too barely any competition.” If you
for this’, whether that’s AutoCAD, low. “The adage of ‘buy cheap, buy need any evidence of this, simply turn to
Lightroom, whatever. If it’s a gamer, I twice’ applies to PCs more than our group test of content-creation
find out which games they love to play. almost any other purchase, but workstations from p76.
You need a hook to start with, because careful component choices can yield Away from the high end, things are
very often people come to me because surprisingly good performance in most more balanced. “Intel and AMD trade
they don’t understand whether it’s an applications from modest budgets,” said blows for the best performance per
AMD or an Intel, and they don’t care.” Ben. “The key is to set realistic dollar spent,” said Ben. “What steers us
“Use case of the PC is the most expectations when you plan your build; towards an unequivocal AMD
important,” said CyberPowerPC’s Dave $2,000 won’t get you a Triple-A 4K recommendation is its long-term
Gornall, “as it allows us to gaming monster, but it will certainly commitment to supporting socket
make informed decisions on allow you to enjoy all current releases at platforms, and processors that don’t
component selection, and an idea more modest settings that still blow have a recent history of suddenly dying.
of what the user wants to achieve. away console alternatives.” We used to say ‘there’s no such thing as

AMD AM5 CHIPSETS COMPARED

CHIPSET TYPE OF PCIe 5.0 PCIe 5.0 SSD? TOTAL PCIe TOTAL PCIe CPU DDR5 USB 3.2 GEN USB 3.2 GEN USB4 SATA PORTS
BUYER GRAPHICS? LANES 5.0 LANES OVERCLOCK? OVERCLOCK? 2 (MAX) 2X2 (MAX) (MAX)

X870E Enthusiast+ 44 24 12 2 8

X870 Enthusiast 36 24 6 1 4

B850 Mainstream+ 36 4 6 1 Optional 4

B840 Mainstream 34 0 2 0 Optional 4

X670E Enthusiast+ 44 24 12 2 Optional 8

X670 Enthusiast 44 8 12 2 Optional 8

B650E Mainstream+ 36 24 6 1 Optional 4

B650 Mainstream 36 0 6 1 Optional 4

A620 / A620A Budget 32 0 2 0 Optional 4

Please note that motherboards will have their own limitations so check before buying

46 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Feature | How to build a great PC

a bad processor, only a bad price’, but ABOVE AMD’s RX motherboard and memory. This RTX 5080 and 5090, which “reign
the 13900K and 14900K debacle proved 9000 cards have advantage isn’t as clear cut since both uncontested” said Ben. “Outside of that
that to be untrue.” earned praise for Intel and AMD switched to DDR5 race, there is a very real AMD threat to
Ben is referring to a bug that caused their value. memory, however, and away from Nvidia’s dominant market position.”
instability and crashes – in some cases, high-end gaming machines Lee doesn’t
meaning the processors were actually
damaged – until Intel issued microcode
believe that either brand holds a big
advantage. CHOOSING
updates in August and September last On the morning we chat, Lee has two THE RIGHT
MOTHERBOARD
year. “A lot of gamers have been turned Intel-based machines sitting ready to be
away from Intel because of that,” said built behind him, but he says this is
Lee. BELOW Before unusual. “I think the graphic One area where it’s incredibly easy to
Historically, AMD also provided you spend performance of the Radeon graphics in become unstuck is the motherboard.
better value overall thanks to the cost of hundreds on a AMD’s desktop chips far outstrips The manufacturers don’t help
its package: not only the CPU, but the motherboard, read Intel’s, so I tend to go with AMD. The by producing such a staggering
its manual to other thing that has been historically number of options, so you need to find
understand what it very good is the power of the AM4 a way to produce a shortlist
can and can’t do. chipset. I’ve got another machine here that matches your needs.
which is AMD AM4, and there’s a load of First, that means choosing the right
parts coming today to modernise that.” chipset. Let’s assume for a moment
While AMD has established a great that you’re going down the AMD AM5
reputation for supporting its chipsets route. That means you have nine
long-term, the same can’t be said for chipsets to choose from, as detailed in
Intel, which has chopped and changed the table opposite. Ultimately, you
in recent years. need to do your own research to find
out what the differences mean.

AMD vs NVIDIA Unfortunately, PCPartPicker doesn’t

allow you to filter by chipset, but the
“The video card question is by no Wi-Fi option provides a great proxy
means as clear-cut as it was a few (assuming you want built-in Wi-Fi). For
months ago,” said Wired2Fire’s Ben example, choosing Wi-Fi 7 means
Miles. “The market has been very you’ll mostly see high-end X870E,
lukewarm towards Nvidia for the X870 and B850 options.
50-series launch, with most media Thinking about your storage
outlets accusing Team Green of very demands also helps. As you go up
lacklustre generational performance AMD’s range, you’ll see more support
uplift and an overreliance on frame- for more PCIe lanes. A graphics card
generation technologies. AMD, by grabs 16 immediately, while an SSD
contrast, has seen a hugely positive typically needs four. So the more
response to its 9000-series releases storage you add (including via SATA
thus far, with considerably better connectors), the more lanes you require.
ray-tracing performance and value “Firms have never been very good at
than previous generations.” explaining exactly what happens if I
AMD is essentially reaping rewards plug in, let’s say, four SATA drives –
for its focus on low to mid-end GPUs, does that knock out one of the M.2
seemingly happy (for the moment, at slots?” said Lee. “You only discover
least) to leave the high end to Nvidia. that sort of stuff by reading the manual.
If you want 4K gaming at top settings, You have to research. I spend a lot of
then your choice boils down to the time reading manuals, particularly if

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 47

 Feature | How to build a great PC

I’m building something difficult.”

Memory choices are much simpler.
Both AMD and Intel have shifted to
DDR5 RAM, and your choice of
motherboard dictates the speed of
memory supported and how many RAM
slots there are. RAM is almost always
sold in pairs as you need two to take
advantage of the dual memory channels
supported by mainstream desktop
processors and chipsets.
How much memory you need
depends on usage, but these days
it makes little sense to choose less than
16GB in total. If you intend to stream
while you game, however, then 32GB is
a wise aim.

CHASSIS AND
THE PSU ABOVE The Lian Li
V200 chassis looks
small and it becomes a nightmare to
replace components or add more
need on their websites, including how
many 2.5in and 3.5in disks can be
Choosing a chassis is a hugely subjective stunning – so don’t memory or storage. Again, sadly, you’ll accommodated, and where they go (I
decision, so I won’t attempt to pre-empt shove it in a corner. have to do your research – which like them to hide out of sight behind the
your preferences. What I will say is that doesn’t necessarily mean watching right-hand panel), plus the type of
there’s no point in buying the flashy, YouTube videos. “People look at cooling systems that are supported.
RGB-heavy designs if your PC is going to YouTube influencers, not realising the When it comes to power supplies,
sit out of sight. Which may sound influencer has probably been sent that don’t fall into the trap of thinking
obvious, but it happens. “People get machine by Cooler Master or whoever, bigger is always better. “Over-
these glass fish tanks now, but the and they haven’t built it at all,” said specifying power supply units is a
machine’s sitting in the corner on the Lee. common mistake,” said Lee. “I’ve seen
floor in the corner where no-one’s ever Fortunately, reputable chassis PCs with an Intel Core i3 and a 1,200W
going to see it, and it’s got dayglo lights makers provide all the information you PSU. People think, the more wattage,
on it that have cost a fortune,” said an the quicker the machine: I need to

WHEN IT COMES TO POWER

exasperated-sounding Lee. upgrade my power supply for it to be
You should also make sure you faster, right?”
choose the Goldilocks size of case. I’ve
reviewed PCs with huge, space- SUPPLIES, DON’T FALL INTO Obviously as a reader of APC we
wouldn’t expect you to fall into that
consuming cases but a microATX THE TRAP OF THINKING trap, but it’s one of the areas where

BIGGER IS ALWAYS BETTER

motherboard that barely takes up a PCPartPicker is a great aid as it will
third of the available space. Go too show PSUs with the minimum power

SELF-BUILD MISTAKES
We asked our experts what common mistakes people make when building
a PC. “Buying incompatible components is very easy, as you often need to
think beyond simply ‘what chip goes in what board’,” said Ben Miles of
Wired2Fire. “Many combinations of parts don’t work when used in unison
– for example a video card and a cooler might both be compatible with a
particular case in isolation, but not when used together. This is where
experience and up-to-date component knowledge is key.
“In the build itself, the most common error we see is novices screwing
the motherboard directly into the case without installing standoffs first,
and forgetting to remove the plastic protective sheet from the base of a
CPU cooler,” Ben added. “And of course, TOO MUCH PASTE!!!” This
refers to the common mistake of first-time PC makers who plaster too
much thermal paste onto the processor (although others add too little).
Lee Grant pointed to “people missing out the value in desktop PCs,
which is the upgradability potential. People don’t think long term. I’ve
got cases out there that I’ve been working on for 20 years. The insides are
all different. It’s like Theseus’ ship: who knows if it’s still the same
machine? If you buy a nice case – and I’m a big fan of Be Quiet! – that
thing can last and last and last. And you can just rip things out, shove
things in.”
People also need to beware of assumptions, such as that wireless is
built in. “That surprises a lot of people, when it’s not included,” said
Lee. “And if you’re one of those people who keeps your machine on the
floor, make sure you get a wireless card that’s got external antennas ABOVE Follow the
connecting over wire rather than an integrated receiver, because that manufacturer’s guidance
will be a big help.” when applying thermal paste
as it’s easy to add too much.

48 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Feature | How to build a great PC

CUSTOMERS BUY WATER

COOLERS OR LIQUID
COOLERS, NOT REALISING
THERE IS A LONGEVITY
WITH THOSE THINGS

GIVE IT A GO!
options. You may want to add 100W ABOVE Liquid- provide more efficient cooling by using
to give your system room to grow, cooled PCs aren’t liquid to suck heat away, and then cool
however. necessarily quieter the liquid using a separate batch of fans. If there’s one lesson to learn from our
than air-cooled In fact, liquid coolers normally add to experts, it’s that building a great PC isn’t

STAYING COOL ones. the number of fans in a system.

Anyone building such a system
easy. But that doesn’t mean you
shouldn’t try it yourself. “Give it a go,
AND FAN NOISE should tread carefully, heeding the
words of PC repairer Lee. “Customers
but do your research first and don’t
expect it to be 100% plain sailing,” said
How do you ensure that a PC isn’t too buy water coolers or liquid coolers, not Wired2Fire’s Ben Miles. “If it doesn’t
noisy? “Careful component choice realising there is a longevity with those power on first go, stay calm, don’t panic
comes first – you need to make sure things,” he said. “And you need to keep and seek advice.”
your cooling hardware isn’t going to be an eye on them, because they do leak My one word of warning is that you
overwhelmed by the rest of the parts, and they do destroy systems’ power shouldn’t necessarily expect to save a
as this will invariably result in fans supply units.” lot of money. You can save a small
running at full tilt to compensate,” said Our final word on the physical side of amount, but your PC won’t include the
Wired2Fire’s Ben Miles. “Choosing building a PC is about the related warranty or the reassurance of an
sensibly RPM-limited fans also means subject of cable management. How expert at the end of a phone line if
the PC won’t be too loud, even if they important is good cabling? “It sets apart strange noises start appearing after six
do run at full speed. Don’t a professional build from an amateur months. Also be aware that, unless you
underestimate the importance of build,” said Ben. “All PCs built by a go down the Linux route, you’ll have to
sympathetic vibrations and resonance manufacturer willing to ship and pay for a Windows licence.
– it’s easy to undo good cooler choices warranty a PC should have impeccable Like Ben, Lee encourages people
with a rattly fan screwed directly to the cable management. Good cable to try building systems themselves.
metal chassis.” BELOW Good management isn’t just about aesthetics “Our business is called Inspiration
As CyberPowerPC’s Dave Gornall cable management – it can transform thermals as well. A Computers, with our idea – 20 years ago
points out, though, noise is a sets a professional key skill when building a PC is to – that we would inspire people to do
subjective issue. “[It] depends on the build apart from an balance airflow in and out of the case, more with their computer. That
use-case scenario; however, only using amateur one. and ensure air is moving in logical includes building them,” he said.
high-quality fans that have PWM directions over key hot spots.” “It’s about just encouraging people
control is pivotal as it allows the end to have a go, because that promotes
user to have full customisation of the sustainability, because it
fan volume. Having a less aggressive encourages things people
fan curve can reduce the audio output to think, ‘I can fix this, I don’t
without any detriment to have to go out and buy a new PC’.
performance.” You know, it’s not a big, scary
It may surprise some readers that thing: PCs are a lot easier to build
often the quietest PCs we review in than they used to be. It’s only
APC are the ones with the highest when it becomes more
number of fans. Much of that is due to complicated with LED lights,
the skill and knowledge of the water coolers and multiple fans
builders, who understand exactly that it becomes challenging. Yet
how the air flows in the chassis. these very basic machines sitting
Nor should you imagine that a behind me will be running in 15
liquid-cooled PC is always quieter minutes, because it’s absolutely
than an air-cooled one: the main child’s play. So I encourage
purpose of liquid cooling is to everyone to have a go.”

APC MAGAZINE 49
 BEST WAYS

WILL IMPROVE YOUR LIFE

AI can do much more than answer quick questions and
generate quirky images. Robert Irvine recommends 50
AI tools with practical benefits for your life in the real world.
Artificial intelligence is no longer just a information – AI is clearly here to stay. Some uses for AI are undoubtedly trivial
geeky or gimmicky technology – it’s Outside of the chatbots we have and even cynical – as unintentionally
becoming integrated with our daily previously tested, AI is now embedded in demonstrated by the Microsoft executive
lives. Although not everyone all kinds of websites, apps and devices. who advised laid-off workers to turn to AI
welcomes this development – there are You probably use AI already without tools for emotional support. But the
valid concerns about AI replacing realising – for example, when extracting rapidly evolving technology also has the
human jobs, collecting our data and text from images using OCR or interacting potential to improve our lives in many
‘hallucinating’ misleading with Alexa using voice commands. meaningful ways.
In this feature, we reveal 50 of those
ways, spanning a wide range of purposes
WHAT YOU CAN DO and practical benefits. We’ve tested
hundreds of AI tools to bring you the best
• Save money on shopping and bills • Upscale your TV picture and sound examples of how they can transform your
• Make all journeys faster and safer • Make tedious admin tasks easier life and save you money, time and hassle.
• Improve your health and fitness • Manage your home more efficiently Some of our advice is for ChatGPT and
• Get assistance with your hobbies Gemini, but we also explain how to use
• Create & enhance images & videos lots of innovative and useful new tools.

50 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Feature | 50 Best ways AI will improve your life

AI TOOLS THAT SAVE YOU MONEY

1 Find the best deals

when shopping online
ChatGPT now includes shopping features
5 Get money-saving
tips and news
Money Saving Expert (MSE, www.
that recommend products and where to moneysavingexpert.com) is an excellent
buy them when you enter shopping-related source of financial advice but finding
queries – for example ‘best deals on specific information in its sprawling
toasters’ or ‘Android phones under $400’. guides sometimes takes a while. To
These results show a carousel of matching make life easier, its mobile app now
products and summaries of ‘top picks’. has an AI-powered ‘personal finance
Click a result to compare the price of the information chatbot’ that searches MSE’s
item at different online stores (see articles and news stories to answer your
screenshot below). ChatGPT says it selects money-saving questions. Tap the search
items independently and its suggestions button in the top-right corner of the app
are “not ads”. to access ‘MSE Search (with AI)’.
Google now uses Gemini to find you Honey uses AI to find and apply
discount codes that work.

find voucher codes for the site you’re

6 Track and reduce
your spending
The free app Snoop (tinyurl.com/
visiting, test if they work (see screenshot APC551snoop), uses AI to help you track
above) and apply them automatically at the your spending, manage your bills, set
checkout. It also alerts you when the price monthly budgets and calculate how
of the product you’re viewing has dropped, much you should save.
and lets you add items to a Droplist to Connect your bank and credit-card
monitor their prices. accounts (Snoop can’t see your login
information) to get an overview of your
ChatGPT now recommends the best current
online deals on products. 4 Ask Amazon for
shopping advice
Amazon’s app now has its own AI assistant,
finances (see screenshot below) and
view money-saving deals.
Some features – such as exporting
cheap products through its Shopping Rufus, which answers your shopping transaction data – are limited to Snoop’s
service (www.google.com/ questions and recommends specific items Plus plan, which costs $6.49 a month
shopping?udm=28). Its new AI Mode for your budget. To use the chatbot, press after a seven-day free trial.
more tightly integrates the two to let you the Rufus button in the bottom-right
perform conversational shopping searches corner of the app – this looks like orange Snoop uses AI
and track price trends, to discover the best and blue speech bubbles (see screenshot to help you keep
times to buy (tinyurl.com/ below). Type a query into the message box, track of your
spending.
APC551shopping). AI Mode is currently or press the microphone button to speak
limited to the US and India, but is coming one, and Rufus will provide a detailed
to Australia very soon. response.Select one of the follow-up
questions or type one of your own. Rufus

2 Save money on
premium shopping
The AI-powered Google Lens feature in the
bases its responses on Amazon’s product
details, customer reviews and community
Q&As.
Google and Gemini apps for Android and Argos has also introduced an AI chatbot,
iOS lets you take photos of products you Ask Trevor (based on its dinosaur mascot).
see on the high street – or scan their It’s currently only available on the Argos
barcodes – to check if you can buy them for website – not in its mobile apps.
less at another store. Its answers may also
include direct links to the deals.
Amazon offers a similar AI feature called
Amazon Lens in its Android and iOS apps.
Tap this icon to
ask Amazon’s
AI assistant
7 Boost your savings
automatically
Trusting AI to take money from your
Tap the camera icon in the search box, then Rufus for bank account sounds risky, but Plum
take a photo of a product, upload an image shopping (withplum.com) offers a smart and safe
advice.
or scan a barcode. Amazon will search its way to boost your savings. Its
store so you can see if the item (or a similar ‘Auto-magic’ algorithm calculates what
product) is cheaper there. you can set aside each week and transfers
that amount to your Plum savings

3 Apply discount codes

automatically
PayPal’s popular discount-finding tool
account or ISA. The app also uses AI to
round up all your transactions to the
nearest pound and adds the ‘spare
Honey (www.joinhoney.com) uses AI to change’ to your savings.

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 51

 Feature | 50 Best ways AI will improve your life

TRAVEL MORE SMOOTHLY & SAFELY

8 Discover the fastest

and cheapest routes
Ask ChatGPT or Gemini the cheapest or
Add ADAS features
to your car with an
AI dashcam.
fly, the number of passengers and your
budget, and it will suggest suitable flight
deals, which you can click to book on
fastest way to get from A to B, and they’ll Skyscanner. It also finds hotel deals on
present you with a detailed breakdown of Booking.com. We also like Hopper (www.
your travel options. This may include the hopper.com), a mobile app that uses AI
price of coach, train and bus fares; fuel to predict the cheapest times to book
costs and toll charges if you’re driving; flights and hotels.
the total distance and average journey
times for each option; and extra advice
such as whether to book advance tickets.
You can then ask follow-up questions
dashcam such as the BotsLab 4K
AI-Enhanced Camera ($199 from tinyurl.
13 Plan the perfect holiday
AI assistants are a great way to
plan your holiday, recommending the
about how busy and frequent public com/APC551botslab, pictured above). best places to stay, eat and visit, and
transport is likely to be; the earliest and Alternatively, install the free app Magic generating day-by-day itineraries. They
latest times you can travel; if stations Earth (tinyurl.com/APC551magic) on can also help with booking
have step-free access; and anything else your Android phone. This includes an AI accommodation, flights and car rental by
that’s relevant to your trip. Dashcam component with ADAS features providing links to relevant sites.
that help you avoid collisions and Mindtrip (www.mindtrip.ai) is a

9 Get up-to-date
driving information
accidents. dedicated AI travel planner, which
specialises in detailed itineraries that
Google Maps and Waze (www.waze.
com) combine AI with real-time data
from their users to provide accurate and
11 Claim refunds on
delayed rail journeys
Trainline recently updated its iOS app
update automatically based on
information you provide – including
photos and links to online articles. It
up-to- date driving information. They (tinyurl.com/APC551trainline) with an shows hotels, amenities and attractions on
factor in if heavy traffic, road closures or AI assistant that answers questions about a map and recently launched an iOS app
bad weather will affect your journey, and your ticket. You can ask if your train is that serves as a travel companion during
suggest alternative routes. on time, which platform it departs from your trip.
Waze also uses AI to verify the and if your ticket has any restrictions.
reliability and relevance of its users’ road
reports. It is rolling out a Gemini-powered
Conversational Reporting feature that
The Trainline Assistant can even issue
refunds for eligible tickets, following a
simple request such as ‘Can I get a
14 Translate foreign
languages in real time
ChatGPT has added live-speech
makes it easier to submit reports using refund?’. You’ll find the tool in the My translation to its Voice mode, but
natural language (see screenshot below). Tickets section of the iOS app, directly currently only for paid-for users (tinyurl.
Gemini also powers the new Ask under your tickets for upcoming travel. com/APC551translate). Gemini already
Maps feature in Google Maps, but this is Currently this is for European travel only, offers this feature in the Live mode of its
currently only available in the US. so is great for travellers. We hope it mobile apps, so you can chat fluently in
comes to Australia soon. foreign languages while abroad.
Press the Live button, tell Gemini the

12 Find cheap
flights and hotels
There are lots of AI tools for finding the
languages you want to translate to and
from, and speak into your phone’s
microphone. Gemini will speak the
best deals on flights in a conversational translation aloud, translate the other
manner, rather than clicking boxes and person’s response and save a text version
calendars. We like Eddy Travels (www. of your chat. The option is also available
eddytravels.com), a ‘travel robot’ you in Google Translate’s Conversation mode
can chat to in your browser (see (tinyurl.com/APC551gtranslate),
Report hazards in the road to Waze more screenshot below) and WhatsApp. which detects languages automatically
naturally using AI. Tell Eddy where and when you want to (see screenshot below).

10
Google
Avoid accidents Translate’s
while driving AI helps you
Many new cars now come with ADAS chat in foreign
(Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) languages.
features, which use AI to help prevent
accidents. ADAS can recognise
pedestrians, objects and cyclists; detect
driver drowsiness and distraction; and
warn you of collision risks.
If your car doesn’t have ADAS built in, Eddy Travels finds the best deals on flights
you can add AI features with a high-end and hotels.

52 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Feature | 50 Best ways AI will improve your life

IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH & FITNESS

15 Get advice about

health worries
Although no AI tool is a substitute for a
contents or scanning barcodes of food
packaging, and Lifesum’s AI will count
the calories, carbs, protein and fat – as
such as walking briskly (along with
counting your ‘move minutes’) and sets
you a target of 150 points per week.
professional medical diagnosis, they can well as the calories you burn through On some phones, Google Fit can
answer questions about your health exercise. It tracks your progress over time measure your heart and respiratory rates
worries. As well as asking ChatGPT and suggests ways to eat more healthily. using AI and your device’s camera – if
and Gemini for general advice, you can available, you’ll find these options at the
use Ada Health for Android and iOS (ada.
com/app/) to check your symptoms 17 Monitor your heart rate
and breathing
bottom of the Home screen.

more precisely than many other checkers.

Tap ‘Start symptom assessment’ (see
screenshot below) then answer the
Smart rings such as the Oura Ring
(ouraring.com, pictured below) use AI to
monitor your health by collecting and
19 Get help with
your mental health
AI can also assist with your mental health,
chatbot’s questions about the nature, analysing biometric data. This includes though again it’s no substitute for
severity and duration of your symptoms. your heart rate and variability, body professional help. Wysa (www.wysa.
Ada will temperature and breathing patterns com/for-individuals), which is
then generate during sleep. partnered with healthcare organisations,
a report Oura gives you a Sleep uses AI to provide mental-health support.
suggesting Score and Readiness Its penguin chatbot listens without
possible Score every morning, judgement and offers advice on problems
causes, which offering personalised such as stress (see screenshot below),
you can share insights into your improving sleep and coping with
with your GP. health and daily difficult emotions. Wysa’s responses
Smart rings use
Alternatively, AI to monitor guidance. Smart rings are based on data from clinical experts,
try Symptoma your heart rate. are lighter and more and all your conversations are kept
(www. comfortable than confidential. It’s free to use, but its library
symptoma. smartwatches, though the best ones cost of self-care exercises costs $19.99 a month
Ada Health suggests com/), which from $400. after a seven-day trial.
possible causes for works in your
symptoms. browser.
18 Walk further and faster
every day Wysa is

16 Lose
partnered
weight by eating Avoid expensive AI-powered fitness with the
more healthily apps by using the free Google Fit (www. healthcare
There are lots of apps that help you lose google.com/fit/) to count your steps and organisations
to support
weight by using AI to monitor what you the energy you expend every day. mental health.
eat and generate healthy meal plans. The app uses sensors on your phone
Most have expensive monthly and AI algorithms to automatically detect
subscriptions, but Lifesum (https:// and log activities including walking,
lifesum.com/) is arguably the best running and cycling.
freemium option. It awards you daily ‘heart points’ for
Log your meals by describing their moderate to intense physical activity,

GET HELP WITH HOBBIES & INTERESTS

20 Identify plants and trees

ChatGPT and Gemini
are good at identifying plants
of plants (see screenshot below left) and
trees from their leaves, flowers, fruit or
bark. Its AI model is regularly
visual representations called
spectrograms. It can even distinguish
multiple birds singing at once
from photos, and searching retrained using new observations The app also uses AI to identify birds
the web for more information, and community revisions. from photos,
but avid gardeners may prefer covering more
a specialist AI app. PlantNet
(https://plantnet.org/en/) is
our favourite because it’s
21 Identify birds
from their songs
Merlin Bird ID (https://merlin.
than 8,000
species and
drawing on the
completely free (and ad-free), allaboutbirds.org/) is an massive eBird
with no features restricted essential free app for twitchers database of bird
to a premium version. that makes ingenious use of AI. sightings.
It combines the latest AI It identifies birds through
technology with its vast recordings you share of their
PlantNet identifies Merlin ID uses AI
community of users to plant and tree songs (see screenshot right), to identify birds
identify over 20,000 species species using AI transforming the audio into from their songs.

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 53

 Feature | 50 Best ways AI will improve your life

22 Identify stamps from

around the world
Stamp Identifier for Android (tinyurl.
AI-powered grading feature, but this is
only available with a Premium
subscription, which costs US$5.99 a
designed for this purpose and lets you
upload GEDCOM files for analysis.

com/APC551stamp) and iOS (tinyurl.

com/APC551stampio) uses AI-powered
image recognition to identify any stamp
month. Decline the option to upgrade by
tapping the ‘x’ in the top-right corner. 25 Find recipes
There are hundreds of
AI-powered cooking apps, but most
from anywhere in the world. Using data
from the Colnect Collectors Community,
the app tells you the stamp’s country of
24 Get help with
genealogy research
Genealogy websites such as Ancestry and
charge a monthly subscription. One of
the best totally free options is SuperCook
for Android (tinyurl.com/APC551cook)
origin, issue date, print-run size and FamilySearch use AI to digitise, transcribe and iOS (tinyurl.com/APC551cookio).
other useful information, and provides and index old documents, allowing users Add a few ingredients based on what
catalogue codes so you can check its to easily understand handwritten records. you have available, either by selecting
current value. But AI assistants can also help you or dictating them, and it will use AI to
research your family history. find matching recipes. If you’re missing

23 Identify and
catalogue coins
Numismatists (coin collectors)
You can ask ChatGPT and Gemini for
advice when you hit a dead end,
such as the types of records you
one ingredient, SuperCook adds it to your
shopping list to buy
later. You may not
can use ‘AI coin expert’ CoinSnap should be looking for and where; even need a cooking
(https://coinidentifierai. request historical details for a app because ChatGPT
com/) to identify unfamiliar particular time and place; and and Gemini generate
coins and discover their value. even get them to generate a easy-to-follow recipes,
Upload a photo and CoinSnap’s research plan. They can also tailor them to your
image-recognition will tell you summarise transcriptions of taste and needs.
where it comes from, its long documents such as wills, There are also
mintage and its approximate and explain archaic data in custom GPTs for
worth. You can then tap to add censuses. culinary ideas and
it to your collection (see The custom GPT model advice, such as this
Use CoinSnap’s SuperCook’s AI finds
screenshot right). AI to identify and Ancestry Explorer (www. one: tinyurl.com/ recipes for available
CoinSnap also has an catalogue coins. snipca.com/55488) is APC551culinary. ingredients.
 Feature | 50 Best ways AI will improve your life

CREATE & ENHANCE PHOTOS & VIDEOS

26 Generate images for

personal projects
The image-generation feature in AI chatbots
27 Edit images using
natural language
As well as generating images, ChatGPT
Reimagine is
an AI toolkit
for
enhancing
offers a speedy free way to conjure up can now edit existing pictures. This old photos.
pictures for personal projects, such as includes adding and removing elements,
custom greeting cards, posters, CD covers applying different styles and
and websites. It saves you money on adjustments, and even changing facial
purchasing stock photos, and means you expressions.
won’t breach anyone’s copyright by Using natural language to request these
reusing pictures you find online. edits is much easier than fiddling around
We think Gemini’s images are slightly with layers and advanced options in
better quality than ChatGPT’s, plus there’s image-editing software. Gemini also
no daily limit, but for the very best results offers image editing but not yet to free
try Google’s ImageFX (https://labs. users in Australia. tools on its website (www.myheritage.
google/fx/tools/image-fx). This free com/photo-enhancer).
online tool produces amazingly realistic
pictures you can enhance using filters
such as 35mm (see screenshot below) and
28 Fix problems with
old photos
There are lots of AI tools for fixing old 29 Create short videos
on any subject
download for free in high resolution. photos, but the most impressive we’ve OpenAI’s video generator Sora (https://
seen is Reimagine from MyHeritage openai.com/sora) is now available in
(www.myheritage.com/reimagine/). Australia, but only with a paid-for
This lets you colourise (see screenshot ChatGPT plan. You can try Sora for free by
above right), repair, enhance and animate installing Microsoft’s Bing Search app
photos, which you can scan directly in the (bingapp.microsoft.com/bing).
app or upload from your collection. This generates five-second videos from
The results are brilliant and you can text prompts, which you can download in
try all the app’s features for free before GIF format. Beyond that, you can create
committing to a subscription ($12.99 a up to 10 clips for free using ‘Fast mode’
ImageFX creates photorealistic photos from month or $59 a year). MyHeritage also and an unlimited number in the slower
text prompts. offers separate versions of Reimagine’s Standard mode.

ENHANCE YOUR ENTERTAINMENT

30 Get personalised TV
recommendations
All the main TV-streaming services use
walking in the countryside’. Spotify will
generate a playlist of relevant tracks,
which you can refine using additional
machine learning to recommend series prompts before tapping Create.
and films to watch. These personalised It also has an AI DJ feature (again
suggestions are based on what you’ve Premium only), which involves an AI host
searched for, viewed and ‘liked’, and what introducing selected songs, like a virtual
other users with similar tastes have watched. radio show. To access this tap Search,
We’ll soon see more AI features on Samsung’s latest TVs include a host of AI then Made For You and choose DJ.
many services. Netflix is testing features.
‘generative AI search’, which lets you find
shows and movies using conversational
phrases (tinyurl.com/APC551netflix),
sharpness based on what’s on screen and
the lighting conditions in your living
33 Compose
music
your own
ChatGPT and Gemini can’t yet generate
and Prime Video is rolling out an AI room, and also upscales the sound music, but there are lots of AI tools that
Topics feature that suggests shows for quality. can. Riffusion (www.riffusion.com) is
your perceived interests (tinyurl.com/ Vision AI offers many other benefits, particularly impressive, because it lets
APC551prime). including live translation and pop-up you create an unlimited number of
information about what you’re watching. good-quality songs for free (after creating

31 Upscale your TV’s

picture and sound
Samsung’s latest smart TVs include its 32 Create instant
themed playlists
an account) simply by entering a text
prompt. These can be instrumental or use
auto-generated lyrics.
new Vision AI technology (www. Spotify has a feature called AI Playlists If you want to write your own words, try
samsung.com/us/tvs/vision-ai-tv/), (for Premium users only), which generates Udio (www.udio.com). Although its free
which upscales picture quality to near playlists based on text prompts. Tap ‘Create’ plan limits you to creating three songs
8K-resolution on compatible sets. It then AI Playlist and describe what you per day, you can add your own lyrics and
adjusts brightness, contrast, colour and want to hear, such as ‘songs about specify a ‘vibe’.

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 55

 Feature | 50 Best ways AI will improve your life

MAKE TEDIOUS TASKS MUCH EASIER

34 Write complaint letters

to companies
AI assistants are ideal for writing
Simply ask Gemini to create an interactive
calculator for your desired purpose, and it
will generate the code in Canvas and
complaint and dispute emails and letters present you with the result
to companies, in a formal tone you
wouldn’t normally use. Just tell them the
nature of the complaint and the action you
require, to generate an instant draft.
38 Transcribe conversations
and meetings
Keep a record of online and real-world
They’re equally useful for friendlier conversations and meetings by using
correspondence, such as thank-you notes, Otter.ai (https://otter.ai/) to transcribe AI assistants can help you master a foreign
language.
recommendations and apologies. Ask the them for you. Its free plan lets you
chatbot to adjust its tone as required. transcribe 300 minutes of voice calls, learn a new language or hone your
video calls and spoken chats per month existing skills. Specify which language

35 Summarise
documents
complex
Save yourself the tedium of reading every
(maximum of 30 minutes each), through
the Otter.ai mobile apps and Chrome
extension. The AI automatically detects
you want to master and the AI assistant
will help you build your vocabulary and
learn common phrases through word lists,
word of a long, complex document, such individual speakers and summarises flashcards (see screenshot above) and
as a contract, report or proposal, by asking conversations. quizzes. You can practise conversations in
ChatGPT or Gemini to summarise the key text chat or voice mode.
points for you. Upload the file, enter the
prompt ‘Summarise this document’ (see
screenshot below) and the chatbot will
39 Digest information from
AI-generated podcasts
42 Create a smart calendar
Gemini’s Audio Overview feature Reclaim.ai (https://reclaim.ai/)
provide an overview and bullet-pointed creates podcast-style conversations from integrates with Google Calendar or
breakdown of the contents. Double-check sources you provide, in which two Outlook Calendar, and uses AI to analyse
any details you’re unsure about. human-sounding voices discuss the your schedule and habits. It then helps
content. It’s handy for digesting you plan your life by choosing the best
information in a natural manner while times and days for future events, so – for
you get on with other things. example – you don’t commit to
Upload documents and PDFs to the appointments when you’re usually having
Gemini website or mobile app and it lunch.
should offer to generate an Audio Owned by Dropbox, Reclaim.ai has a
Overview (see screenshot below) – if not, ‘forever free’ plan, which includes most of
type that prompt. the smart calendar’s features.

Ask an AI assistant to summarise long

documents for you.
43 Clean up your
email inbox
Cleanfox (www.cleanfox.io/)
uses AI to clean up your email inbox.

36 Convert text into

spreadsheets
ChatGPT is particularly good at extracting
Available online and as a mobile app, it
scans your inbox for newsletters and
marketing emails, then deletes these junk
data from documents and placing it messages and unsubscribes you from their
in another format, such as a table or mailing lists with a single click or tap (see
Audio Overview creates podcasts from your
spreadsheet – a task that typically files and documents. screenshot below).
takes ages and requires high levels of Cleanfox works with Gmail, Outlook,
concentration when done manually. Yahoo Mail and most other email services.
Simply upload a file, specify the format
you want to convert it to and ChatGPT will
do the rest.
40 Practise job interviews
AI assistants can not only
suggest the type of questions you might
Unlike rival tools, it’s completely free but
collects data about what you buy online.

Its spreadsheets automatically organise encounter at a job interview, but help you
data into logical columns and rows, and it prepare by conducting a mock interview
can even create formulas for Excel and with you. Provide details of the role you’re
Google Sheets. applying for, the type of interview and the
areas you want to focus on, and the

37 Create your own

calculator
Gemini’s brilliant Canvas feature offers an
chatbot will ask appropriate questions and
help you refine your answers.

easy way to create your own calculators,

for everything from mortgages and
savings to BMI and unit conversion.
41 Learn a new language
As well as translating foreign
text and speech, chatbots can help you
Cleanfox uses AI to detect, delete and
unsubscribe you from junk emails.

56 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Feature | 50 Best ways AI will improve your life

MANAGE YOUR HOME MORE EFFICIENTLY

44 Reduce your
energy bills
Smart thermostats such as Nest, Ecobee
and Tado devices use AI to create
personalised schedules based on when
you typically leave the house and return
home, and your preferred temperature at
different times of day. They also use
sensors to detect motion, and analyse
local weather forecasts to adjust their
temperatures accordingly.
This automated control helps reduce
your energy bills by ensuring you don’t
waste money on heating empty rooms,
or overheating occupied ones. Google’s
fourth-generation Nest Learning
Thermostat, which offers additional AI
functions, is available for $552 (tinyurl.
com/APC551nest) from importers, but The iRobot Roomba j7 uses AI to detect objects.
isn’t officially supported in Australia yet.

45 Set lighting moods

Smart-lighting systems use AI –
the most efficient cleaning routes
– room by room – and avoid obstacles
automatically. Some models, such as the
49 Identify mystery objects
If you’re baffled by a mysterious
object you’ve found in a drawer or
in addition to voice commands – to control iRobot Roomba j7 (pictured below), use cupboard, or are unsure which screw to
the lights in your home and garden. This image-recognition to identify objects use for a DIY project, upload a photo to
includes applying adaptive brightness, including cables, shoes, socks and even ChatGPT or Gemini – or scan it with
learning your lighting routines, pet waste. Google Lens. They’ll identify it in seconds
optimising energy usage and reacting to and look up more information online.
sensors.
The Philips Hue app for its smart lights
has just been updated (tinyurl.com/
47 Improve
security
your home
As we explained in our ‘Who’s at your
APC551hue) with an AI assistant that door?’ feature in APC issue 549, smart
lets you describe the type of lighting doorbells and home-security cameras
effect you want to see or mood you want make extensive use of AI. This includes
to set (see screenshot below). The app will detecting people, vehicles and animals,
suggest something from its gallery of and differentiating between known
presets, or create something new to individuals and intruders, so they can
match your text or voice prompt. alert you to suspicious activity.
Ring and Eufy video doorbells use AI

46 Clean your house

robotically
Basic robot vacuum cleaners use sensors
to notify you when a package is delivered
or taken, while some security cameras
– including TP-Link Tapo devices –
FoodLess uses AI to track food expiry dates.

to navigate your floors and change

direction when they bump into objects,
but more advanced models offer more
recognise abnormal sounds such as glass
breaking and dogs barking. 50 Reduce food waste
Samsung’s high-end smart
fridges have a feature called AI Vision
thorough cleaning through AI. They
create detailed maps of your home to plan 48 Ask for help with
home repairs
ChatGPT and Gemini are invaluable
Inside, which analyses fresh items you
put in and take out, and notifies you
when they’re about to go off. This helps
sources of advice for home prevent food waste, but the fridges also
improvements and repairs. Ask about cost thousands of pounds.
anything from putting up shelves to A cheaper if less sophisticated option is
fixing a washing machine, and they’ll the free Android app FoodLess (tinyurl.
provide step-by-step instructions, details com/APC551food), which scans the
of the parts and tools you need, and barcodes and use-by dates of food you
advice about when you should consult a put in your fridge or cupboard, then
professional. There’s even a custom GPT keeps track of when they’re about to
called Expert DIY Assistant (tinyurl. expire (see screenshot above). It sources
com/APC551diy) that provides information from the Open Food Facts
The Philips Hue app lets you describe the comprehensive guides to improving database (https://world.openfoodfacts.
mood you want to create with your lighting. your home. org/).

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 57

 Feature | Supercharge your Mac

58 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025 Image credit: Apple Inc

 Feature | Supercharge your Mac

Unlock your Mac’s full potential and take your experience

to new heights with the best gadgets and devices.
Written by David Crookes

our Mac is already an amazing In this superguide, we’re exploring tech to help your Mac work flawlessly for any

Y computer – fast, efficient,

well-built and part of an
ecosystem that allows it to
accessories that will take your Mac to
another level. Whether you’re a student
managing coursework, a home user juggling
task. At the same time, we’ve kept budgets
in mind: cost-conscious students won’t want
to break the bank but pros may choose to
seamlessly work with your other Apple everyday tasks, a music creator composing invest in top-tier gear.
devices. But that doesn’t mean your iMac, your next hit, a filmmaker editing your latest So let’s dive into what’s on the market
Mac mini, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac project, a keen photographer perfecting and discover how a well-chosen range
Studio or Mac Pro can’t be improved. With your shots, or a passionate gamer looking for of gadgets and devices can help to transform
the right accessories, you can create a a competitive edge, you’ll find there’s your Mac experience. Pair these products
personalised powerhouse, boosting something here for you. with quality software and you’ll have a setup
productivity, unleashing your creativity and To that end, we’re looking at drives and that is powerful, efficient and even more
elevating your gaming experience. docks, input devices, displays, and other enjoyable to use.

Image credit: Apple Inc NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 59

Home & Student
Feature | Supercharge your Mac

Work hard, play hard and enjoy your Mac to the max with this essential selection of
great gadgets…

1 2 3

PlayStation 5 DualSense MSI Modern MD342CQPW Logitech MX Brio

$99.95 $590 $249
FROM playstation.com FROM msi.com FROM logitech.com
FEATURES Built in battery and FEATURES 3440x1440 resolution, 34-inch FEATURES Up to 4K resolution, up to 60fps,
USB-C port, control pad and action buttons ultra-wide screen, 1500R panel, 120Hz/4ms advanced autofocus, noise reducing
Although designed for use with the refresh/response microphone
PlayStation 5 console, the robust Curved monitors are great for playing A quality webcam is well worth the
and comfortable DualSense wireless games and watching videos. They also investment, whether you’re connecting to
gamepad is also compatible with the Mac reduce eye strain and keep you more video-based meetings for work or study, or
(as well as iPad and iPhone). You can’t focused – perfect if you’re working on an simply looking to chat to family and
make use of haptic feedback nor the essay or just generally looking to enhance friends. The Logitech MX Brio offers a
built-in mic and speakers, but the adaptive productivity. This great value height- choice of either 1080p or 4K resolution and
triggers are supported by some games. adjustable ultra-wide monitor from MSI has the mic is powerful enough to pick up your
The thumb sticks and well-placed buttons a 120Hz refresh rate, one DisplayPort and voice from up to 1.2 metres away. It
are a joy to use. two HDMI 2.0 ports, and great sound. performs outstandingly well in low light.

60 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025 Image credits: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc, Micro-Star Intl Co Ltd, Logitech
 Feature | Supercharge your Mac

W
hether you’re working or Here, you’ll find a curated collection of high-quality documents with ease, and
studying, streaming your great-value accessories that any typical making your Mac more comfortable to use.
favourite shows, gaming into the Mac user is likely to need, from a versatile Add a great mouse like the Logitech MX
night, or looking to get the best out of your monitor for multitasking and creative work Master 3S, sleek earbuds such as the
Mac, there are plenty of powerful to a gamepad that takes your play to the AirPods Pro 2, and smart cable
accessories to help you stay organised, next level. management tools, and you’ll have an
work more efficiently, and enjoy all your We’ve included reliable options for efficient, enjoyable Mac setup for work and
Mac has to offer. capturing video and audio, printing play in no time.

4 5 6

Plaud AI NotePin Canon PIXMA TS6550i Twelve South Curve Flex

$269 $TBC $139
FROM au.plaud.ai FROM canon.com FROM twelvesouth.com.au
FEATURES 20 hours of FEATURES 14 ipm mono / 9 ipm FEATURES Elevation of up to 22 inches,
continuous recording, 45 days standby, colour, Wi-Fi, two-sided printing, borderless angles up to 45 degrees,
64GB storage photos folds flat
Capable of recording audio with a single Canon’s new attractive, affordable, Working on a MacBook for long periods of
press, the NotePin can capture lectures or wireless all-in-one printer is aimed time can wreak havoc on your back. It’s
important conversations and transcribe squarely at home users and it is super- better to place it on a flexible notebook
them using artificial intelligence (AI). compact at just 374mm wide. Designed for stand such as this one so that you can bring
Available as a small device that’s locatable easy printing via a smartphone, it’ll just as the screen and its camera up to eye-level,
using Find My, it can be worn as a pin, effortlessly print via AirPrint from a Mac, or ensure it’s angled for more comfortable
necklace or around the wrist, offering 20 delivering sharp text, clear detail and typing. Although you can use it at home, it’s
hours of recording on a single charge, with bright, borderless prints with speeds of up easy to fold away and light enough to take
files available to manage on your Mac. to nine images per minute in colour. on your travels too.

Image credits: Plaud.ai, Canon, Twelve South LLC NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 61
Photo &Video
Feature | Supercharge your Mac

Polish your photo and video projects with accessories that will sharpen your
shots and footage.

1 2 3

Samson Q9U OWC Thunderbolt 5 Hub OpticFilm 135i AI

$259 $399 $1,448
FROM samsontech.com FROM owc.com FROM plustek.com
FEATURES XLR output, wide dynamic range, FEATURES Three Thunderbolt 5 and one FEATURES Five-element lens, 35mm film
24-bit/96kHz high-definition digital audio USB-A port, DisplayPort 2.1 support support, up to 7200 dpi, batch scanning
resolution, attachable on stand Adding more Thunderbolt 5 ports to your Plustek’s scanner lets you digitise film
If you’re producing podcasts or looking to Mac setup is particularly useful if you’re a slides and negatives with ease. It can take
create quality video voiceovers, consider a video editor and want to connect more a while – 25 minutes if you want to scan at
broadcast dynamic microphone. The monitors. With this quiet, fanless hub, a max of 7200 dpi – but it’s versatile,
Samson Q9U will help you to sound like a which also supports DisplayPort 2.1, you supporting multiple film types including
pro, capturing the depth of your voice while can hook up to three 8K screens to your panoramic and allowing batch scanning.
proving less sensitive to background noise. Mac – but you can also connect storage The lens has been designed to reduce
It connects via USB-C and allows for devices and other accessories if you wish, refraction and the scanner comes with the
recordings direct to your Mac. Plug in including those designed for Thunderbolt 3 pro-standard SilverFast AI Studio software.
headphones and listen in real-time. and 4.

62 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025 Image credits: Samson Distribution LLC, Other World Computing, Inc, Plustek
 Feature | Supercharge your Mac

L
ooking for a Mac to power through accessories can elevate your results further Thunderbolt/USB-C SSD, and solid over-ear
photo and video editing? You needn’t and make the creative process more headphones. But maybe also consider a
search far. A MacBook Pro will handle enjoyable, so here we’ve selected gear that photo printer, desktop monitor speakers, or
the best creative apps on the go, while an any photo or video enthusiast (hobbyist or a colour-accurate 4K or 5K display such as
iMac or Mac mini will breeze through semi-pro) will appreciate. the Apple Studio Display, to fully complete
projects at your desk – more so if equipped We’ve included a hub for connecting your creative setup.
with Apple’s latest M4 silicon chips. multiple monitors, a microphone for
But investing in high-quality studio-quality voice recordings, a rugged

6
4

4 5 6

SanDisk Extreme Pro Go Pro HERO13 Black Ultra Sony MDR-M1

$499 Wide Edition $499
FROM sandisk.com $865 FROM sony.com.au
FEATURES Supports Thunderbolt 4, USB FROM gopro.com FEATURES High sound isolation, well-
3.2 and USB 2.0 devices, 3800MB/s read FEATURES 177° field of view, HyperSmooth balanced frequency response range
speeds, 3700MB/s write speeds stabilisation, scratch-resistant hydrophobic lens between 5Hz and 80kHz
With support for Thunderbolt 4, this Want to capture thrilling shots and put Designed for music creators and sound
revamped version of the SanDisk Extreme viewers in the thick of the action? You need engineers in collaboration with industry
Pro SSD drive is a dream for anyone a point-of-view camera. GoPro’s new model experts, these over-ear, closed back
storing lots of images and videos. Aside is 36% wider than its standard HERO13 headphones are also a good buy if you’re
from offering 2TB of space, it has lightning- Black and that lets you capture video with editing audio for videos. Not only are they
fast transfer speeds. You can also take the a 177° field of view in 4K at 60fps. Viewing comfortable to wear for long sessions, they
drive with you and rest assured that it’ll and trimming can be done on an iPhone pump out well-balanced, ultra-wideband,
survive drops of up to two metres and some as well as in the HyperSmooth Pro player studio-quality sound that is free of ambient
of the milder elements of Mother Nature. on Mac. noise and sound leakage.

Image credits: Sandisk Corporation, GoPro Inc, Sony Europe B.V. NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 63
Creative Pro
Feature | Supercharge your Mac

Unlock your creative potential with a selection of must-have

accessories that will bring your ideas to life.

1 2 3

Logitech MX Creative Console Wacom Intuos Pro 2025 Arturia Keylab 88 mk3
$279 From $396 $1,695
FROM logitech.com.au FROM wacom.com FROM arturia.com
FEATURES Creative Dialpad for tactile control FEATURES 16:9 format, pairs via Bluetooth FEATURES 88 keys, MIDI controller, Fatar
and Creative Keypad with LCD display keys or USB, uses the innovative Pro Pen 3 TP/110 hammer-action keypad
The Logitech MX Creative Console is a Wacom’s flagship tablet has been updated with aftertouch
fresh way to interact with creative apps, and it’s become near essential for digital It’s not cheap and neither is it sleek but
whether that’s Adobe Photoshop, artists and graphic designers. Running this heavy 88-key hammer action MIDI
Lightroom and Premiere Pro or After wirelessly for up to 16 hours, it can connect controller keyboard is a great way to make
Effects, Final Cut Pro, Affinity Photo and to a Mac, letting you flex your creative music. Integrating with any digital audio
more. Customise a set of keys, ensuring muscles using the Pro Pen 3. This pen has workstation including Logic Pro on your
core functions are only a press away, and 8,192 pressure levels, doesn’t need Mac, it offers a dynamic playing experience
use the dialpad to make precise adjustments charging and comes with interchangeable with advanced connectivity. It also has a
to your workflow. grips and programmable shortcut buttons. colour 3.5-inch screen with eight contextual
buttons for greater control.

64 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025 Image credits: Logitech, Wacom, Arturia

 Feature | Supercharge your Mac

C
reative professionals will benefit Some accessories are truly innovative, controller, a graphics tablet and a trackpad
from investing in devices that such as the MX Creative Console which lets for more natural input, as well as keyboard
provide even more control over you map buttons, knobs, and dials to the covers so commands and shortcuts are
their workflow. There are many peripherals functions you use most. Others are simply easier to find. You may also want to add a
designed for digital artists, designers, useful: a colour calibrator such as the fast SSD or hard drive, a large-format
musicians and pros working with photos Spyder Pro ensures your displays show printer such as the HP DesignJet T250, and
and video, aimed at unlocking their full consistent, true-to-life colours. a pro scanner.
potential. We’ve included a versatile MIDI

4 5 6

Datacolor Spyder Pro colour Apple Magic Trackpad Keyboard covers

calibrator $179 From $22
$575 FROM apple.com/au FROM editorskeys.com
FROM datacolor.com FEATURES Force Touch, Multi-Touch, FEATURES Shows keyboard shortcuts,
FEATURES Unlimited brightness settings, Bluetooth, USB-C port, wireless protects against spills, fully washable
adjusts for ambient room light, calibrates Thanks to the large size of the Magic Are you making extensive use of Final Cut
eight backlight types Trackpad and its ability to recognise Pro, Photoshop, GarageBand, iMovie,
If you need what’s on screen to look the multi-touch gestures and Force Touch, this Xcode or one of a host of other macOS
same in print, then you must ensure your accessory offers precision and control over apps? Well, these colourful covers can be
display is calibrated. The Spyder Pro only your creative endeavours. Automatically placed over your MacBook Pro and iMac
needs to be placed on the screen and it will pairing with your Mac, the trackpad keyboards to show the various shortcuts
get to work, enabling you to adjust and instantly makes it easier to swipe, scroll, you can use to speed up your tasks. They
optimise the richness and accuracy of the zoom and pan, making it great for photo peel off as easily as they’re fixed in place
colours. It’ll work with displays including editing and 3D modelling. It also works with and they can be swapped, reused and even
OLED, miniLED and Apple Liquid Retina XDR. iPad and Apple Vision Pro. washed when needed.

Image credits: Datacolor, Apple Inc, Editors Keys NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 65
 Feature | Windows Power Tools

MICROSOFT’S FREE UTILITIES FOR WINDOWS ADD ALL

SORTS OF NEAT AND USEFUL FEATURES: NIK RAWLINSON
PICKS OUT THE BEST.
he Windows PowerToys
date all the way back to
the days of Windows
95. Those who were
lucky enough to have
internet access in those
days could download
a set of 15 little utilities that enabled
them to tweak the Windows interface,
customise their context menus,
enhance CD-ROM features and
personalise the operating system in
various other ways.
Since then, the PowerToys suite has
been through several iterations, with
features appearing and disappearing
over time; with Windows 10 it was
relaunched as a set of open-source
tools, distributed via GitHub and the
Microsoft Store. It’s also evolved from
a collection of standalone utilities into
a single download with a unified front
end, from which you can easily
activate, deactivate and manage all the The main PowerToys dashboard ABOVE The main here to bring up the full dashboard.
various components. gives you an overview of enabled dashboard shows There are currently 27 PowerToys to
You can install the suite from the modules, along with a quick reminder you each module explore, with new ones appearing from
Microsoft Store by searching for of what each one does and a handy and tells you briefly time to time. Some have a narrow
“Microsoft PowerToys”. Once it’s switch for turning individual features what each one focus, such as the Hosts File Editor,
installed, launch “PowerToys on and off. You can browse more deeply does. whose sole function is updating the
(Preview)” from the Start menu using the navigation list on the left, “hosts” file that’s used for manually
to open the main PowerToys app. which divides the available features resolving IP addresses; others can help
Don’t worry about the “Preview” into various categories such as “System you handle a whole range of daily tasks
part – that’s been there for many years. Tools”, “Windowing & Layouts” and so more quickly and effectively. Here’s
At this point it’s little more than a forth. You can also bring up a quick- our pick of the top eight PowerToys
jokey reference to the fact that the access mini-dashboard at any time by that almost everyone should find
PowerToys are continually being clicking the PowerToys icon in the useful.
developed. System Tray; click the “More” button

66 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Feature | Windows Power Tools

1 POWERTOYS
surprised how much more
smoothly your work will flow

RUN
when all of these tasks are rolled
into a single dialog box – and best
PowerToys Run is an alternative app of all, you don’t need to reach for
launcher to the Windows Start menu, the mouse every time you use it.
which looks and works similarly to the

2 PEEK
Spotlight feature on macOS. You’ll find
it in the PowerToys app under System
Tools. Once it’s active, you can simply Peek emulates another
press Alt and Space together to bring long-standing feature
up the Run window in the middle of found on the Mac – namely Quick
your screen, then start typing the name Look. This handy feature lets
of whatever program you want to run. you select any file in the macOS
PowerToys Run instantly starts Finder, then hit Space to pop up an
showing results below the main Run instant preview of images, PDFs,

3 TEXT
window; key down to select one, or text documents and more.
keep typing and just hit Return when Peek works in exactly the same way ABOVE Rather

EXTRACTOR
the option you want is highlighted at – the biggest difference is the keypress, than opening files,
the top of the list. as it requires you to hit Ctrl+Space to you can use Peek
In fact, PowerToys Run is much see the contents of whatever file is to preview their There are plenty of OCR tools out
more than merely an app launcher. currently selected in the Windows File contents quickly. there, but their workflows can be
As well as running programs, you can Explorer. Peek works with a huge range fiddly (and they’re certainly not all
use it to search your files, run shell of file types, including text, images, free). PowerToys Text Extractor
commands, visit web pages, perform Office documents, ebook files and even provides an easy way to grab the text
maths operations and more. You’d be audio and video media. You can also from any image visible on your screen.
use the cursor keys to Before using it, make sure that
step through a list of the image text you want to copy is
files while keeping visible and unobscured. Now press
the preview window Windows+Shift+T to activate Text
open, so – for Extractor. You’ll see an overlay appear
example – you can on your screen; you can optionally
easily browse LEFT PowerToys select a language from here, in order to
through a whole Run gives you help Text Extractor recognise the text
folder full of quick access to as accurately as possible, and choose
documents to find apps, files and whether you want text to be formatted
the one you want. information. as a single line or as a table.

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 67

 Feature | Windows Power Tools

Then just click and drag over text

you want to capture. The text will be
automatically recognised and copied to
the clipboard, from which you can
paste it wherever required.

4 IMAGE
RESIZER
You can resize images in Microsoft
Paint – or almost any graphic-editing
package – but if you just want to shrink
an image down for uploading to the
web or attaching to an email, that’s
overkill. And if you want to resize a
whole folder full of images at once, it’s
downright tedious to have to load,
resize and save each one in turn.
The Image Resizer PowerToy

6 KEYBOARD
lets you resize images directly from it by holding down the key for any ABOVE Image
the File Explorer context menu. To use character to which you want to add an Resizer adds a

MANAGER
it, select one or more image files, then accent, and tapping the left or right resizing tool to the
right-click and select “Resize with cursor or the space bar. For example, if File Explorer menu.
Image Resizer” from the context you want to type “sac à dos”, you might Quick Accent is fine as far as it goes,
menu. press and hold the “a” when you get to but sometimes you might want an easy
In the dialog that opens, select a it, then quickly tap the left cursor. This way to enter other characters, such as
preset size from the dropdown menu, will bring up the Quick Accent selector a copyright symbol. Keyboard
or enter custom dimensions as at the top of the screen, showing a Manager lets you assign these
required. You’ll notice that there’s variety of accented variants of the characters to keys on your keyboard,
also an option to reduce pictures letter. Use the cursor keys to navigate or to key combinations using the Alt,
that are larger than the specified to the one you want, then release the Control, Shift or Windows keys. You
dimensions, while not touching ones “a” key to add your chosen character to can also create string shortcuts, so that
that are smaller. This is particularly your document. pressing a key combination inserts a
handy if you want to shrink a set of If you don’t see the characters whole predefined passage of text.
differently sized images, without you’re looking for, go into the To remap a single key on your
compromising the quality of smaller Quick Accent settings in the main keyboard, go to Keyboard Manager’s
ones by blowing them up. PowerToys app (you’ll find it under settings page (also located under
“Input / Output”) and select which “Input / Output”), then click “Remap a

5 QUICK
of the 37 supported languages key”. In the dialog that opens, click “+
you’re trying to use. Add key remapping”, then click Select

ACCENT
If you find that Quick Accent BELOW LEFT in the first column and either press the
interferes with programs that use a Quick Accent key you want to remap or select a key
If you regularly work with foreign long key press for some other function, makes adding from the dropdown menu beneath it.
names or terms, getting the accents you can also disable it in specific accented Now, using the dropdown menu in the
right is important. Windows lacks a applications. Click on the Excluded characters easy. “To send:” column, choose whether
simple, native way of typing accented apps to do so, then type in the name of you want this key to trigger a different
characters, but Quick Accent adds one. the application you want to exclude. BELOW RIGHT In key or shortcut, or to insert text.
This is great if you’re typing in Note that partial matches will also be Keyboard Manager You can also remap existing
multiple languages or using a borrowed excluded, so if you type “notepad” then you can remap shortcuts. In our case, our keyboard
word with an accent, giving you access Quick Accent will be disabled in both single keys or doesn’t have a dedicated Print
to characters that your keyboard the standard Windows application plus combination Screen button, so we’d like to assign
doesn’t have a key for. Once you’ve the third-party Notepad++ app, if shortcuts. that function to a different key
enabled Quick Accent, you can activate you have it installed. combination. We can do this by

68 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Feature | Windows Power Tools

7 MOUSE
selecting “Remap a shortcut” in ABOVE detection can sometimes trigger while
the Shortcuts section, followed by FancyZones lets you’re playing a game. If that gets in

UTILITIES
“+ Add shortcut remapping”. you define your your way, go into the Mouse Utilities
We now need to click the pencil icon own boundaries settings in the main PowerToys app
and press the key combination we want As computer displays get bigger (and for more flexible and you’ll find an option to disable it
to remap – in our case, we’ve chosen more numerous), it can be easy to lose window layouts. when your computer is in game mode.
Windows+PgDn, because the PgDn key track of your mouse pointer. Mouse

8 FANCYZONES
sits close to where you’d normally find Utilities helps you quickly locate the
a PrtSc button. After doing this, we cursor whenever you need to, by
click OK, and select “Print Screen” from shaking your mouse, pressing Ctrl We’re big fans of the window-
the dropdown menu on the “To:” side twice in quick succession, or using a snapping features in Windows
of the window. You could also hit the custom keyboard shortcut. The screen 11, which help you organise active
pencil button again and press the key will momentarily go dark, leaving just a windows to ensure the best use of your
you want to invoke, but we can’t do that light patch around the pointer to display. If you find the preset locations
in this case as the whole point is that we highlight its position. limiting, however, FancyZones lets you
don’t have that key on our keyboard. That’s not all Mouse Utilities can do. define your own, and apply preset
To the right, you’ll see an option for If you’ve ever recorded your screen, you layouts so you can always have your
“Target app”; the default setting is “All may have realised that a viewer can’t applications appear where you want
apps”, meaning this substitution will tell when you’re clicking the mouse them at the start of the working day.
apply everywhere in the operating button. Mouse Utilities can be set to To use it, hold down the Windows
system, but if you want to confine the display a coloured circle around the key and the Shift button, then press the
remapping to a single program, you can pointer when you click, making it easy apostrophe key to open the FancyZones
enter it here. You’ll need to use the for others to see what you’re doing. It’s Editor. You can now select from one of
process name, rather than its friendly a simple but valuable tool, whether the existing layouts, or create one from
name – so Microsoft Word, for you’re putting together an scratch by clicking “+ Create new
example, is winword.exe, Teams is instructional video or capturing some BELOW Mouse layout”. Give your custom layout a
ms-teams.exe and so on. You can check on-screen action for tech support. Utilities makes it name, then choose between a Grid
the names of running processes in the While Mouse Utilities is great for easy to locate your layout, in which windows nudge up
Task Manager. desktop productivity, the mouse-shake mouse pointer. against their neighbours without
You can remap almost all Windows encroaching, or Canvas,
shortcuts, but not where windows can overlap.
Ctrl+Alt+Delete – nor Click Create again, then use
Windows+L, which locks the drag handles to resize the
the screen. Microsoft also suggested zones; you can also
warns that if you try to use the arrows to move a focused
reassign the Windows+G resizer around, or remove any
shortcut, it might still open you don’t want. You’ll notice
the Xbox Game Bar. If this that moving your mouse within
is a problem, disable Game an existing zone repositions a
Bar in the Windows horizontal bar – this indicates
Settings app, and turning where the zone will split if you
off the switch beside “Allow click, to create panels above
your controller to open and below.
Game Bar”.

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 69

 OF

DARIEN GRAHAM-SMITH EXPLORES THE TIPS AND TOOLS THAT

CAN HELP YOU MANAGE YOUR PERSONAL LAN LIKE A PRO.

A
dministration isn’t just for corporate IT distracted by unplanned troubleshooting and
departments. If you’re responsible for housekeeping tasks.
the stability and security of any sort of Windows comes with a decent set of built-in,
computer network – even a few computers user-friendly management features, including
at home – you’re an administrator, account security, built-in virus protection and
whether you like it or not. So why not automatic updates. But there’s plenty more that
borrow some ideas from the world of professional you can accomplish by digging beneath the
IT management? surface, and by downloading a few judiciously
Don’t think of it as taking on extra work. chosen third-party additions. Here are some of
Putting a little effort into administration lets our favourite tips and tools for keeping your
you focus the rest of your time and energy network running smoothly and securely.
on being productive, rather than being

70 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Feature | Network administration

KEEP ONLINE DEVICES

SECURE
There’s an old saying, “if it ain’t broke
don’t fix it” – and who wants to worry
about network devices that seem to be
working fine? Unfortunately, when
you leave them untouched, the risk
grows that they’ll become susceptible
to newly discovered vulnerabilities.
Things aren’t as bad as they used to
be. Almost all connected devices in a
modern home should be capable of
receiving online updates. There’s
usually even an auto-update option, so
that’s something you don’t need to be
continually chasing – but you do need
to ensure it’s turned on. Indeed, you
should check the default settings of all
your devices, paying particular
attention to any optional privacy and

AUDIT YOUR NETWORK

security features. ABOVE You’d be low-trust devices connected
You can further reduce your amazed how to your primary network, or
exposure to online threats by many processes To decide what’s going to connect to exposing anything that shouldn’t
segmenting your network. Devices fire up when which network, you’ll find it helpful to be on the network at all, such as
such as smart light bulbs, sockets and Windows boots. have a complete list of all devices using your neighbour’s iPhone.
washing machines can be exploited your router. The router’s own
just like regular computers – in fact,
they’re often more vulnerable, since
management interface can give you
a rundown of all attached devices, TAME YOUR STARTUP ITEMS
the manufacturers don’t invest so but this isn’t always very helpful; it Being a network administrator means
much time and money into their might well be just a list of IP and MAC taking full ownership of everything
upkeep. But since they’re generally addresses, leaving you none the wiser that’s running on each computer.
controlled over the internet, they don’t as to what’s actually connected. Unfortunately, Windows systems tend
need to be able to talk directly to your A free tool called Advanced IP to get clogged up with programs that
personal laptop or NAS unit. Cutting Scanner (advanced-ip-scanner.com) launch automatically each time you
them off – putting them on their own can help here. It will scan any range of start up the computer. Aside from
subnet with no access to your personal network addresses (it defaults to security concerns, these can slow down
files or shared storage – ensures they whatever subnet your computer is on) the machine or pester you
can’t be exploited as an infection vector and report back with a list detailing with unwanted interruptions.
for a botnet or ransomware attack on not only the names and IP addresses of You can view a list of “autorun”
the devices you really do care about. all discovered devices, but also the programs from the Task Manager.
Some routers offer a dedicated manufacturer information, where Clicking the fifth icon down in the
IoT wireless network for just this available. sidebar (which looks, rather
purpose; others allow you to set This can sometimes be the unintuitively, like a speedometer
up your own VLANs, if you’re manufacturer of the network card needle) brings up a list of self-starting
comfortable with this slightly rather than the device itself, but it can programs, and provides an easy way to
technical process. Worst case, you can BELOW A simple still help you identify which device is disable anything you don’t like the
usually activate an isolated guest network scanning which – and you can add your own look of.
network and connect your less trusted tool can identify comments to individual MAC That’s nowhere near the whole
devices to this rather than the main everything hiding addresses for easy future reference. story, however. For a more in-depth
SSID. on your network. It’s perfect for discovering any look, download the free Sysinternals
Autoruns program from tinyurl.com/
APC551autoruns. This gives you a
comprehensive readout of every
process that executes when you boot up
Windows and log on, including not just
conventional startup items but device
drivers, printing components, Explorer
extensions and more.
Each item is shown with a
description if available, and a path to
exactly where the file is located on your
hard disk. Right-click on any item and
you can do all sorts of useful things,
including deleting it, jumping to its
location on disk, checking it against the
VirusTotal malware database and
searching for more information about
it online.
In truth, the sheer volume of
information Autoruns provides can be

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 71

 Feature | Network administration

overwhelming. For this reason there ABOVE Process multitasking operating system. Fear free WinDirStat utility (windirstat.
are 19 filter buttons at the top, which Explorer provides a not: you can calm the flood using net) will scan any drive or volume
you can click to see only items of complete overview Process Monitor’s powerful filtering – including network locations – and
certain types. of everything options. Just right-click on a process present an expandable tree view of
running on a PC. name, operation or path and you’ll all its folders and subdirectories, along

MANAGE RUNNING ABOVE RIGHT

see options to include or exclude
matching items from the display.
with the size of each one on your disk.
Below this, a handy graphical
PROCESSES Process Monitor
records all
Used in combination with the
built-in search option, Process
visualisation of the layout of your file
system lets you instantly spot where
Two other Sysinternals tools can file-system and Monitor’s filters let you quickly zero in the biggest files are hiding.
help you keep a more general eye Registry activity. on items of interest. You can then see As well as trimming unwanted
on what’s running on a Windows for yourself exactly what a particular process and files from individual
machine. Process Explorer (tinyurl. executable is doing, or identify which computers, check whether you can
com/APC551process) is like Task process is meddling with your files. Just accelerate your network with a little
Manager with the guardrails removed: note that the tool works in real-time, so traffic management. Many routers
it breaks down absolutely everything it won’t be able to tell you about things have built-in tools to break down
that’s running on your PC right now, that happened before you opened it. traffic by client, so you can see if
with a far greater degree of detail and one device is eating up all the
control than Windows’ built-in tool.
ADVENTURES IN SPACE bandwidth. You can also break

AND BANDWIDTH
You can hover your mouse pointer over down traffic by type, making it easy to
any item to see details of exactly how it spot if your internet connection is
was launched, and from where; a Windows can misbehave when disk being bogged down by games and
particularly powerful feature is that space gets low, and if you run out of BitTorrent downloads. Most routers
you can also search for which process is storage entirely that’s obviously going offer more or less sophisticated QoS
accessing a specific file using the Find | to affect your ability to get things done. (quality of service) settings that you
Handle or DLL menu option. Two utilities built into Windows can can use to prioritise clients and/or
Don’t ignore Process Monitor, help you manage local drive space: the types of traffic.
either (tinyurl.com/ classic Disk Clean-up tool will find and
APC551monitor). This expert utility
doesn’t just show you which programs
remove old, unneeded downloads,
caches and update files, while Storage FOLLOW THE SCRIPT
are running, it exposes exactly what Sense (located in the Windows 11 Professionals know that the secret
files (and Registry keys) they’re Settings app) can automatically clean to administration is automation
reading and writing. up extraneous files when disk space is – making sure your essential tasks get
When you first run it, the window BELOW Windows low, or to a user-selectable schedule. done reliably and efficiently by the
will instantly fill up with thousands of can automatically For a more detailed breakdown of computer, so you don’t have to
entries every second, from all the try to free up hard exactly what’s taking up space, you’ll remember to do them by hand.
different processes running in a disk space. want to turn to third-party tools. The For this purpose, the Windows Task
Scheduler is an amazingly powerful
tool. Open it by simply searching for its
name from the Start menu. You can

ABOVE Wondering where all your disk

space has gone? WinDirStat exposes
the biggest files.

72 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Feature | Network administration

configure it to run any command or

program when a set trigger condition is
met, which might be a schedule, a user
logging on or some other event.
What makes the Task Scheduler
particularly powerful is that it can
launch batch files and scripts written in
PowerShell, Python or any other
language you care to name. This means
pretty much any task that you need to
do on a regular basis – either for
housekeeping purposes or as part of
your workflow – can be delegated
to run automatically at whatever
intervals you desire.
With a little external help, it’s even
possible to automate tasks that would
ordinarily require interactive mouse
input. The free AutoHotkey scripting
host (autohotkey.com) lets you
create scripts that simulate mouse
movements and button presses, to
ABOVE Task
Scheduler runs GETTING YOUR BACK UP and to pay for the online storage.
Still, there are plenty of alternative
automate programs that don’t offer a programs and Any IT administrator will tell you that tools to choose from, many of them
regular scripting interface. scripts at preset backup is one of their most important free. If you want to back up your
AutoHotkey can also be used to times responsibilities. Unfortunately, network like a professional, one
create custom keyboard shortcuts automatically. Microsoft has deprecated the useful option we’d draw your attention to is
(hence the name). For example, Backup and File History tools that enterprise backup specialist Veeam
you could program it to copy all used to be integral features of (veeam.com), which offers a free
the files from a specified folder to Windows – presumably because it community edition of its software that
a backup destination every time wants you to use OneDrive instead, can protect up to ten Windows and
you press Ctrl+Shift+B. Linux clients – more than enough to

MAKE AN INCIDENT
cover a typical home network.

REMOTE ACCESS Veeam can back up not only critical

files but complete system images too,

RESPONSE PLAN
If you’re managing a network of which can save you a lot of time and
multiple devices, setting up remote bother in the event of a serious failure.
desktop access – so you don’t need to As well as fully restoring a working
physically visit different computers to Every business needs a cyber-incident response plan to system, Veeam images can be
find and fix potential problems – can be ensure that any attacks are handled effectively and mounted as virtual machines, so you
a real time-saver. Windows 10 and 11 consistently. If you’re looking after a home network, or can easily dip into a past system state
Pro include Microsoft’s business-grade providing informal remote support for friends and family to check old files, applications and
Remote Desktop technology, but if members, you too can benefit from drawing up some settings. Find out more and download
you’re looking for a solution that will simple instructions ahead of time. You might find it helpful it from tinyurl.com/APC551veeam.
work on Home editions of the OS, to follow this four-phase structure as recommended for For simpler, ad hoc file duplication,
Microsoft Quick Assist could fit the bill. many corporate response plans: we’ll also mention a lightweight tool
It’s a free download from the Microsoft called FreeFileSync (freefilesync.
Store and lets users share a connection 1 EVALUATE org). This tiny utility runs on
code with a trusted third party to grant What should your friends and family be looking out for? Windows, macOS and Linux, and
desktop access. How can they identify an incident? You don’t want to automatically replicates the contents
For connecting to unattended alarm them, but you don’t want them to overlook of any specified folder to a set
computers – or non-Windows ones suspicious behaviour either. destination, such as a NAS appliance
– you’ll need to explore other systems. or external hard disk. It works very
There are plenty of commercial 2 INFORM efficiently because it only copies new
remote-desktop tools that allow free Tell them the best way to reach you in a cyber-emergency and updated data, and sync tasks can
personal use, such as RustDesk and spell out exactly what you need to know – so hopefully be triggered from a script or batch file.
(rustdesk.com) and TeamViewer when the call comes it will say something more illuminating Note, though, that FreeFileSync is
(teamviewer.com), but they may than “the web page went funny”. designed for mirroring, not archival:
block you without warning if your it doesn’t keep older versions of
usage strays into quasi-professional 4 COORDINATE updated files, so it’s not a complete
territory. Set out what you want the person experiencing the backup solution on its own.
A fully free alternative is the suspected attack to do independently, without waiting Finally, one last piece of wisdom
open-source TightVNC (tightvnc. for your response – and, for your own clarity as much as from the business world: don’t blindly
com). This works on all editions of theirs, write down what you intend to do, too. trust your backup software, but make
Windows, plus macOS and Linux a point of regularly checking backups,
systems, but it doesn’t use a central hub 4 UPDATE to see that all the latest files are there,
– so you may need to configure your The first time you try to execute your plan you will inevitably and that you can copy them back and
router’s firewall to allow direct run into unanswered questions and unexpected pitfalls open them without issue. It’s all too
connections from one computer to – but if you learn from each incident and update your plan easy to configure an automatic tool
another, and set up port-forwarding accordingly, over time it will become more and more that looks like it’s doing the right
rules if you want to enable remote watertight. Ideally, it’s worth carrying out drills rather thing – right up until the day when a
desktop access over the internet. than waiting for a real attack. computer failure or virus hits.

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 73

 There are many
more myths around
Colossus than there
are accurate
stories. Tim Danton
unravels the
mystery with the
help of a professor,
engineers and
historical records.

THE TRUE STORY

74 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Feature | Colossus

O
n 1 September 1939, Post exchanges working, and they were The listening game
Office engineer Tommy working reasonably well.” He left to We should briefly pause to mention a
Flowers found himself in join the Post Office Research Station in side of Britain’s code-breaking
Berlin to take part in a Dollis Hill, where he was assigned to weaponry that rarely gets a mention:
European conference about work with a senior engineer who was the radio listening stations, called Y
telephone systems. Germany invaded studying the problem of long-distance stations, that intercepted enemy
Poland the same day. dialling. communications. “They were kind
Flowers and a fellow British “With ordinary electricity in wires, of the front wall, they were picking
delegate went to the British embassy the limit to the distance is about 40 up the messages, and if it hadn’t been
to let them know where they were miles,” said Flowers. Voices would
staying. “The young man at the
embassy... looked at us and said, ‘You
become too faint to hear. “This chap I
was put with was saddled with the Without Colossus,
people must be mad, there’s going to
be a war in a few days’,” Flowers said in
problem [but] wasn’t getting
anywhere because he wasn’t any the Allies’ path to
Germany would
1998. “Which surprised us a bit.” good... but after about six months,
The British duo spent the next day during which time I almost went

have cost many

with their German counterparts on the barmy, he was then promoted. If you
committee, trying to play it cool, but had someone on your staff who wasn’t
the next morning the embassy called any good, the only way to get rid of
to say they had to catch the next train
out or else. A tense eight-hour journey
him was to get him promoted.”
more lives
through Germany followed, but the
men were back in London by 8am on 3 for them, there would have been
September. nothing for the code breakers to
It had been a lucky escape for break,” says Jack Copeland, professor
both men. Many British citizens of logic at the University of Canterbury
unfortunate enough to be in Germany in New Zealand, and a world authority
on the day Britain declared war were on the Colossus.
detained at internment camps until One visit to a Y station concerned
VE Day in May 1945. It was an even a different code-breaking challenge:
luckier escape for the British war a new type of signal had been picked
effort, because without Tommy up by one of the stations in the latter
Flowers there would have been no half of 1940, with more following in
Colossus – and without Colossus, the early 1941. Quite unlike Enigma,
Allies’ path to Germany would have which transmitted in Morse code,
cost many more lives, on both sides. messages of this new type were sent as
teleprinter code. Here, each character
Flowers and valves is represented by a five-strong pattern
To understand why Tommy Flowers of pulses and non-pulses. Y, for
was so intrinsic to Colossus, we need instance, is pulse-gap-pulse-gap-
to go back to 1926, at which point pulse. Or 10101 in binary notation.
Flowers was still only 20, when the
General Post Office (GPO) decided to
accelerate its move to automatic When Flowers was given the job to ABOVE GPO staff
telephone exchanges. Desperate to solve, he turned to thermionic valves. in the telephone
modernise, the GPO needed engineers He realised that not only could these exchange at the
and they needed them fast. So they replace electromechanical switches, Ministry of
invited school leavers to take an and work thousands of times faster, Information in
examination, with the best performers they could also be used to amplify 1941.
invited to join the scheme. And people’s voices. By the outbreak of war
Tommy Flowers, it turns out, was the in 1939, his valve-based system had LEFT INSERT
best of the lot, beating hundreds of moved out of the lab and into Colossus wouldn’t
others to top the exam scores. production. The Research Station also have been built
Within three months of starting, had a new boss in the form of Gordon without the genius
Flowers said he was “yanked out of” Radley, who Flowers described as a of Tommy Flowers.
general training and sent to the GPO’s “warped genius”. Radley had an
Circuit Laboratory. It was Flowers’ job astounding memory for detail and he RIGHT A new type
– along with everyone else in the lab – needed it, as the Dollis Hill team of encrypted
to design new circuits based on stopped all civil tasks and focused message was
electromagnetic relays that could be instead on the war effort. received by
rolled out in exchanges. Much of his Flowers spent the early part of the teleprinter in 1940.
work was akin to programming today, war working out the best way to
but rather than coding in software, transmit data from radar stations on
Flowers was coding in hardware. the coast to Fighter Command in
First it was a matter of designing the Stanmore, London. It wasn’t until Initially, the existence of these
circuits, then testing them to see if early 1942 that he signed the Official pulses was merely noted. There was
they worked as desired. Secrets Act and was informed of the too much else to do. It was only in June
The Post Office installed London’s code-breaking work being done at 1941, when an RAF station near
first automatic exchange in Holborn Bletchley Park. From that point on, Folkestone intercepted an
in 1927, and by the time Flowers left revealing anything about his work unencrypted message revealing
the Circuit Laboratory in 1930 “we with the Government Code and Cypher military details, that Britain’s network
were well advanced, we got a lot of School (GC&CS) would be treason. of intercept stations began to record

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 75

 Feature | Colossus

them. Naturally, these messages – now charge of creating the drive

encrypted with an unfamiliar cipher – mechanism for the tapes, the
were sent to Bletchley Park for photoelectric readers to detect dots
examination. and crosses as they passed, and a
By the end of August 1941, combining unit to add up the
Bletchley Park knew several things numbers.
about these non-Morse broadcasts. Two exceptional GPO engineers,
Crucially, they knew they were Eric Speight and Arnold Lynch,
encrypted using the Vernam cipher, produced the photoelectric readers,
which added a “random” value to each but the combining unit – which used
of the five dots or crosses (called electromagnetic relays – proved more
impulses) that made up a character in challenging. It was time to call in the
the teleprinter code. So, if you were to expert, Tommy Flowers.
encrypt Y (10101) with the encrypting “I quickly came to the conclusion
key of J (11010), then the new that the [machine] would never be any
enciphered character would be the good, that we were wasting time on it,”
sum of its parts. Adding the first said Flowers. In particular, he was
impulses together means adding 1 to 1, extremely sceptical about keeping two
giving the “answer” 0 (note there is no tapes in perfect synchronisation. One
carryover to worry about here, which run with a long message, he pointed
is why 1 plus 1 is 0). For the second out, could take several hours and that
component, we’re adding 0 to 1, so the would surely be too much for paper
answer is 1. Going through all five tape to stand. “So I thought up
components, Y + J is 01111, otherwise something different.”
known as the pulses Flowers’ key idea was that by using
• x x x x . That is, the letter T.
One more crucial thing to
understand about the Vernam cipher by counting (and adding) the dots and ABOVE Bill Tutte’s
the Nazis were using is that you crosses of each individual letter. contribution is
decrypt by applying the same key. The core idea was to “add” each celebrated, as here
So, adding T (01111) to the encrypting letter (remember, it could be broken in Newmarket, but
key J (11010) gives you the original into a series of zeros and ones) in the not nearly as much
character Y (10101). encrypted message to every possible as it should be.
combination of encrypting key from
Bletchley geniuses the first two wheels, then count up the RIGHT Thermionic
To understand Colossus, we don’t need dots. Then slide it along by one and valves didn’t have
to go into all the work done to break repeat the process. And so on until a great reputation
this new code, referred to as Tunny. you had tried all the different possible for reliability when
But break it the great minds streams. Tutte worked out that if Flowers suggested
at Bletchley Park did, with the around 54% of the individual pulses them.
unwitting help of the German were zeros when totalled up, the wheel thermionic valves as switches “an
military. Believing that their code settings were almost certainly correct. analogue of the coding machine could
was unbreakable, they provided the But the sharper-eyed reader would be made”. So no need for tape, as the
opening settings of the 12 wheels in have spotted the phrase “enough data would be stored within the
the “Tunny machines” via the first 12 time” above, which hides a large machine.
characters of each message. problem. Enough time could mean While Flowers was convinced his
Such complacency couldn’t last centuries for some messages. Even solution would work, he struggled
forever. In November 1942, they issued though they only needed to deduce a to persuade the Bletchley Park
a code book to Tunny operators. pair of wheel settings to begin the hierarchy. This was partly due to
Rather than provide the 12 wheel process, that meant 1,271 (41 x 31) thermionic valves’ poor reputation for
settings, the operators were given a different scans of the text to spot reliability – used in radio sets and
reference number that they looked up likely candidates. And as this was a early TVs, they were vulnerable if
in the book to discover the starting statistical method, they needed long moved and were well known for their
positions for the wheels. Suddenly, messages, not short ones. limited operational life – but Flowers
Bletchley Park was plunged into All of which meant they needed had built automatic exchanges with
near-darkness unless two messages a much quicker way to count and hundreds of valves in them, and knew
were sent with the same indicator add – and that meant some form of that they would prove extremely
(called a depth). This allowed the automatic adding machine. Tutte took reliable so long as they were kept
British code breakers to apply a his 1+2 break theory to Captain Gerry switched on.
method devised by Alan Turing – Morgan and Max Newman, two of the When Newman asked Flowers how
called Turingery – that could extract most senior figures at Bletchley Park. long it would take to build, the Post
the wheel settings. In what historian Jack Copeland Office engineer gave the honest reply
Bletchley Park couldn’t wait for describes as “a moment of of at least a year. “[Newman] said,
depths; too many messages were left inspiration”, Newman realised that well, they just couldn’t wait a year; in a
encrypted and unread. Fortunately, one of his University of Cambridge year the war could be over and lost,”
the brilliant Bill Tutte devised a way to colleagues, Eryl Wynn-Williams, had said Flowers.
work out the starting positions of the already designed an electronic
first two wheels by applying statistical counter based on valves that he Rise of the machines
methods to Turingery. His so-called thought could be adapted for this Despite this, Newman cautiously
“1+2 break” meant that with enough crucial part of the job. He called in welcomed Flowers’ ideas. In a
time the code breakers could detect Wynn-Williams to take control of that report dated 1 March 1943, he wrote: “I
the most likely wheel start positions side of the design, with the GPO in feel that this is basically the right sort

76 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Feature | Colossus

of approach... At the same time, since

there is a risk of hold-ups along these
new paths, I emphasised that the
simpler tape-machine (which also has
the advantage of easy adaptability to
all sorts of purposes) should be gone
on with also, at full speed.”
By June, the first two-tape
machine – featuring a combining unit
that Flowers and his team developed
as per the original request – was
delivered to Bletchley Park. It was
quite something to behold. So much
so that it was named the “Heath
Robinson” by the Wrens
who operated it due to its elaborate,
cumbersome design. It worked,
but only after weeks of effort by
Newmanry section members
Jack Good and Donald Michie.
Bletchley Park ordered more, and
an improved, finessed version arrived
in November.
While Bletchley Park wouldn’t
commit money to Flowers’ electronic
solution, they told the General Post
Office that it could go ahead with the
design at its own risk and cost.
Fortunately, Flowers had the backing
of his boss Gordon Radley, who gave
his chief engineer access to all the
materials and people he required.
“I knew what it would do,” said
Flowers. “I drew a lot of square boxes,
with lines joining up to these, and I
specified what each box had to do.”
For example, how each box would
simulate one of the code wheels.
Flowers had to work alone until
others could be let into the secret, but
was soon joined by talented
colleagues.
“Sid Broadhurst was a master of
system design, and of the logic and
timing of complicated relay circuits,”
wrote Harry Fensom, another
member of the team at Dollis Hill, in
his article “How Colossus was Built
and Operated – One of its Engineers
Reveals its Secrets”. “Bill Chandler
was the expert on digital valve
design, and could produce a system
that worked straight away when
implemented from the drawing
board.”
In fact, while some histories
simplify the computer’s story and say
that Tommy Flowers
“built” the Colossus, he had
a large team of engineers
working alongside him in
the lab, plus the
considerable
manufacturing power of
the GPO to draw upon.
Flowers started
designing the first
RIGHT The first Colossus in February 1943,
two-tape machine was with the machine delivered
named the “Heath to Bletchley on 18 January
Robinson” by the 1944 and operational on 5
Wrens who operated it. February. So, a year later, just

APC MAGAZINE 77
 Feature | Colossus

more machines, so were surprised

when they didn’t hear anything. Still,
they decided to press ahead with the
manufacture of the more time-
consuming components so that they
would be ready when the call came.
It’s a good thing they had a head
start, because the following month
they were visited by “some man in
uniform, straight from the War
Cabinet, [who said] that we had to
make 12 of these machines by 1 June,”
remembered Flowers. By then it was
obvious to all that it was only a matter
of time before the Allies invaded
Europe, and their visitor’s next
statement made Flowers suspect that

ABOVE This shows RIGHT Crowds, aside

the circuitry and from one unhappy
pulley-wheel system, child, celebrating
where the encrypted VE Day in Piccadilly
message was placed. on 8 May 1945.

as Flowers had predicted. It filled a

room, more than justifying its name. his machines might just play an
While the machine was loud – thanks important role. “We were told that
to the use of many electromechanical unless you can make these machines
parts, not the valves – it worked from and have them working by 1 June then
the get-go. it would be too late.”
In his seminal report “The While the GPO couldn’t build a
Colossus”, computer historian Brian dozen machines in such a short time,
Randell quotes Flowers directly: “They Flowers promised that the first new
just couldn’t believe it when we machine would be working by 1 June,
brought this string and sealing wax with the next two following in July and
sort of thing in and it actually did a job. August. So began an intense four
They were on their beam ends at the months of effort to build the Colossus
time, Robinson just hadn’t got enough II, this time with 2,400 valves. “We
output, they wouldn’t go fast enough, worked day and night, six days a
and suddenly this bit of string and week,” said Flowers. “We worked
sealing wax, in about ten minutes... ourselves almost to exhaustion.”
and then they started to take notice!” That work continued right up until
Gordon Radley’s wartime diary is the last moment. Only at 1am on the
more measured in its analysis, but still morning of 1 June 1944 did Flowers
the delight at its success rings and his team work out that the reason
through. “Since February 22nd the Colossus II obstinately refused to
Colossus has been in full daily work was due to misbehaving valves.
operation for 16 hours per day, and, This was a problem best left to valve
although the operating staff are not expert William Chandler, so they left
yet sufficiently familiar with it to him there. “And then Flowers came
utilise it to the best advantage, it back the next morning and Colossus II
has dealt with eight messages in was buzzing away like a top,” says
11 hours. For the remaining eight Copeland. “Chandler was looking
hours of its day, Colossus is turned very pleased with himself, but also
over for the attention of Research Staff standing in a pool of water because the
who are endeavouring to graft on to it radiator had leaked during the night.”
equipment for providing still further This, incidentally, is why some reports
facilities.” incorrectly state that the Colossus was
water-cooled; ignore all such articles.
Following orders “Between [5am] and 8pm this
Flowers and Radley expected Bletchley evening, Colossus II was running
Park to immediately place orders for continuously and has very

78 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Feature | Colossus

successfully dealt with no less than would set up a Tunny machine and more magical over time. For example,
20 separate tasks,” wrote Radley in check the output. Bill Tutte created a technique called
his diary that day. “This is roughly So it was hard work for everyone rectangling that could determine the
equivalent to a full 24-hour output involved, but also vital work. wheel patterns. However, it required a
from all the other machines at According to legend, on 5 June 1944, quite legendary amount of effort by
present operated by the Group General Eisenhower was handed a hand, and one tiny mistake could ruin
concerned, and has given very great decrypt fresh from Bletchley Park. the calculations. Donald Michie, a
satisfaction to Professor Newman He read it, then declared: “We go talented member of the Testery, came
and Commander Travis.” tomorrow.” This may be too neat a up with a proposal that meant a
The Colossus II was so quick thanks story, but it’s certainly known that Colossus could become a high-speed
to the advent of what can best be Eisenhower was a regular visitor to rectangling machine through the
described as parallel processing. This Bletchley Park in the run-up to D-Day addition of a “rectangling gadget”.
involved having the equivalent of five and an admirer of its work. A good thing, as the Germans started
processors working on the same tape, to change the wheel patterns on a daily
effectively bringing the speed up to The Colossus effect basis as they became more concerned
25,000 characters per second. “It We should not oversimplify history about security.
meant more gates and counters, of to say that the Colossi alone won or “We were in no doubt about how
course,” wrote Fensom, “but we didn’t shortened the war. Giving all the important [Colossus] was,” said Capt
mind a thousand extra valves.” credit to the computer ignores the Jerry Roberts, a member of the Testery,
Nor did Bletchley Park mind months of work done by a network of in 2010. “We saw a number of
throwing hundreds of women at double agents who had been feeding messages signed by Adolf Hitler
the problem. For while the the Nazis with misinformation.

The Colossus II was

Colossi revealed the settings for Not to mention other ruses, such as
the five chi-wheels, there was still creating fake barracks near Dover,

so quick thanks
much work to be done before a or dropping aluminium foil to create
message could be decrypted, and the illusion of incoming planes on

to what can best

much of this burden fell to Wrens German radar. All these deceptions
and women from the army’s were to convince the German military
Auxiliary Territorial Service. that the Allies were going to land in
“There were so many messages
being sent in, when one didn’t
Pas-de-Calais rather than their real
target of Normandy.
be described as
come good you were sent another
one,” Cora Jarman told Tessa
The deception worked. The Nazis
held back reinforcements from parallel processing
Dunlop, author of The Bletchley Normandy, allowing the Allies to
Girls, of her time in the Newmanry. establish a strong foothold there.
“Checking checking. It was very Over the coming months, as the Allies
boring.” battled their way across Europe, more
After a Colossus had successfully Colossi were installed. By the end of
revealed a likely set of starting 1944, seven whirred away, spread
positions for the chi-wheels, the across two vast, bomb-proof concrete
message needed to be ‘de-chi’ed’. buildings. Three more Colossi arrived
This meant processing it through a in 1945. “I saw this astonishing
machine to remove the chi encryption, machine the size of a room,” said
which one of the women would do. Joanna Chorley. “It was ticking away,
The de-chi’ed message tape would and the tapes were going round and all
then be taken to the Testery, where the the valves, and I thought what an
code breakers would set to work. amazing machine... Like magic and
When a complete set of wheel science combined!”
positions arrived, it was women who What’s more, the machines became
1943
2016 ABOVE Though himself.” The operation became slick,
much of the work with Roberts adding that “I suspect
was automated, sometimes we genuinely saw the
hundreds of Wrens messages before the blessed
made it all work. Germans”.
For the rest of the war in Europe,
LEFT Colossus the Colossi continued to break codes,
relied on Wrens with the tenth and final operational
such as (left to machine installed in April 1945. A
right) Irene Dixon, month later, the teleprinters relaying
Lorna Cockayne, the Tunny messages would fall silent
Shirley Wheeldon, – an eerie experience for those
Joanna Chorley working in the huts – with the final
and Margaret message sent shortly before VE Day on
Mortimer. 8 May 1945. This was the date when
Nazi Germany unconditionally
surrendered to the Allied forces.

Second life
A lack of new messages didn’t spell the
end for the Colossi. There was

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 79

 Feature | Colossus

“ENIAC demonstrated very publicly

the viability of using large numbers of
electronic tubes,” said Randell in an
interview, “just as Colossus had done
on a smaller scale, but privately.
Colossus, I think, had an effect within
Britain, but a rather limited effect,
whereas ENIAC brought ‘giant
electronic brain’ onto front pages.”
This doesn’t mean the Colossus
should be ignored in computing
history, as it marked many firsts.
The Colossus I was the first computer to
use electronic binary circuitry on a
large scale. The first to use a clock pulse
to synchronise operations. And while it
was a special-purpose computer, it and
its successors were programmable – to
an extent.
Timing naturally becomes
important when claiming world firsts,
so it should be noted that the first
Colossus was operational in February
1944, pre-dating the United States’

still much to be learnt from the soldering, when she remembers the ABOVE The Colossi
backlog of messages still to be end of her time at Bletchley Park. “We pre-dated the
deciphered, including clues to the carried on... until the war was over, USA’s ENIAC, but
identities of British agents giving and immediately we were told we the two computers
material to the Soviet Union. For while could go,” she said. “You felt cheated were very different.
the USSR was an ally of sorts, it was in a way that you’d worked so hard on
always an uneasy relationship. it and that it was going to be no more.” RIGHT One of the
Moscow must have known about None of them knew at the time original Colossus
the British success decrypting Tunny, that at least two Colossi survived the switches, given to
because British civil servant John massacre. These were quietly the director of the
Cairncross – later unmasked as the transported to the new headquarters NSA in 1986.
fifth member of the infamous of GC&CS – renamed Government
Cambridge spy ring that included Kim Communications Headquarters,
Philby and Guy Burgess – gave them GCHQ, the following year – in
decrypts that he smuggled out of north-west London. The Colossi then
Bletchley Park by stuffing them down moved with GCHQ to Cheltenham
his trousers. But the USSR clearly in 1951, where they continued to ENIAC by almost two years. This was
didn’t realise how comprehensively provide valuable code-breaking why, when Randell – with the
Tunny had been broken, as it grabbed service for another decade. assistance of Allen “Doc” Coombs –
the Nazi cipher machines and used “I worked as an engineer on gave a guarded presentation on
them (with enhancements) to encrypt Colossus for a year during the 1960s,” the Colossus to the International
messages after the war. wrote Bill Marshall, a former GCHQ Research Conference on the History
However, there was no need to keep engineer, in an article on GCHQ’s of Computing in Los Alamos in 1976
all ten active Colossi in service, so the website to mark Colossus’s 80th it caused quite a stir.
command came to dismantle them. In anniversary. “I was told very little Bob Bemer, who helped develop the
a 2012 short film to celebrate the 70th about the machine I was working on – ASCII character code, wrote a short but
anniversary of Colossus’s birth, what the machine was actually doing vivid article describing the
Google interviewed engineers and was not for me to know. My job was to proceedings. “I looked at Mauchly
wirers who worked on the machines. repair it as necessary, using just a few [John Mauchly, co-creator of ENIAC],
Their most poignant remarks came circuit diagrams and no detailed user who had thought up until that moment
when describing the Colossi’s demise. handbook.” that he was involved in inventing the
“When we had the order to world’s first electronic computer,” he
dismantle all the equipment, the The truth unmasked wrote. “I have heard the expression
idea was to smash everything. Smash Despite the computers’ retirement in many times about jaws dropping, but I
all the valves and everything else,” the early 1960s, the government had really never seen it happen before.
remembered Roy Robinson. “Some refused to declassify the Colossus And [German Professor Konrad] Zuse
of [the Colossi] were thrown down coal project. It was only through the efforts – with a facial expression that could
mines,” added Albert Bareham. “The of historians, particularly Brian have been anguish.”
whole piece of equipment was dumped Randell, that more information came All of which begs the question, what
down a disused coal mine and things to light in the mid-1970s. It took might have been different if
like that.” another quarter of a century for the the Colossi’s creators hadn’t been
Even 70 years later, you can hear government to release a 500-page sworn to secrecy? Could it have
the disappointment in the voice of report written by members of the given extra momentum to Britain’s
Margaret Bullen (née Boulton), who Bletchley Park team, titled “General efforts? Might it have changed
like other women “with nimbler Report on Tunny”, that filled in computing history? All questions we
fingers” helped with wiring and many of the missing details. will never know the answer to.

80 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Feature | Colossus

What we know for certain is that the 50th anniversary of the ENIAC in
Tommy Flowers, and others involved 1996, a ceremony Tommy Flowers
in the creation of the Colossus, never attended.
received the recognition they deserved By 2003, after what Sale described
in their lifetimes. It was only through as “over 6,000 man-days of effort”,
the effort of Randell that Flowers the replica of the first Colossus was
gained greater recognition in later life. working almost exactly as designed.
This included an honorary degree But, not content with this, the team
from Newcastle University in 1977 and decided to “upgrade” to Colossus II.
the Charles Babbage award in the late Their self-imposed deadline was
1990s, but it was only after his death in 1 June 2004, exactly 60 years after the
1998 that the accolades truly flowed. second computer became
There is now a blue plaque operational. This time, there would
commemorating the Dollis Hill be no misbehaving valves. “[On]
Research Station, while British Thursday 20th May I filmed Colossus
Telecom – the organisation that Mk 2 setting all five K wheels
inherited the Post Office’s national [psi-wheels] on the Bream cipher text
telephone duties in 1981 – created a and after editing, this video was
statue of Flowers at its research facility shown to 120 people at our
in 2013. commemoration event at the
Science Museum in London on
Colossus lives on 1st June 2004,” wrote Sale.
Colossus itself lives on in two forms. The rebuilt Colossus II
The first is a fully working recreation remains on show at the
of Colossus II, created through the National Museum of
hard work of dozens of engineers Computing, which is on the
but the dogged determination of same site as Bletchley Park
one man: Tony Sale. “In 1991, but is run separately. The
some colleagues and I started the museum also houses what it
campaign to save Bletchley Park from claims is the world’s largest
demolition by property developers,” collection of historic
he wrote. “At the same time I was
working at the Science Museum in
London restoring some early British
computers. I believed it would be
possible to rebuild Colossus, but ABOVE You can give
nobody else believed me.” the virtual Colossus
With the help of still-classified a whirl online.
documents, circuit diagrams that
engineers had illegally kept, and LEFT Colossus was
Arnold Lynch, one of the men behind rebuilt at the
the photoelectric reader, Sale first National Museum
recreated the design. Then, this time of Computing in
helped by a mix of “current and retired Bletchley at the
Post Office and radio engineers”, they turn of the century.
built a limited version of the first
Colossus – switching it on in time for

BELOW The Colossus replica is looked

after by a team of dedicated volunteers
at Bletchley Park.

computers and, unlike in most

museums, visitors are encouraged to
get hands-on with them. The Buy the
Colossus is very much “look but don’t
touch”, unless you’re one of the book!
volunteers who keep it going. This article is a shortened
The Colossus is also kept alive by a version of the full chapter
virtual version – visit in Tim Danton’s new book,
virtualcolossus.co.uk – where you The Computers that Made
can see a 3D representation of the the World, published by
computer and even set it to work.
the Raspberry Pi
While the original program was
Press. It’s available from
written by Tony Sale, it was Martin
Gillow who recreated it in 3D and Amazon, Waterstones
brought it up to date. and from Raspberry
All of which means that, despite Pi Press (store.
the best efforts of the British rpipress.cc).
government, the very modern
legend of Colossus lives on.

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 81

 PC Builder | The A-List

Find the best deals

on new gear at
getprice.com/au

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

Premium laptops Business laptops

Apple MacBook HP OmniBook X
Pro M4 the qualcomm CPU
One of the best laptops really delivers.
that’s ever been made. The latest Qualcomm CPU
This M4 update to the already helps create a standout laptop
brilliant MacBook Pro line is that will impress compared to
an easy recommendation, so Intel powered alternatives. The
the big question becomes do OmniBook X has been on sale
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Alienware m16 R2 Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x
A premium and affordable A beautiful machine that
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There are cheaper gaming and strong value.
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we love the balance offered by our most recent group test due
the m16 R2. Who doesn’t want a to its all-round quality – we
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lenovo.com/au store.acer.com $6,999, asus.com microsoft.com From $1,358,
microsoft.com

82 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 PC Builder | The A-List

Chromebooks
Asus Chromebook Lenovo Flex 3i Lenovo IdeaPad Duet
Plus CX34 Chromebook The Chromebook answer to Microsoft’s
A sleek and relatively affordable This isn’t the most powerful Surface tablets, this is a seriously
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ideal for budget-conscious users. the occasional bit of Netflix. a 16hrs 14mins battery life, the Duet is
$699, asus.com $367, lenovo.com/au a great choice.
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Tablets
Apple iPad Air (M3) Apple iPad Pro (M4) Samsung Galaxy
It’s hard to be too excited by this The best tablet in the world becomes Tab S9 Ultra
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but with an M3 chip inside. But when M4 chip, a gorgeous OLED screen and versatility that even the iPad Pro
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whether in 11in or 13in variants, and Pencil Pro. But it comes with an than justified by the quality
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Asus ROG Swift OLED BenQ GW2790QT LG UltraGear
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Home office printers

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and the high-capacity ink pack could
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$479, canon.com $329, brother.com

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 83

 PC Builder | The A-List

Find the best deals

on new gear at
getprice.com/au

Wireless routers
Asus RT-BE92U Netgear TP-Link Archer BE550
A premium, consumer-grade Wi-Fi 7 Nighthawk RS100 This is a brilliant mid-range choice
that doesn’t cost the Earth. The Asus Don’t be put off by the low price – the thanks to a 6GHz radio and five
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Mesh Wi-fi
TP-Link Deco XE200 TP-Link Deco X20 Asus ZenWiFi AX
There are cheaper Wi-Fi 6E meshes, The Deco X20 makes it possible to The interface and design certainly
but the XE200 wins for its superb upgrade your home network to Wi-Fi 6 aren’t the prettiest (the charcoal
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and the fact that older clients reap routers. The HomeCare functions are but if you’re after strong performance,
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a two-pack should be enough for most where lots of devices are fighting over potential, the ZenWiFi AX is a
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NAS servers
Asustor Nimbustor Synology DiskStation Qnap TS-264
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server, the updated Nimbustor 4 is elsewhere. However, access to the vast, two-bay NAS. It’s effectively the
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Nimbustor 4 AS5404T is a four-drive ecosystem will more-than justify the four-bay TS-464, and provides strong
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US$50, avast.com Free, avast.com Free, protonvpn.com surfshark.com com 1password.com

84 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 PC Builder | Market Watch

Market Watch
Mark Williams spotlights representative PCs in the market today.

PRICE $2,186 WEB tinyurl.com/APC551matrix PRICE $2,099 WEB tinyurl.com/APC551msy

DIGITAL MATRIX INTEL 14TH GEN I5 5060 MSY G5 - 58767

Sporting a best-in-class value Coming in as the cheapest PC
CPU, it’s a wonder why it’s of the roundup, this sacrifices
paired with the worst value in some CPU multithreading
class GPU. Not that it’s a bad capability to squeeze in the
pairing, but the RTX 5060 best value in class GPU. The
offers bottom-of-the-pack 16GB of VRAM offered here is
performance from the current also the largest of all the
generation, all while the offerings in the roundup. As
system costs more than the games become more
likes of the MSY PC pick. It demanding on VRAM, this
does at least offer you access stands to outlast the others
to Nvidia’s latest DLSS 4, longer term, all while offering
which you may find need for comparable performance to
more frequently than not as cooler will certainly keep the more expensive systems. for those wanting to watch
time goes on. the CPU temperatures tame The 2TB SSD also sets it their pennies while getting a
32GB of RAM and 1TB SSD as well. A perfectly fine apart from all the other good system that’ll do well for
are adequate for the price, system without any standout systems in this roundup, a few years. Highly
along with the PSU. The air features. making for a fantastic choice recommended.

SPECS CPU Intel Core i5-14400F; Cooler DeepCool AK400; Motherboard SPECS CPU AMD Ryzen 5 7600; Cooler Thermaltake UX200 SE ARGB;
Asus B760M-AYW WIFI; Graphics MSI GeForce RTX 5060 8G Ventus 2X OC; Motherboard Gigabyte B650M Aorus Elite AX; Graphics Sapphire Pure AMD
Memory 32GB XPG Lancer Blade RGB DDR5 6000MT/s CL36; Storage 1TB Radeon RX 9060 XT Gaming OC 16GB; Memory 32GB Adata XPG Lancer Blade
Klevv Cras C910 PCIe 4.0 M.2 NVMe SSD; Power Supply MSI MAG A650BN 6000MT DDR5; Storage 2TB Corsair MP600 Core XT PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe
650W; Case Cougar Archon 2 Mesh. M.2 SSD; Power Supply MSI MAG A650BNL 650W; Case Thermaltake View
170 TG ARGB.

PRICE $2,798 WEB tinyurl.com/APC551ware PRICE $2,699 WEB tinyurl.com/APC551austin

IT WAREHOUSE SNOW WHITE TI D5 AUSTIN COMPUTERS QUANTUMCROWN

This cute system goes for looks Coming in marginally
with the all-white scheme, cheaper than the IT
vertically mounted GPU and Warehouse system, this
inbuilt LCD screen in the seemingly doesn’t sacrifice
case. Compared to the MSY anything to give you a more
system, this has a slightly powerful 8-core 7700X CPU.
faster running CPU, though With Ryzen’s typically running
you’d be hard pressed to tell so cool the AIO could’ve been
the difference. The graphics dropped for an air cooler to
card steps up to the RTX allow for a 16GB version of the
5060 Ti 8GB which’ll offer RTX 5060 Ti to give it a bit
around 5% more performance more legs in the long run, or a
on average than the 9060 XT, larger SSD.
however with 8GB of VRAM The 750W PSU and As it is though, the AIO will 8-core CPU into budget,
it’ll be crippled by newer AIO cooler are the last two certainly help keep system a worthy choice.
more demanding titles and things that help justify the noise levels down and the PSU This is definitely the better
hinder any benefits from dearest price in this seems to have been what was of the two dearer PC’s this
frame generation. roundup. downgraded slightly to fit the round.

SPECS CPU AMD Ryzen 5 7600X; Cooler Thermaltake TH240 ARGB Sync SPECS CPU AMD Ryzen 7 7700X; Cooler Cooler Master Masterliquid
Snow Edition AIO; Motherboard MSI B650M WiFi DDR5; Graphics GeForce RTX ML240L V2 ARGB 240mm AIO; Motherboard Asus Prime B650M-A WIFI
5060 Ti 8GB GDDR7; Memory 32GB RGB DDR5 6400MHz; Storage 1TB Gen 4 II-CSM-SI; Graphics Asus Prime RTX5060TI 8GB; Memory 32GB Corsair
NVMe M.2 PCIe SSD; Power Supply Thermaltake Toughpower GF A3 Snow Vengeance RGB DDR5 DDR5 6400 CL36; Storage 1TB Crucial P310 1TB
750W; Case Thermaltake Ceres 300. Gen4 NVMe SSD; Power Supply FSP HP2-700 Hydro Pro 700W Case FSP
S380-BA.

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 85

 YOUR NEXT PC

BLUEPRINTS Build the best PC for your budget

BUDGET ADVANCED MID-RANGE

KEY

Budget build Mid-range build Advanced build

Pick these parts if you want to build a new, For productivity power and running every new You’re looking for the best PC on the market
well-rounded PC for a good price. game at 1080p 60fps. This recommended build and superior components. But you still want to
will see you through. spend smart.

86 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 PC Builder | Blueprints

B760M Steel Legend WiFi

EN NEW
MOTHERBOARD

Y
TR
BUDGET
Asrock $249
This board is affordable, DDR5 ready, and packed
with features, including Wi-Fi support.

BUILD
Core i5 13400F

PROCESSOR
Intel $225
With ten cores, six of them the Performance kind,
this Raptor Lake Core i5 is fantastic value and a
great all-rounder.

Enjoy 1080p gaming and Radeon RX 9060 XT 8 GB

GRAPHICS CARD
AMD $499

most tasks without breaking AMD delivers what we need for a 1080p gaming PC
at a solid price, at least until even more budget
GPU competition arrives.
the bank.
Laminar RM1 (included with CPU)

COOLER
Intel Free
There’s room for an upgrade here, but on a budget
the included CPU cooler will work just fine.

Fury Beast 16 GB (2x 8 GB)

EN NEW
MEMORY

Y
TR
Kingston $112
We’ve made the switch to DDR5 here, as DDR4 is a
bit old fashioned in 2025 and cheap kits are
plentiful.

Pure Power 12 750W

POWER SUPPLY

Be Quiet! $179
This 750W power supply gives you a decent dose of
headroom for some future upgrades, from a
trusted manufacturer.

SN7100 1 TB
SSD

Western Digital $139

It’s time to ditch SATA and go for an NVMe drive,
even for a budget PC. You’ll appreciate the extra
speed and fast boot times.

NX200M
CASE

Antec $65
This Antec will let your components breathe and
has space for further expansion and cooling.

Gaming 27G4
EN NEW
DISPLAY

Y
TR

AOC $164
AOC make some surprisingly cheap and
well-specced little gaming monitors, like this
27in 180Hz 1080p display.

C3 Pro Wired
KEYBOARD

Keychron $59
It’s actually mind blowing what you can pick up for
this little cash: a USB mechanical board that looks
lovely.

G305 Lightspeed
MOUSE

Logitech $69
Even on a budget you can still grab a fantastic,
ultra-rapid wireless squeaker like this one here.

T O TA L HS55 Stereo
HEADSET

Corsair $59

$1,838 CorsaIr’s budget wired cans are comfy and have a

surprisingly excellent microphone for the money.

MM100
MOUSE PAD

Corsair $19
A simple black rectangle that can make a world of
difference over no-name models, and it’s almost as
cheap, too.

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 87

 PC Builder | Blueprints

TUF Gaming B650-E

MOTHERBOARD
MID-RANGE
Asus $299
A reliable motherboard with plenty of frills,
including Wi-Fi 6E, 2.5Gb Ethernet, PCIe 5.0 for the
SSD and USB-C on the back.

BUILD
Ryzen 7 7700X

PROCESSOR
AMD $529
For the longevity offered by the AM5 socket, we’re
going for AMD’s excellent eight-core Ryzen 7.

Our recommended build RTX 5060 Ti 16GB

GRAPHICS CARD
NVIDIA $800

for solid productivity and playing Nvidia’s RTX 50-series cards have been hard to
find for good prices, but this one’s widely available,
punchy and affordable.
the latest games.
Peerless Assassin 120 SE

COOLER
Thermaltake $55
It’s a big beast, but it brings cooling performance
to the table that’s undeniably impressive.

XPower Storm RGB DDR5 6000MT/s

MEMORY Silicon Power $165
A sleek RGB DDR5 kit that gives solid performance
for the price, running at 6000MT/s, which is perfect
for the CPU in this build.

Pure Power 12 M 750W

POWER SUPPLY

Be Quiet! $179
This larger Be Quiet! PSU offers a stable platform
with PCIe 5.0 connectivity. At 750W, there’s room
for a GPU upgrade too.

NM790 1TB
SSD

Lexar $119
The Lexar proves you can, sometimes, have it all:
blazing speeds, cool operation and a great price.

H7
CASE

Nzxt $179
It’s very clever of Nzxt to design such an easy PC
case to build into, and make it look so gorgeous
too.

MPG 275CQRXF
DISPLAY

MSI $479
The price of this MSI, considering the
1440p resolution, curve and 240Hz refresh rate, is
quite something.

K855 Wireless TKL

KEYBOARD

Logitech $119
You could spend more for a full-size keyboard, but
this mechanical Logitech will certainly suffice for
most people.

DeathAdder V2 X Hyperspeed
MOUSE

Razer $59
The regular V2 is great if you can find one, but this
version delivers impeccable gaming performance

T O TA L
for less.

Cloud Alpha
HEADSET

HyperX $140

$3,083 We’re still not over the awesome audio quality and
excellent comfort of the HyperX Cloud Alpha.

G440
MOUSE PAD

Logitech $27
This low-friction hard-top mouse pad with minimal
branding offers the smoothest of glides for a
reasonable price.

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 PC Builder | Blueprints

MAG X870E Tomahawk

MOTHERBOARD
ADVANCED
MSU $569
With support for four M.2 drives, huge amounts of
DDR5, Wi-Fi 7 and more, this mega mobo is
specced to the hilt.

BUILD
Ryzen 7 9800X3D

PROCESSOR
AMD $889
The top-tier Zen 5 X3D models will have more
cores, but for gaming and most uses this is the
bee’s knees.

Go above and beyond with GeForce RTX 5080

GRAPHICS CARD
Nvidia $2,500
The RTX 5090 is ridiculously expensive, so we’re
a PC powerful enough to recommending the RTX 5080 instead, but if you
can afford a 5090 go for it.
tackle anything.
Galahad II Trinity 360

COOLER
Lian Li $249
Lian Li’s Galahad is all about pure liquid cooling
performance and it delivers this flawlessly.

Trident Z5 RGB (2x16GB) 6000MT/s

MEMORY G.Skill $159
This is a new memory standard for a new era of
memory speed. DDR5 is blisteringly and
fantastically quick.

Prime PX-1300
POWER SUPPLY

Seasonic $499
This PC is a thirsty beast, so you’d better give it a
serious power supply – and this one’s similarly
monstrous.

NM790 4 TB
BOOT DRIVE

Lexar $368
With 4TB of storage, it’s going to take one seriously
big Steam library to get anywhere close to filling
this drive up.

Firefly V2 Pro
MOUSE PAD

Razer $169
Do you need an RGB mouse mat? If it
makes you feel any better it’s excellent
for flick shots.

5000D
CASE

Corsair $189
We swear this stylish mid-tower is bigger
on the inside. It’s the PC equivalent of
the TARDIS.

ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM

DISPLAY

Asus $2,229
You could be much more sensible on your screen
than this. For this build, however, we only want the
best.

Corsair Vanguard Pro 96

KEYBOARD

Corsair $349
An outstanding typing experience, and packed with
features that would make even the most exacting

T O TA L
gamer happy.

DeathAdder V4 Pro
MOUSE

Razer $299

$ 8 , 9 17
The latest version of the DeathAdder isn’t cheap,
but when it comes to performance it’s sensational.

Maxwell
HEADSET

Audeze $499
Planar magnetic drivers make this headset pure
heaven for audio fans. And everyone else, to be
honest.

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 89

WORKSHOPS & TIPS Easy-to-follow workshops and expert tips

WORKSHOPS IN THIS ISSUE

90 93 94 95 96 97 98 100
Tidy your messy What’s the fuss Secret settings AI Tips: Search Add your own Make Office Master Edit messages
desktop with about: Adaptive and the best the web using words to Better notifications you send from
Fences Energy Saver extensions an image Voice Access on Mac Android to
iPhone

Tidy your messy desktop with Fences.

Tame the constant interruptions.

IT WILL TAKE Everyone knows how tough it can be to focus on allow anything to be saved to the desktop, but
30 minutes an important job when you have a lot on your Windows and macOS do. Many of us will save files
YOU’LL NEED mind. It can be even worse when you’re trying to on the desktop temporarily, fully intending to delete
Fences 6 focus in an untidy, cluttered environment. It’s or reorganise them when we have time. Frequently,
not because we’re weak-willed, either: it’s a however, we never do have enough time, the files
scientific fact. stay where they are, and the mess can start to
In a 2011 study (tinyurl.com/APC551focus), snowball.
researchers at Princeton University’s department of Here, we explain how to use Stardock’s Fences
psychology found that “multiple stimuli present in (version 6) program to keep your desktop in good
the visual field at the same time compete for neural order.
representation by mutually suppressing their
evoked activity throughout the visual cortex”. Or, in 1 START A FREE TRIAL OF FENCES
layman’s terms, with so many things competing for Should the desktop really be out of bounds entirely?
your attention, you don’t know what to focus on It’s such a useful space – and one that you’ll see
first. dozens of times every time you use your computer.
There is a counter-argument to this – that an Wouldn’t it be great if you could use it to both
untidy environment can actually encourage temporarily store the files you immediately need to
creativity (so-called ‘creative chaos’) and, again, open, and as a hub through which you could quickly
studies back it up. One, published in 2013 (tinyurl. access folders and keep your most frequently used
com/APC551chaos), found that people who spent programs close at hand without pinning them to the
time in a disorderly room were more creative than taskbar?
people who spent time in an orderly room. That’s probably what the developers of Fences – US
Your own opinion is likely to be coloured by your firm Stardock – asked themselves, before going on to
personal experiences, but the fact remains that it’s develop a program that does just that. To give it a try,
usually easier and quicker to find the files you need go to tinyurl.com/APC551fences and click the blue
on a tidy, organised computer than it is on one where Try Free button (see screenshot left). When the file
Click the ‘Try
your data is scattered here, there and everywhere. has downloaded, launch ‘Fences6-fs-setup.exe’ from
Free’ button
to use Fences The trouble is, many modern operating systems your Downloads folder, then follow the instructions.
on a 30-day indulge our bad habits. Gnome, the graphical When installation has completed and Fences 6
trial. environment used on many Linux distros, doesn’t automatically launches, click ‘Start 30 Day Trial’ and
you can try it before spending any money.
Enter your email address and Stardock will send
you a message. Click the ‘Activate 30-Day Trial’
button that it contains to verify that your email
address is correct and active. This will switch you
back to Fences and enable the software. Click Finish
on the installer to complete the process.
When you clicked the link you’ll have been opted
into Stardock’s email subscriptions for special
offers, promotions and information about Fences 6.
If you want to opt out of these immediately, click the
Manage Email Subscriptions link on the page that
will already be open in your browser and untick the
three boxes on the following page. When you’ve

90 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Help Station | Desktop

done so, click Submit. After 30 days you’ll

need to decide whether Fences is worth
paying for. We think its $18 annual HOW I KEEP MY DESKTOP TIDY
subscription is superb value, as indeed is I tend not to save files to my desktop but I do have a bad
the $51.99 for a permanent licence. Those habit of storing things I’m working on in the Downloads
prices are for just one machine. To install folder – purely because when I’ve downloaded a file and
on up to five, you’ll need to pay $35 a year need to edit it I know where I’ll find it. Unfortunately, I’m
or $86.99 for a permanent licence – for now also saving files I’ve created from scratch there,
details visit tinyurl.com/ intending to reorganise them “when I have time”. So far,
APC551buyfences. that “time” has yet to arrive. Perhaps with some help
A decent free option is Portals from Fences I can start saving on the desktop when a file
(https://portals-app.com/), though isn’t ready to move to the appropriate library. That way, I
unsurprisingly it doesn’t have as many can clear out my Downloads folder when it starts to bloat
features. As with Fences, it uses defined without risking deleting any important files.
areas on your desktop as containers for Nik Rawlinson
folders, documents, photos and more.

2 DRAG FILES INTO FENCES’

PANELS panels is a container for what you might Select
Fences helps to keep your desktop otherwise dump on the desktop. You just ‘Start
using
organised by ring-fencing elements on need to put them to good use. Fences’ to
screen. These are set up in advance so Let’s start by sorting out the work with
that they don’t keep rearranging documents and other files you need to its preset
themselves as your desktop contents keep. Naturally, if any can be filed in the layouts.
change. You’ll have already come across dedicated Windows libraries for
the concept of preset areas in Windows’ Documents, Pictures, Videos and so on –
snap windows, where you can drag active which you’ll find in the File Explorer
program windows to the edges or corners sidebar – you should move them there. If
of the screen. They then neatly arrange any can be deleted, drag them to the
themselves into preset shapes. recycle bin. Everything else, which you’re
Fences comes with several preset still working with and want to keep close
layouts, but you can create your own. The at hand, drag into the ‘Files & Details tab 2 , we can scroll down to the
launch screen therefore asks what you’d Documents’ panel. metadata and see that the ‘File location’
like to do first: start using Fences with When you drop a file here, it disappears is C:\Users\nik\Desktop 3 . So, the file
its default layouts or define your own from the cluster of icons on your desktop. hasn’t been removed from the desktop;
areas from scratch. For the moment, to So, where has it gone? The answer is quite it’s just been hidden now that we’ve filed
familiarise yourself with how it works, simple: nowhere. it appropriately.
click ‘Start using Fences’ (see screenshot In our screenshot below we’ve dragged This is important for two reasons.
above right). This lets you work with the four images into the ‘Files & Documents’ First, it means the file is still where we
preset layouts. area 1 . By right-clicking one (IMG_9163), expect to find it if we open the Desktop
You might not immediately think then clicking Properties, followed by the folder in File Explorer. To verify this for
things have improved. Any mess that
was on your desktop is still there, and it
will have been joined by floating panels “Fences helps to keep your desktop organised by ring-fencing
for your Downloads ( 1 in our screenshot elements on screen. These are set up in advance so that
below left), Programs 2 , Folders 3 and
‘Files & Documents’ 4 . However, this is
they don’t keep rearranging themselves as your desktop
just your starting point. Each of these contents change.”

2 2

3
4

The metadata shows us that Fences has hidden the file, but it’s still
Fences adds four preset zones to your screen. on our desktop.

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 91

 Help Station | Desktop

Untick this box and Fences will be disabled, returning your files to You can create your own fences by dragging out a rectangle on
your desktop. the desktop.

yourself, open File Explorer, click “Fences has some clever hidden features that won’t be
Desktop in the sidebar and look for
immediately obvious, but can help you make best use of
your file. It will be there, even though
it’s not actually visible on your desktop. your screen space.”
Second, it means that should you ever
uninstall Fences your files will still be locations you use most often, without blank area in the title bar of a fenced-
where you expect to find them. Any going via the Start menu or digging off section and it will roll up into itself
that have been hidden should reappear. through File Explorer. The Downloads to reveal the desktop below. Or, drag
If you want to check this, right-click folder shows your recent downloads, one fenced area on top of another to
anywhere on the desktop (not in File though you won’t be able to change their combine them. They will then be
Explorer’s Desktop folder) followed order by clicking the headings at the top. stacked, and you can switch between
by Configure Fences. Now, with These default fences are well thought them by clicking the tabs for each in
Welcome selected in the sidebar ( 1 in out to get you started and will suit most the title bar.
our screenshot above), scroll down to users. However, to add more just click To quickly hide everything, double-
the bottom of the main pane and untick and hold on the desktop, then drag out a click any blank area on your desktop,
Enable Fences 2 . Immediately, the rectangle ( 1 in our screenshot above and the icons, folders and programs
preset panels will disappear and the right). When you let go of your mouse or stored there – along with the panels
files you dragged into them will be trackpad button, click ‘Create Fence here’ managed by Fences – will disappear.
reinstated on your desktop. To set in the menu that appears 2 . Double-click again to get them back.
Fences running again simply re-tick You can also quickly reveal your
the box. 4 MASTER FENCES’ HIDDEN fences, but not the desktop, by pressing
FEATURES Windows key+Space. When you do
3 CREATE YOUR OWN CUSTOM Fences has some clever hidden features this, the panels will pop up and sit on
PANELS that won’t be immediately obvious, but top of your active program without you
The panels for Programs and Folders let can help you make best use of your screen having to minimise the window in
you quickly go to the software and space. For example, double-click any which you’re working.

THE END RESULT

Look at the before and after images below that show a messy Windows desktop before we installed Fences, and a far more organised
environment with Fences active.
BEFORE AFTER

92 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Help Station | What’s the fuss about

What’s the fuss about...

Adaptive Energy Saver

You can’t take a dim view of Microsoft’s new tool for boosting battery life.

What is it?
A new tool in Windows 11 that prolongs
your laptop’s battery life without
dimming the screen. This makes it
better than the current Energy Saver in 1
Windows (build 24H2), which isn’t
adaptive and so is a much cruder tool.

Can you explain what

adaptive means?
Yes. In technology, it describes a feature 3

that automatically adapts to changing

conditions and works differently to cope
with them, without you having to alter
any settings. It’s also sometimes called
‘dynamic’, such as ‘high dynamic range’
in TVs that changes brightness and
contrast scene by scene.

And what kind of changing

conditions would affect my 2

laptop’s power?
It depends on how hard your processor
and graphics card are working on
different tasks. For example, if you’re You can control your laptop’s power use in Energy Saver, but it’s a crude tool.
browsing the web or writing emails, your
laptop doesn’t need full processing “If you’re browsing the web or writing emails, your laptop doesn’t
power, so Adaptive Energy Saver scales
back power to the processor and graphics need full processing power, so Adaptive Energy Saver scales
card to save battery. But if you start back power to the processor and graphics card to save battery.
playing a game or editing videos it
automatically increases power again to
But if you start playing a game or editing videos it automatically
boost your performance. Once you’ve increases power again to boost your performance.”
enabled Adaptive Energy Saver it’ll work
in the background. You don’t need to turn What if you don’t lower words to the Voice Access dictionary .
on any other settings. screen brightness? You’ll find it in the ‘Power & battery’
Then Energy Saver will still aim to section of Settings mentioned above.
But you do if you’re using prolong your laptop’s battery but only by We can’t see any reason why it won’t
the existing Energy Saver? reducing its resources, not by dimming be added to the full version of
Yes. You’ll find this by opening Settings its screen. This saves more battery life Windows soon.
(press Windows key+I), then clicking than dimming only. These controls are
System followed by ‘Power & battery’ and useful, but they’re rather blunt – either Does it use AI to work?
opening the ‘Energy saver’ menu. You on or off. Adaptive Energy Saver is more No, though it responds intelligently to
can then set a battery percentage at sophisticated, controlling your power in changing conditions just as some AI
which Energy Saver will kick in ( 1 in our the background to maximise battery life. tools do. But it does this by analysing
screenshot right – it’s 20 per cent by You don’t need to set a battery percentage what you’re doing on your laptop, not
default). level for it to start working. Once you’ve using complex AI algorithms or
turned it on, it’ll work continuously. machine-learning software.
And what happens then?
It depends whether you’ve turned on the Can I use Adaptive Energy So why has it taken Microsoft
‘Lower screen brightness when using Saver now? so long to add it to Windows?
energy saver’ slider 2 . If so, Windows Only if you’re a Windows Insider on Because the operating system runs on a
will dim your screen to preserve battery. the Canary channel, which is the wide variety of machines with countless
You can see how dark this goes by also earliest preview build of the operating different hardware and drivers. It’s been
turning on the ‘Always use energy saver’ system, where Microsoft tests its most hard to find a way to control laptop power
slider 3 . It will also cut resources being experimental features. It was part of across all these setups without causing
used by your laptop. build 27898, released on 11 July, along problems. There’s nothing adaptive or
with other tools like adding your own dynamic about a crashed laptop.

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 93

 Help Station | Browser Tips

Browser tips
Secret settings and best extensions.

Firefox
Add more search engines to Firefox
Firefox 140, released at the end keyword shortcut. This will let you search
of June, lets you expand the browser’s the site by typing @ then the keyword into
selection of search engines. The five built-in Firefox’s address bar – for example @
2
1 options are Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, amazon. Click ‘Add Engine’ to save the
eBay and Wikipedia, but you can now add search engine to the browser.
any website that has its own search tool. To change your default search engine,
To add a search engine, such as Amazon, click the browser’s three-line menu button
YouTube or the AI-powered Perplexity, and choose Settings then Search. Scroll
OPERA simply right-click its search box and choose down to Search Shortcuts to see the full list
Translate foreign-language Add Search Engine (see screenshot below). of search engines and their respective
web pages Enter its name and optionally specify a keywords.
Opera 120, released at the beginning of July,
adds a feature you may have assumed it
already had: built-in translation. Previously,
if you wanted to translate foreign-language
web pages in the browser you needed to
install an add-on such as Google Translate.
When Opera detects foreign-language
content, it should now automatically offer to
translate the page into English. You can also
translate manually by clicking the new
Translate icon on the toolbar ( 1 in our
screenshot below) then the purple Translate
button 2 .
Opera can translate more than 40
languages into English, including German,
French, Spanish, Greek and Chinese. It
currently only translates entire pages, not
specific sections of text you select.

BRAVE
Open PWAs in tabbed windows
Brave has added the useful option to open
progressive web apps (PWAs) in tabbed apps) and choose ‘App settings’. Select ‘Open
windows. This lets you switch between in tabbed window’ and when you next click
multiple pages of a website you’ve installed the app, it will open with tabs. Right-click a
as a PWA, like you do with sites in the main link within the PWA and choose ‘Open link
browser. So, for example, you can play in new [PWA name] tab’ (see screenshot
YouTube videos in new tabs without below left).
navigating away from your search results. Other sites that support PWAs include
To open a PWA in a tabbed window, Google Drive, Outlook and Proton Mail.
right-click it on Brave’s Apps page (brave:// Click the Install button in Brave’s address
bar to install them as apps.

CHROMIUM
Make ads less distracting
A new extension called GrayscaleAdz its toolbar button and adjusting the B&W
(tinyurl.com/APC551gray) makes adverts Intensity sliders (see screenshot above), and
on web pages less annoying without whitelist sites to preserve their ad colour.
blocking them. It turns colourful, GrayscaleAdz is an interesting idea, and
distracting ads black and white so you can means sites aren’t deprived of essential
focus on the main content. advertising revenue, but it doesn’t always
The extension also applies its greyscale work. On Mail Online, for example, it made
filter to pop-ups and ads in YouTube videos. the whole homepage monochrome.
You can customise its intensity by clicking

94 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Help Station | AI Tips

AI tips
Expert tips for a better experience.

ChatGPT
Search the web using an image
ChatGPT has added the option to search the connected with Google Drive and OneDrive,
web using images – commonly referred to as so you can add photos and other files from
a reverse-image search. This differs from its those services. Click ‘Add from apps’ and
standard image-analysis feature, which choose ‘Connect Google Drive’ or ‘Connect
merely describes the content of a picture. Microsoft OneDrive’ 2 .
With the new option, you don’t even need
to type a prompt. Just click the
Tools button below the message
box, select ‘Search the web’
COPILOT then click the plus-sign button 1

Find and analyse files and choose ‘Add photos and

on your PC files’ ( 1 in our screenshot).
The Copilot app for Windows 10 and 11 Upload an image from your 2

can now search for files stored on your computer and ChatGPT will
PC, saving you having to use the standard search the web for information
Windows Search tool. You can add files it about its subject, and cite its
finds to your chats and ask Copilot sources so you can visit those
questions about them. sites for further details. It can
To activate this handy new feature, click also find different shots of the
the Account icon in the bottom-left corner same subject.
of the Copilot app and choose Settings. ChatGPT can now be
Switch on the options ‘File search’ and ‘File
read’.
Ask Copilot to find a file and it will display
a list of matching results. Click ‘Add to see them – or disable Assist
conversation’ (see screenshot above) to add a altogether.
file to your chat, ask questions about its On the DuckDuckGo website,
content and get Copilot to edit the text. click the three-line menu button
Copilot can find files in most formats and in the top-right corner and
‘read’ documents in DOCX, XLSX, TXT and choose Settings, then AI
PDF format. Double-click a result to open Features. Click the dropdown
that file in its default program. menu next to Assist and select
Sometimes, Often or Never to
DUCKDUCKGO specify how frequently AI-
Control the AI answers assisted answers appear. Choose
in your search results ‘On demand’ (see screenshot
Like Google, DuckDuckGo now includes below) to only reveal them when
AI-generated answers in its search you click the Assist button below
results through its Assist feature. Unlike the search box. Click ‘Save and
Google, it lets you control how often you exit’ to confirm.
You can apply
the same setting to Assist in of. Previously, it could suggest
DuckDuckGo’s app for questions for a quiz, but the new
Android (tinyurl.com/ option goes further by creating
APC551duck) and iOS interactive quizzes, complete with
(tinyurl.com/ hints and explanations for right and
APC551duckio). wrong answers.
Google says the feature can help
GEMINI students prepare for exams, but it’s
Generate interactive equally useful for testing your
quizzes knowledge of a given subject. Just tell
Gemini has introduced an Gemini the topic (see screenshot above)
interesting feature that and it will generate a 10-question,
generates custom quizzes multiple choice quiz you can take on its
on any topic you can think website or in its mobile apps.

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 95

 Help Station | Windows

Make Windows better

Expert tips for a better experience.

1 Windows 11
Choose where screen recordings are saved to
2
1

WINDOWS 10 & 11 2

Hide PowerToys’
system-tray icon
When you launch PowerToys it places an
icon in your system tray. Version 0.92,
released in early July, lets you remove this
icon. Open PowerToys then click General
3
at the top left ( 1 in our screenshot below).
Now, on the right, scroll down to the
‘Appearance & behavior’ section and turn
off the ‘Show system tray icon’ slider 2 .

WINDOWS 11 insider
Add your own words to
Voice Access By default, screen recordings captured by Settings. Scroll down to the ‘Screen
If you use Windows 11’s Voice Access to Snipping Tool are saved in the folder C:\ recording’ section and click ‘Change’ under
control your PC with your voice, you can Users\username\Videos\Screen ‘Screen recordings are saved to’ ( 1 in our
now teach it words it doesn’t recognise, Recordings. You can change this to another screenshot) and navigate to the folder you
like your name, address or favourite folder in Snipping Tool’s settings. want to save them to 2 . Click ‘Select
software – though you’ll need to be Search for, then open Snipping Tool then Folder’ 3 to confirm.
running Windows 11 Preview build 26120. click the three dots top right followed by
First, press Windows key+I to open
Settings, then click Accessibility followed
by Speech, and make sure the Voice
Access slider is on ( 1 in our screenshot WINDOWS 10 & 11 this shortcut is a fast, low-impact fix, not
below). You can also turn Voice Access on Restart your graphics driver a permanent solution. If problems
and off by pressing Windows key+Ctrl+S. to fix problems persist you might need to update or
Now activate your microphone and say If your screen repeatedly flickers or goes reinstall your graphics drivers. To do
“add to vocabulary”. A box will appear black, or your graphics constantly this, type and open Device Manager then
where you can type the word you want it freeze, try restarting your graphics click ‘Display adaptors’ followed by
to recognise 2 . Click Add to confirm. You driver without having to reboot your PC. ‘Update driver’ (see screenshot below).
can also click the Settings cog top right Press Windows key+Ctrl+Shift+B. Your You can also look for an update on the
then select ‘Add to vocabulary’ and type screen will briefly flicker, then recover. manufacturer’s website.
your word. You should hear a beep too. However,

96 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Help Station | Office

Make Office better

Expert tips for a better experience.
2 1

3
3

LIBREOFFICE WRITER columns. You can do this by inserting dragging the email on to the Tasks icon on
Change the colour of column breaks. They move everything the left (this is a tick inside a clipboard).
non-printing characters after the break to the top of the next However, in Outlook.com this icon is
LibreOffice 25.2, released in February, lets column. This prevents awkward gaps placed at the top right and it’s called My Day.
you change the colour of non-printing from ruining the flow, and stops headings Click it to open the right-hand panel then
characters in Writer documents. These and images from being stranded at the select To Do. Now drag and drop an email
are formatting characters like a dot to bottom of a column. you want to turn into a task into this panel.
denote a space; pilcrow (¶) to mark a new Place your cursor at the start of the line You’ll see options to add it as an event or a
paragraph; and –› to indicate where you’ve where you want the break. Now click the task – choose the latter.
pressed the Tab key. Layout tab at the top, then open the Breaks All your tasks will be listed under the To Do
By default these appear as grey or light menu ( 1 in our screenshot below) and heading ( 1 in our screenshot above). Tick
blue, which can make them hard to spot. To select Column 2 . If you want to see where ones you’ve completed and they’ll appear
change the colour, click Tools, Options, then breaks are in your document, click the momentarily crossed out 2 before
expand LibreOffice on the left. Now click pilcrow (¶) Show/Hide button in the Home disappearing. There’s a link to see recently
Appearance ( 1 in our screenshot above) tab’s Paragraph section. completed tasks at the bottom 3 .
and in the Items dropdown menu choose
‘Writer Non-printable characters’ 2 . Now MICROSOFT OUTLOOK.COM
pick a colour in the dropdown menu 3 and Drag and drop
click OK at the bottom. We chose ‘Dark Red emails so they
1’, and our characters changed colour become tasks
accordingly 4 . In Outlook you can turn
emails into tasks, which
1
MICROSOFT WORD are like digital reminders
Add column breaks to for actions you need to
keep your documents neat complete – such as paying a
When working with multi-column bill or confirming a
documents like newsletters, brochures booking. In the desktop 2

and flyers it’s important to control exactly versions of Outlook the

where your text and images flow between fastest way to do this is by

OnlyOffice
Make spreadsheets automatically
update linked data
You can keep a spreadsheet relevant by manually updating the ‘linked’ data it
shows. This is data that’s pulled from other sources, such as a budget
1
spreadsheet that gets spending details from separate files for groceries,
utilities, entertainment and so on.
Rather than manually updating this data, you can set your spreadsheet to do 2

so automatically – without you having to do anything. OnlyOffice added this

option in version 8.3, released in January. Open your spreadsheet, then click
the Data tab at the top followed by External Links ( 1 in our screenshot). Now
tick ‘Automatically update data from the linked sources’ 2 , then click Close.

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 97

 Help Station | Mac

Master notifications on Mac

Take back control of the notifications you receive.

IT WILL TAKE Notifications are a blessing and a curse. There are some pre-emptive measures you can
30 minutes They can be useful in reminding you of take too. It’s easy to visit a website and accidentally
YOU WILL LEARN events and letting you know what’s going accept notifications, for example, but it’s also easy
How to get on top of on, but you can receive so many they start losing to prevent this. Just launch Safari and go to Settings
notifications their impact and quickly become annoying. > Websites > Notifications then turn off
Rather than turn them all off, however, it’s worth ‘Allow websites to ask for permission to send
YOU’LL NEED
spending some time getting on top of them. You can notifications’. Creating a Focus (System Settings >
An Apple silicon
turn off the notifications you don’t want but manage Focus) can also let you customise notifications for
Mac with macOS 15
or later (for Apple and control those you do so that they work more set time periods. You can quickly put yourself back
Intelligence effectively. You can even get Apple Intelligence to in control.
features) help you. David Crookes

How to Determine how your notifications appear

1 Get a glimpse 2 Secure lock screen 3 Increase security

Go to Apple menu > System Settings > If you select When Unlocked, you’ll You can also use a toggle to prevent
Notifications. Click the options next to Show ensure previews won’t appear on a locked notifications appearing when a Mac is
previews and decide whether or not Mac’s screen. But preview-less sleeping. If you turn off notifications when a
notifications should display a summary Notifications will still appear. To prevent Mac’s display is being mirrored or shared,
(Always/When Unlocked) or just display the this, turn off ‘Allow notifications when you can prevent accidental exposure of
app’s name (Never). the screen is locked’. your alerts.

98 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Help Station | Mac

How to Manage notifications for apps and websites

1 Manage your apps 2 Time-sensitive alerts 3 Mirror iPhone notifications

You can customise individual app/website See an option to ‘Allow time-sensitive If you use the iPhone Mirroring app, then
notifications. Select an app or site under alerts’ or ‘Allow critical alerts’? Activate it your Mac will start receiving your iPhone
Application Notifications and decide if you so important notifications still appear. notifications. Click ‘Allow notifications from
want alerts and how they should appear. Have you set up a Focus (which can iPhone’ to turn this off or to determine
Alerts can play sounds or display badges on silence notifications)? Be sure to turn on which notifications you want.
Dock icons. ‘Time-sensitive notifications’.

“You can turn off the notifications you don’t want but manage and control those you do so
that they work more effectively. You can even get Apple Intelligence to help you.”

How to Customise the Notification Centre

1 Determine what appears 2 Group your notifications 3 Edit widgets

The Notification Centre is accessed by To make them easier to manage, It’s worth mentioning that you can
clicking the clock in the menu bar. Decide notifications can be grouped to appear customise widgets in the Notification
which notifications appear here by clicking as a series of single, collapsed entries. Centre. Launch it, click Edit Widgets and
the name of an app under Application Choose Automatic and organise them search. Drag those you like the look of to
Notifications and toggling Show In by app, thread or topic or By Application the Notification Centre. Click ‘–’ next to
Notification Centre on or off. to only organise them by app. a widget to remove it.

Use Apple Intelligence

Summarise notifications and reduce interruptions
Bombarded by notifications from particular apps but still want a heads-up? Go to
System Settings > Notifications > Summarise Notifications. Turn on Summarise
Notifications for an app and you’ll reduce the number of notifications – instead
seeing Apple Intelligence-powered highlights of multiple alerts. Apple Intelligence
can also be used to allow only priority notifications to interrupt you. Go to System
Settings > Focus > Reduce Interruptions and set a schedule. You can make
exceptions by allowing alerts from certain people and apps.

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 99

 Help Station | Mobile Devices

Phone & tablet tips

Brilliant things to do on your device.

1
ANDROID & iOS your mobile network.
EDIT MESSAGES YOU SEND FROM A handy new feature in the Google
ANDROID TO IPHONE Messages app for Android (tinyurl.com/
When Apple released iOS 18 a year ago, it APC551rcs) lets you edit the messages you
finally added support for RCS to its send to iPhone-owning friends and family,
Messages app. This means Android and as you already can to other Android users.
iPhone users can now send each other Long-press the message and tap the Edit
RCS messages, rather than only SMS and (pencil) button in the top toolbar ( 1 in our
2
MMS, and enjoy the benefits of RCS screenshot below left). Amend the text as
technology. These include group chats, necessary, then tap the blue tick button 2
read receipts and sharing large photos to save the updated message. You have up
and videos without being charged by to 15 minutes after sending to make your
changes.
To receive your RCS message – and the
edited version – the iPhone user must have
RCS enabled in their Messages app. To do
1 this, they should open the Settings app and
tap Apps then Messages. In the Text
Messaging section, tap RCS Messages and
switch the option on. (tinyurl.com/APC551guard) by
Sadly, although EE, O2 and Three now installing the extension uBlock Origin.
support RCS on iPhones, Vodafone and Now there’s another option because the
many MVNOs still don’t. So if you have excellent ad-blocker AdGuard has
friends on those networks, you won’t released its own extension for Edge.
be able to use the new editing feature when To install it, tap the three-line menu
you send them messages. button in Edge for Android and choose
2 Extensions. Swipe down to AdGuard
ANDROID AdBlocker and tap Get ( 1 in our
BLOCK ADS IN EDGE USING screenshot above). Press ‘Add’ to install the
ADGUARD extension in the mobile browser.
Blocking ads in Chrome is now more Edge will open a new tab where you can
difficult than it used to be, but is not configure AdGuard’s settings. It blocks ads
impossible. But you can easily block ads automatically, but you can also set it to
in Microsoft’s Edge browser for Android block trackers, social-media widgets,

Best new apps What you should install this month

LUCK BY CHANCE KOBO BOOKS ONLYOFFICE DOCUMENTS
Free Free* Free
Android tinyurl.com/APC551luck Android tinyurl.com/APC551kobo Android tinyurl.com/APC551ocr
This quirky but useful app provides multiple iOS tinyurl.com/APC551koboio iOS tinyurl.com/APC551ocrio
ways to help you make decisions. You can Kobo has redesigned its app and added OnlyOffice has updated the mobile version
flip a virtual coin, roll a dice or get a yes/no/ several useful features for ebook lovers. You of its free office suite with OCR support.
maybe answer to the can now swipe from page This lets you extract text
question you’re to page using your from screenshots and
considering. ‘Luck by thumb; automatically documents you scan
Chance’ can also sync your bookmarks, with your camera and
generate passwords, notes and highlights with insert it in documents.
lottery numbers and your Kobo e-reader; and Other additions include
*Contains in-app purchases

compliments, and read and listen to free new drawing tools in the
includes fun games such ebook and audiobook spreadsheet and
as ‘Rock, paper, samples without signing presentation editors and
scissors’. into a Kobo account. support for
markdown.

100 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Help Station | Mobile Devices

Best apps for... Lifestyle-related reminders

BIN COLLECTION MYTHERAPY PILL WATER REMINDER

REMINDER REMINDER Free*
Free Free* Android tinyurl.com/APC551drink
iOS tinyurl.com/APC551bin Android tinyurl.com/APC551pill This app ensures you drink enough water
Ensure you never miss a bin day using this iOS tinyurl.com/APC551pillio every day. Enter a few details about yourself
simple app. Add a bin’s details and colour MyTherapy reminds you to take your and it will generate a hydration plan and
(such as paper recycling, blue), the next medication at a scheduled time every day. remind you when to drink your glass, bottle
collection date and the frequency. Schedule You can add details manually or scan or jug of water. Confirm you’ve done so and
reminders for the night before and barcodes, specify the frequency and track your progress over time. For iOS, try
same-day morning to ensure you put your dosage, and get alerts when you need to an app with the same name from another
bins out in time. For Android, try the similar order a repeat prescription. The app can developer: tinyurl.com/APC551drinkio.
Bin Reminder (tinyurl.com/APC551bina). also remind you about blood-pressure and Best for: Hydration reminders
Best for: Bin-day reminders blood-sugar readings, and medical
appointments.
Best for: Medication reminders

phishing and malicious or Locked Folder. ‘Add to’

websites, and sponsored links replaces the Google Lens
in search results. 1
button, which has been moved
To see how many ads the to the three-dot menu in the 2
extension has blocked, tap top-right corner.
Edge’s three-line menu 2 This menu also includes the
and choose Extensions, then options Download, Cast and
AdGuard AdBlocker. You can Create. Tap the latter to create a
1
allow ads on specific sites by collage, cinematic video, photo
pressing the green slider 2 to print or canvas print featuring
turn it red and temporarily the current photo.
disable protection. Previously, Google Photos
always displayed pictures on a
iOS black background, but it will now use a
MANAGE PHOTOS IN GOOGLE white one if you have the Light theme The position of the Create button, in
PHOTOS MORE EASILY enabled. the bottom-right corner of the app’s
Google has redesigned its popular Photos interface ( 1 in our screenshot above),
app. This makes several improvements ANDROID & iOS makes it easy to tap by accident when
to the app’s interface, without losing its HIDE THE CREATE BUTTON accessing your Spotify music library. It’s
simplicity. IN SPOTIFY not even essential for creating playlists,
When you view a picture in Google Spotify has updated its app for Android because its features are also available by
Photos, it now shows the date, time and (tinyurl.com/APC551spot) and iOS pressing the plus-sign button in the
location the shot was taken at the top of (tinyurl.com/APC551spotio) to let you top-right corner of your library. To
your screen ( 1 in our screenshot above). disable one of its most unpopular remove the Create button, tap your
This is much more convenient than having features: the Create button. Added to the profile picture and choose ‘Settings and
to swipe up on the image to see this Spotify toolbar last year, this gives you privacy’ then ‘Content and display’. In the
information. access to options including collaborative ‘Display preferences’ section, switch off
The row of options along the bottom playlists, AI playlists and ‘jams’ ‘Create button’ 2 . The feature will
now includes an ‘Add to’ button 2 , (listening sessions with other people), instantly disappear and Spotify’s toolbar
which lets you add the photo to a new or but many Spotify users find it more will be restored to its traditional
existing album, or move it to your Archive annoying than useful. three-button appearance.

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 101

 DOWNTIME News | Opinion | Development | Reviews

Then again, it’s not like CoD

resisted going back to
Russian baddies for long.

No Russians
Call of Duty’s director ditched enemy nations so he could visit without bodyguards.
FRASER BROWN

Call of Duty has been around the with some journalists from the UK so I was a little worried about that
block a few times, and across the and I get a call. They say, ‘We need aspect. And so I didn’t go.”
years it’s turned a lot of foreign you to go to Russia tomorrow and do
countries into videogame some more press.’ And by then, I was DISCOMFORT
enemies. In contemporary or really tired. I’m like, ‘Do you know That discomfort led to Schofield
near-future games, though, that who the enemies are in Modern making a decision right there and
can be problematic, as former Warfare 3?’ They’re like, ‘Don’t worry, then. “I came back to the
Call of Duty director Glen we’ll have a bodyguard with you.’ And journalists. I was sat down having
Schofield realised when he was I’m like, ‘I don’t feel any better.’ And dinner with them, and I said, ‘OK,
promoting the first incarnation you know what, my next game is
of Modern Warfare 3. not going to have a country as the

“I was doing 30 days of press for

PMCS BECAME enemy. Because I want to go to
those countries.’ I didn’t know what
Modern Warfare 3,” he tells us ADVANCED I was going to do, but I had said it
during a wide-ranging chat about
his history with the series. “I’m all
WARFARE’S out loud, and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m
going to do that, because I don’t
over the world, and the last stop is VILLAINS want to have this problem
in the UK, and I’m having dinner anymore.’ And that’s how the PMC

102 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Downtime | News

Pinball wizard Recharge PT Plz

SPEED BALL LOST MY MIND KAMIYA THROWS DOWN

You remember that pinball REPO’s upcoming update We all wish we could’ve seen more
game in Windows, with the will add the ability to speak to PT – Hideo Kojima’s Silent Hills
little space guy? According to your friends or distract any project that died when he split up
its programmer, Dave monsters threatening your friends with Konami. That includes
Plummer, it had a bug that even after you’ve lost your head. Bayonetta director Hideki Kamiya,
would see it run as fast as Be warned though, your spare who said if Kojima never gets to
possible. On anything battery depletes quickly, so your make a follow-up to his ‘Playable
modern, it would run “at, like, cry for help or leap of faith will Teaser’, “maybe I’ll do it myself”.
5,000 frames per second”. need to be short and sweet.

Highs & Lows

HIGHS
Todd Forbid
The Lusty Argonian Maid only got into
Elder Scrolls because its writer snuck it
past Todd Howard.

Culture Vulture
Witcher creator Andrzej Sapkowski got
a gold Polish culture medal.

Skong Big
A Silksong gumshoe pixel counted both
games to compare the size of their
worlds, and Pharloom looks twice as big
as Hallownest.

started. I started thinking about private military

companies.”
Not Proud
RuneScape boss says he killed new
TOP: Advanced So a corporate megalomaniac and PMCs became Pride events to keep things going “as
Warfare ditched
nationstates
Advanced Warfare’s villains. Which is safer. Nobody really apolitically as possible”.
for PMCs. likes them. But this decision wasn’t solely born out of a
desire to visit foreign countries without the need for Ninten(please)don’t
ABOVE: Schofield A videogame IP lawyer says Nintendo’s
private security. Schofield was also reckoning with
was worried foreign latest patents on Pokémon mechanics
countries might jingoism, colonialism and American interventionism
take issue. – things that have been historically presented without “should not have happened, full stop”.
much criticism in big American action games.
Zhongwen Bu Hao
Silksong sank to Mostly Negative Steam
BROKEN COUNTRY review status among Chinese gamers
“I got an MBA, I was doing that at nights, and one of my over its bad translation.
cohort was from another country, Iraq,” he recalls. “And
she and her family had to escape, and they did. Their LOWS
uncle had been arrested by Saddam Hussein,” but was let
go. “And they asked the uncle, ‘Do you want to escape
with us? We’re going to go someplace with democracy.’
And he said, ‘Democracy? I don’t need democracy. They
show up and they do their thing, and then they leave,
and we got a broken country. I got everything I want
here.’”
This stuck with Schofield, to the extent that he made it
the basis for a speech given by Advanced Warfare’s
villainous CEO Jonathan Irons.

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 103

 Downtime | Incoming

1 month 2 months

RELEASE October 10, 2025 RELEASE November 4, 2025

DEVELOPER Battlefield Studios DEVELOPER Paradox Tinto

BATTLEFIELD 6 EUROPA UNIVERSALIS V

Multiplayer and singleplayer FPS action returns in the new Paradox Interactive’s flagship historical grand strategy game
all-out warfare experience. Drive tanks, fly planes and returns. Use war, trade or diplomacy to satisfy your grandest
helicopters, as well as shoot on foot with your squad. ambitions and dominate five centuries of history.

THE
BIGGEST
GAMES ON
T H E WAY

RELEASE October 2025 RELEASE November 13, 2025

DEVELOPER The Chinese Room DEVELOPER Ubisoft Mainz

VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE – BLOODLINES 2 ANNO 117: PAX ROMANA

Fight your way through a modern-day Seattle on the brink of an The latest entry in the long-running Anno series promises to let
open war as an elder vampire. The long-awaited first-person gamers shape the Roman Empire in their image, be that via
World of Darkness RPG is almost here. Hype! strong economic growth or bloody warfare.

RELEASE October 29, 2025 RELEASE November 14, 2025

DEVELOPER Obsidian Entertainment DEVELOPER Treyarch, Raven Software

THE OUTER WORLDS 2 CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS 7

Further interplanetary action and adventure from Obsidian, with Robots, zombies and guns, lots of guns. The latest co-op and
both a revolution and an invasion taking place in a galaxy that multiplayer shooter promises to be the most mind-bending
reacts to your decisions. Black Ops ever.

104 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Downtime | Incoming

3 months 4 months+

RELEASE 2026 RELEASE TBC

DEVELOPER Unknown Worlds Entertainment DEVELOPER Mundfish

SUBNAUTICA 2 ATOMIC HEART 2

An open-water survival game where you must craft vehicles, The bonkers Soviet Union-themed BioShock-like returns for
tools and bases to survive on a mysterious alien world. Visually, more violence. If you’re a sucker for dystopia and retrofuturism
this is looking like a total treat. then this is one to keep an eye on.

RELEASE 2026 RELEASE 2026

DEVELOPER IO Interactive DEVELOPER Playground Games

007 FIRST LIGHT FABLE MOD

Step into the shoes of James Bond before he attained his 00 A reboot of the old action-RPG series originally crafted by Peter
status. From the makers of Hitman, this third-person action- Molyneux’s Lionhead Studios, Fable promises a visually BOOGIE
adventure game promises espionage and quips. spectacular return to the fantasy world of Albion. KNIGHTS
Wants to take
a well-earned
break from crushing
10,000 Mud Crabs
in Oblivion
Remastered? Well,
why not strip off that
armour and boogie
your blues away with
CosmicBoogaloo’s
excellent Dance and
Emote Animation
Pack? Grab it here:
tinyurl.com/
APC551boogie

RELEASE 2026 RELEASE TBC

DEVELOPER Capcom DEVELOPER Bit Reactor

ONIMUSHA: WAY OF THE SWORD STAR WARS ZERO COMPANY

Wield a variety of deadly weapons as famous sword master What happens if you take the turn-based combat system from
Miyamoto Musashi. Incredibly visceral and kinetic combat is XCOM and smash it together with the Star Wars universe? Zero
promised as Musashi fights through Edo-era Kyoto. Company is what happens.

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 105

 Special
Report
APC INVESTIGATES

SPECIAL REPORT

Turtle World
Turtle WoW has become one of World of Warcraft’s
Worlds
biggest private servers. aplenty
Official World of
Warcraft servers
There are a lot of Worlds of Warcraft these days. I remixing the popular MMO is a distinct polish and include the
don’t just mean the original – which fans now call restrained approach to changes. I wasn’t surprised to modern game, a
‘live’ or ‘retail’ – and the official lineup of old-school see playable high elves, but I was surprised to see classic version
‘classic’ servers set in various points throughout the Turtle’s take on a high elf starting zone, with custom that never
moves on from the
game’s history. There have always been private NPCs and quests and original music. It’s all very careful original
servers: fanmade builds hosted unofficially, often not to add anything that might have been tonally out pre-expansion
locked to an old patch or with major changes. And of place in 2004. Additions are justified with in-game version, and
though they’re typically snug in the underground lore from the era, new art assets are quality (or the classic
with a few hundred players or so to their name, one borrowed from official expansions) and more or less progression
servers which go
relatively new server has been turning more heads. blend in with the old ones, and crucially, the maximum through each
Around 72,000 simultaneously, in fact, at its current level has never budged from the original 60 since the expansion in
peak player count. server launched in 2018. release order at
That number comes from Akalix, the community “We do not want to desecrate the design,” Akalix an accelerated
cadence. Private
manager on Turtle WoW. Named for a design says. “We don’t want to trample over 2004 Blizzard’s servers are a
philosophy that favours slow-paced, social gameplay idea of this universe. We want to do as much as we can wider umbrella
over intense dungeon crawls and showers of to play within and pay homage to the World of Warcraft catering to more
disposable loot, the server takes the pre-expansion vanilla and [Warcraft RTS series] era of lore. Our entire specific tastes,
‘vanilla’ version of World of Warcraft and throws in a project’s goal is to say, ‘this what we think Blizzard but aside from
rare permitted
whole bunch of new dungeons, balance adjustments, would have done if they want a different route… if they cases like City
and a pair of new races. just kept adding more updates that expanded of Heroes:
The average day brings in around 10,000 Azeroth.’” Homecoming,
concurrent players at peak hours, making it one of the Modern Blizzard did its own remixed take on classic they’re usually
biggest private servers going – and as the team behind World of Warcraft: Season of Discovery, which added new against the rules.
it continues work on new custom raids and a move to instances and class abilities before it wound down
Unreal Engine 5, it’s one of the most ambitious, as well. earlier this year. But while those servers backported
What sets Turtle WoW apart from most servers powerful spells from the live game and offered

106 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Downtime | Special Report

Bells and whistles aside, the grind is exactly as you remember it. Without server sharding, you’ll experience all the pros and cons of a
bustling faction capital.

TURTLE POWER The modded server’s foremost additions

NEW PL AYABLE R ACES NEW CUSTOMISATION OP TIONS NEW ZONES CHALLENGES

High elves and goblins join the game’s playable New hairstyles, beards, tattoos and From new raid instances to low-level Ever wanted to see if you could get to max level
selection straight from your Warcraft III hero combinations of class and race are available dungeons, there’s more of Azeroth on display by killing boars? Maybe not, but Turtle WoW
lineup. right from character creation. here than you might remember. has you covered anyway.

substantial experience boosts for new players, Turtle is a game where you have the infinite treadmill. There’s
careful to retain the funky buildcraft and glacial pacing not this super-high level of commitment.”
that make classic solo play more difficult. When no
one class can do everything, you need to lean on others NO GUARANTEES
to do anything. But while it does have a pick-up-and-play draw, it’s like
It’s the same reason you won’t find group any other private server in that there’s no guarantee
matchmaking or meeting stones that teleport players it’ll be here forever. It’s against World of Warcraft’s
to the latest dungeons from halfway across the world, terms of service to host a custom server at all, and
which are commonplace in the live MMO. These while there’s not exactly a cash shop in Turtle WoW,
conveniences are common requests – after all, if there is an in-game store where donations to the
someone wanted to experience every hardship exactly development team can be converted
as it was, official classic servers do exist. into tokens and exchanged for
Akalix says finding out how much change is too
much is a bit of a tightrope walk, but the guiding
cosmetic rewards.
When Blizzard ended IT’S A GROGNARDISH
principle of Turtle WoW is that it fails unless it eschews development on Season of Discovery SENSIBILITY FAMILIAR TO
anything that could impede socialisation and
cooperation.
in 2025, it hinted at other
experiments in the classic design ANY FAN OF OLD SCHOOL
“If you’re part way into [a dungeon], and one of your space that may end up looking a RUNESCAPE
DPS is obviously newer to the game, he walked into a lot like Turtle. Akalix said there’s
pack, pulled them, and got your group wiped once. In no way to know what tomorrow will
the random dungeon finder on retail right now… it’s bring, and that at the end of the day, Turtle is a passion
just a matter of ‘Kick ’em, we’ll get a new person in 30 project that will continue for as long as it’s feasible.
seconds and not have to deal with that again,’” he says. “We can never know for sure what’s going to
“The old style makes you more invested in seeing your happen. We are not mind readers, nor are we at
group succeed.” Blizzard, but I can say confidently that I’m pretty
It’s a grognardish sensibility familiar to any fan of certain there are some people from Blizzard who have
old-school Runescape, EverQuest’s Project 99, or the even played on Turtle. I can tell you for certain they
old-school renaissance taking the TTRPG world by know that we exist,” he said. “We are just here because
storm right now, and Akalix does admit Turtle has we love World of Warcraft … we obviously hope we are
built a reputation as a ‘dad server’. able to stick around for years to come. We plan to stick
But to the team, that only highlights the appeal. around for years to come.”
“We’ve kind of embraced it in a way. Like, yeah. It’s a Justin Wagner
great server for a dad to come play on … [Turtle] is not

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 107

 Downtime | Reviews

FUN & GUN

Borderlands 4 is so good, even a bad UI can’t ruin it.
BY HARVEY RANDALL

Borderlands 4 might just be the best GOT MY TEMPO WHAT IS IT? Path of Exile so gripping. You turn
game in the whole 16-year-old The ARPG loop at the core of The latest hordes of enemies into paste, pick up
series, but trapped in a prison of Borderlands 4 has cast a spell on me. looter-shooter by an armoury of loot, head back to base
terrible choices. This, however, In fact, it’s downright trancelike. The Gearbox Software, to sell most of it, rinse and repeat
didn’t stop me from losing 47 hours game’s new open-world structure in which you run, until your eyes are bleary and you
of my life to a blissfully loot-driven marries so well with the shoot, loot, gun, and grind realise you haven’t drunk water in
blur. This leads me to two repeat treadmill that I’m shocked it’s your way across the five hours. It’s one of the strongest
conclusions: Either my brain is taken Gearbox so long to do it. prison planet Kairos dopamine treadmills I’ve
truly broken, or the core loop in I wasn’t sure about it at first. experienced. The pure, distilled
EXPECT TO PAY
Borderlands 4’s clunky heart is Opening the big map of Kairos essence of ‘number go up’.
seriously that strong. immediately struck me with Ubisoft $109.95 This is helped by the fact the story
This is not a series that innovates, fatigue. No one likes looking at a DEVELOPER mostly gets out of the way of the
and I don’t think Gearbox has to-do list, and Borderlands 4 has one Gearbox Software shooting. I won’t dwell on it because
reinvented the wheel of the longest. there’s not much to dwell on – it’s
PUBLISHER
here, either. What the But the more I incredibly serviceable with a couple
studio has done is I’ve never felt played, the more I 2K Games of bright moments and some fun
make the perfect so absorbed realised that Gearbox REVIEWED ON character work, while the cutscenes
wheel, then
presumably gone,
by a game I has spent five whole
games kinda wasting
AMD Ryzen 7 5800,
are nicely animated and help breathe
life into its cast. The post-Borderlands
“Crap, we spent all our have so many its time. The more
16GB RAM, Nvidia
3 course correction has, in fact, fixed
budget on a wheel,” nitpicks with traditional ARPG levels
GeForce RTX 3060
its heading. Pats on the back for
and put it on a clunky of the series’ past were MULTIPLAYER everyone. As for the rest of the
used car with steering shackles weighing the Up to 4-player game’s design, it’s either incredibly
that keeps locking up. whole thing down. co-op) solid, or a complete and utter
I make this assumption because I spent the early game of WEB
shambling mess.
the game’s most glaring issues are Borderlands 4 getting sidelined. I’d
such blunders that I simply cannot keep telling myself I’d do the story. borderlands.2k. FRAMES FOR THE WICKED
fathom how they happened – they “I’ll just do this one objective,” I’d say, com/borderlands-4 Borderlands 4 isn’t a game that runs
are baffling – although, hopefully veering off the straight and narrow. well, no matter what Randy Pitchford
patchable, and soon. And yet, I’ve Then three hours later I’d wake up, says. My first hours of the game were
never felt so utterly absorbed by a three sidequests, six objectives and marred with constant stuttering and
game I have so many nitpicks with. two levels deep into distraction. slowdowns – at one point, the game
But before I air my grievances, let’s Keeping tempo under all of that struggled to stream in its textures so
get onto the good. is what makes games like Diablo and much it ground to a literal halt.
Some of this has been alleviated
– Gearbox released a patch on the
game’s first weekend that helped
SO MANY BUILDS 1 AMCATNI O N
considerably, and setting my Nvidia
card’s shader cache to 100GB nixed
These trees rock. Pick an action the problem entirely. Even then, I
skill, the bread cannot say the game ran well.
to your build
sandwich. Granted, I am below the
recommended specs: I have an RTX
1 2 BO RU TA N C H
Pick a skill-tree
3060, not a 3080. I have 16 gigs of
RAM, not 32 – but I believe our
branch – each hardware team, other players and
2 tree has three.
most of the people begging Pitchford

3 MM IAXT C&H
Modify your
to please stop posting through it
when they say that the game runs
3 like garbage on a range of machines
action skill with
an augment and from low to high.
a capstone. As for bugs, I encountered a
couple. One issue appeared with the
game’s level scaling – sometimes, it’ll

108 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Downtime | Reviews
They’re about to
drop the hottest
mixtape.

FAR LEFT: The Lathe

is my future
wrestler name.

LEFT: An accurate
representation of
me after my tenth
frame stutter.

BELOW: Bosses
are a step up, with
MMO-like
mechanics.

Bosses are a step up,

with MMO-like
mechanics.

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 109

 Downtime | Reviews

RIGHT: The new

faction, The Order, is
full of creepy synths.

BELOW: Legendries
have big build
implications.

110 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Downtime | Reviews

just hurl overlevelled enemies at system I don’t know what is. Luckily, modifier that turned my trusty
you, as it did for me in its final act, the actual RPG underpinning said rocket launchers into lasers and
randomly pitting me against level 42 loot fatigue was enough to keep me stripped me of my movement speed
foes when I was a measly level 38. I hooked, and the deeper I went, the bonuses in exchange for raw status
managed to overcome this by simply more enamoured I became. spread and face-melting DPS.
pushing ahead, and when I got to the It felt different, and it suddenly
next instanced area, everything was ON THE HUNT dawned on me that this was simply a
scaled to my actual level again. What gives Borderlands 4 the real change in which branch of a single
But my real problems aren’t to do juice are its vault hunters, and these skill tree I was in. After 47 hours, I
with the frames or scaling issues – I are some of the best we’ve seen out had experienced two out of nine
can deal with choppy waters if the of the series yet when it comes to ways I could’ve played my character.
boat’s nice – they’re to do with a UI variety. Add in legendary equipment
so poorly conceived it Each character has a modifiers, the new Firmware system,
has to be some kind of core passive, three skill and the post-campaign
practical joke. BL4’s I got a legendary trees, a choice of three specialisations tree, and Gearbox has
backpack screen, for shotgun with action skills, and two given players a vast playground to
instance, is basically
useless. three elemental modifiers to said action
skills. Except within
muck around in.
The only complaint I have is that
damage types those skill trees, you it takes a minute to get there. As is
DEEP BREATH also have three the case with most Borderlands
Equipped items aren’t branches at the end games, the opening hours are a
listed first, and are marked by a tiny which all play differently. smidge slow, since you only get one
tick that’s easy to miss. You have to I spent my playthrough as Rafa skill point per level – but when
press a separate button to compare using the Peacebreaker Cannons characters come online at around
your loot. Everything’s organised in – and in his Peacebreaker Cannons level 15, that all melts away.
an unassailable grid, and there’s a ton tree, Rafa has three branches: one For all my gripes – and I do have
of robust filters some developers about movement speed and keeping quite a few of them – I still find
clearly worked very hard on – none Overdrive up (my choice), one that myself itching to play more BL4. It
of which matter, because for some buffs his cannons with elemental speaks to the strength of the damn
madcap reason it auto-sets sorting damage, and another that lets him thing that one of the most terribly
to “by manufacturer”. stack all sorts of bonuses into his conceived UIs in recent memory
You can send things to your bank indirect damage, making said somehow didn’t ruin it for me.
directly, which is nice, but that cannons the star of the show. Even though you have to use said
requires right-clicking, marking as In the post-game, I got a UI routinely.
‘bank’, and then holding down a legendary shotgun with three I want to muck around with
button press, instead of just having a elemental damage types – and I builds, I want to play co-op and, most
‘send to bank’ button when you decided to swap over to that importantly, I’m somehow not bored
right-click. Oh, and also sometimes elemental tree, adding a passive of shooting people and watching
when you mark something as trash, them explode into an utterly illegible
the game panics and actually marks cloud of numbers.
an item two or three rows above the Borderlands 4 may well be the
thing you’re clicking on.
But it doesn’t stop there, no no
THE BORDERLANDS 4 CYCLE strongest game in the series – and
while it flails in a sea of backwards
no. The widget for class mods is Mostly having fun. Mostly. choices, it doesn’t quite drown. I’ve
functionally useless – see, class mods been loving my time with it,
give you free points in a handful of somehow, in spite of all of my
skills, but the UI only shows their problems with its clunky frame.
icons. Inspect the class mod, and you If you’ve ever had a serotonin
only get their names. You need to Yippee!
spike from seeing a big number, if
equip the class mod, then go over to you’ve ever felt that blissful open
the skill tree, and then hunt to see world checklist haze, if you’ve ever
Shooting
which skills it affects. Why? enjoyed buildcrafting in an ARPG,
Looting
The crime of this is that inventory then I recommend you give BL4 a go.
management in a game where you If you can run it – or stomach some
get heaps of loot absolutely has to be bad inventory management – there’s
FUN

good – because you’re going to be looter-shooter bliss on the other side

doing it a lot – and it’s a complete of that trash heap.
trash heap here.
I spent my playthrough sorting VERDICT
most of my loot via the equipment
screen rather than the backpack, THE UI HELL
DIMENSION
since it let me compare my guns
easily, organised my loot by type, and Even a terrible UI and choppy
auto-filtered my gear. And if that performance didn’t spoil several
isn’t an indictment of your inventory dozen hours of numbers-go-up bliss.

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 111

 Downtime | Game reviews

This big guy just

wants a high four
from Hornet.

PRICE $29.50 PLATFORM PC, PS4/5, XB1/S/X, Switch/2, Mac, Linux WEB tinyurl.com/APC551silk

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Proves that there is pleasure in pain.

Finally it’s here, and I’ve spent background that draws your eye, tables had turned and suddenly I
over 25 hours with the and those details always kept me was the boss with the unfair,
videogame equivalent of hungry to see more. By the end of unpredictable attacks.
sticking your hand into the the game, I couldn’t tell what was Silksong doesn’t always get the
Dune pain box. Silksong may be more exciting: the fact that I balance between effort and reward
one of the most painful 2D somehow dug my way into an right. Some games will make you
action games I’ve played, and entire zone I hadn’t explored yet or find an access code to unlock a safe
the worst part? I inflicted that the questions that new area raised with a key in it – Silksong will make
pain on myself by pressing about what’s really going on with you fight with your bare fists
forward until I’d seen just about Pharloom’s biggest mysteries. through four waves of flies with
every inch of the bug-inhabited Hornet, and the characters she crowbars to get a key that unlocks
land of Pharloom. I may be runs into, are a splash of cold a door leading to more flies with
bruised and sore from the water in this gloomy dream. The crowbars. You’re not even
experience, but I’m happy to say thrill of playing as Hornet is what guaranteed to get anything after
that for all the pain Silksong really anchors Silksong as a defeating a boss. For the first half,
put me through, it was worth it. brilliant action game above all you’ll be lucky to find a bench
Every shortcut and secret area else. Skipping and dodging around to rest on that isn’t trying to kill
contextualises the horrors you enemies becomes a delicate dance you or take your money.
face in the bigger, sadder picture. that grows more and more I can’t tell you if the hype was
A pristine dining room in the intricate as you pick up new worth it. But I can tell you that
upper chambers of the citadel moves. I was merely poking at Silksong glows with a level of
hides a kitchen caked in dust and enemies in the first few hours of precision and imagination that’s
decay, and just below that, in a the game and by the end I was hard to find anywhere else.
secret room, lies the tangled tossing out spike traps and silk
corpse of a centipede pontiff. missiles while bouncing between VERDICT
There’s always something just out bugs like a pinball. When I wasn’t
of view or lingering in the getting clobbered, it felt like the
Hollow Knight: Silksong can be
“There’s always something just out of view or lingering in the ruthless, but it’s hard to pry yourself
away from its haunted little world.
background that draws your eye, and those details always kept
me hungry to see more.” TYLER COLP

112 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Downtime | Game reviews

Doom knight suddenly

realised the latest APC
magazine is out.

PRICE $43.95 PLATFORM PC, PS5 WEB tinyurl.com/APC551sword

Sword of the Sea PRICE

PLATFORM
Free
PC, Mac, Linux
A short but spectacular sword-surfing adventure. WEB tinyurl.com/APC551fall

FALLSTRUKTUR
Long story short: Sword of the Sea’s Sword of the Sea isn’t going to blow you Explore a hole new world.
surfing feels great. Whether it’s blazing away in terms of puzzling, narrative, or Welcome to the deviously slippery
across rolling sand dunes with a pack of board-based tricks, but if you’re looking for Fallstruktur, in which you have to hop
dolphins in tow, zooming down a snowy a surfing experience that’s both chill and down a hole filled in with bits and
slope into a ski jump, or cresting the beautiful, you’re in good company. There pieces of ruined, mysterious
waves and leaving a foaming trail in your are some fantastic and joyful sequences as structures.
wake, I really feel like Giant Squid has you travel through sand, sea and snow. You The thing about first-person falling
achieved something special here. Though might find yourself a little bored by its is that it’s not all that difficult, usually.
linear, each of the game’s areas offer up simple and somewhat repetitive puzzles, but You’re given a good view of the chasm
big open spaces you can take time surfing Sword of the Sea’s real strength lies in taking before you, and movement physics
around while also solving the puzzles you from spectacle to spectacle, and for me that are generally fast and
needed to progress – not that any of the at least, that was enough to sustain the immediately responsive. The
puzzles are particularly hard. experience and make it enjoyable, even movement speed is fast, and so is the
It’s very much an atmospheric surfing when I found other elements a little running momentum, so you can
game, emphasis on the atmosphere, as you lacklustre. attempt large jumps. However, in a
enjoy the scenery and soundtrack (both It’s important to note that Sword of the Sea world comprised of little bits
of which are stellar, by the way), and the is also quite short. I completed the main of platforms, twisty tree trunks
freestyle way you can use movement to game in just under four hours, and I wasn’t and slender roofs, it’s very easy to
explore each space. by any means rushing, since I searched for overshoot a jump, or to undershoot.
All this is further complemented with collectibles in all but the final area, and You’re trying to get to the bottom, of
additional tricks you can purchase from purchased all but one of the tricks. course, though there’s an asterisk and
vendors you’ll find, while you’ll also gain Finishing the game unlocks new game plus, the small print says ‘in one piece’. Fall
additional movement abilities through the granting you a speedometer and a trick just a few feet and it fades to black
story as it progresses. display for subsequent runs, if you’re the and restarts the game, resisting the
kind of person who’ll want to master surfing visceral horror of the smashed-melon-
or try to speedrun. head in a way I am thankful for.

VERDICT VERDICT

Sword of the Sea’s atmosphere and There’s a huge feeling of satisfaction

movement propel it where its simple when you finally make progress, but
and repetitive puzzles can’t. I’m not fully onboard with it.

Vistas often drip with character. SEAN MARTIN TOM SYKES

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 113

 Downtime | Game reviews

Elimination missions
always end in a boss fight
with a dreadnought – a
seriously nail-biting battle.

PRICE $18.95 PLATFORM PC, XBS/X WEB tinyurl.com/APC551rock

PRICE Free
PC, Mac
Deep Rock Galactic:
Survivor
PLATFORM

WEB tinyurl.com/APC551love

LOVE LETTERS
Love letters? Then you’ll love this. Has finally dug its way out of Early Access, and it rocks.
Few games combine mechanics and
theme as well as Love Letters, where
you help a lovelorn adolescent The core action of DRG:S is deceptively horde to trick explosive bugs into blowing up
express himself in front of his simple. Your dwarf miner is dropped onto prematurely, it always feels like there’s ways
classmate. He’s too nervous to even an alien asteroid and tasked with mining to get one up on the enemy.
say a word, so it falls to yours truly to for resources and surviving against The 1.0 release spices things up further
help him speak, by constructing words escalating hordes of bugs. Your weapons with a whole new mission type – Escort Duty
from a jumbled pile. Each level fire automatically, and as you level up – which sees you accompanying a huge
presents you with a sentence to make, you’re able to add new guns and mobile drill across the map. It’s a
and you have to assemble the words fine-tune them with stat fantastic twist on the formula. The
from the box of letters on the right. upgrades and modifiers. narrower passages and the need to
Circle a letter, or a bunch of them at DRG:S’s special sauce is found stick close to your charge creates
once, and they will automatically fill in in its environments. Each stage tense, claustrophobic battles
the Hangman-like sentence. The is its own randomly generated without the luxury of fleeing to
puzzles support the narrative and the cavern, and your dwarf’s a different area when
protagonist as he grows in confidence. pickaxe allows them to things get tough. At the
In an alternate universe, these puzzles burrow through the rock same time, following the
have been more fully explored, and I walls, creating their own drill as it ploughs through
am left with a yearning for that, given tunnels and arenas. This is rock and enemies with equal
how original the concept is here. If the where combat gets tactical, ease is a lovely little power trip.
limitations were even more limiting, by because most bugs don’t have that This release makes the game feel
further restricting the number of ability. As the swarms chase you, you’re able complete and ready for a broader audience,
circles you could make, or by to shape the landscape against them, after over a year of public development. But
disallowing circles that also have the escaping down tunnels, creating at the same time, it feels like it could be only
wrong letters in them, Love Letters bottlenecks, or leading them in circles. the beginning.
could have been a great puzzler. Different biomes add further wrinkles –
from lava flows to skirt around or lead bugs VERDICT
VERDICT through, to mushrooms that allow you to
leap right over swarms, to thorny vines that
regrow after you mine through them. Funday Games’ Deep Rock Galactic:
A very sweet love story, which is also It all contributes to the game’s wonderfully Survivor proves Vampire Survivors is
a pretty good puzzle game. inventive feel. Whether you’re luring an elite no longer the king of the genre.
alien into being crushed by a falling supply
TOM SYKES pod, or dancing towards and away from a ROBIN VALENTINE

114 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Downtime | Game reviews

Certain bits are so bloody, you

wonder if Kenji has a hosepipe full
of the red stuff hidden in his sword.

PRICE $36.50 PLATFORM PC, Switch, PS4/5, XBS/X WEB tinyurl.com/APC551ninja

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound PRICE

PLATFORM
Free
PC
The Blasphemous devs lighten up. WEB tinyurl.com/APC551shalguy

SHALGUY
Well, this is a nice surprise. Previous first Ninja Gaiden to help out here. Kenji’s Escape from the stress of the
Ninja Gaiden games have been about as got a basic sword slash attack, throwing real world.
warm and welcoming as being booted knives and a Sonic-esque bounce that both Given that every platformer is a
down a f light of stairs. But Ninja Gaiden: hurts enemies and lets him use them as Metroidvania now, and every
Ragebound has pulled off a fun revival handy makeshift platforms, so at least Metroidvania is a Soulslike,
that’s far and away the most accessible they don’t die in vain. discovering Shalguy was like stepping
Ninja Gaiden yet. And by ‘most Once you unlock the shop you can buy a back in time to the days of early indie
accessible’ I mean ‘it waits a few hours talisman that restores health on each kill, classics.
before repeatedly kicking you in the as long as you have at least a +3 kill streak It’s all in service of exploring a
face’. Hey, it’s a start. going. Buy this immediately. It’s the peaceful, minimalist world populated
The Game Kitchen has slammed an missing piece that makes the game by interesting creatures and with pixel
adrenaline shot into 2D Gaiden and made a absolutely sing as a ninja vampire sim, art that manages to be childlike yet
game that’s far more interested in keeping encouraging you to slice your way packed with background detail.
your murderous momentum up than just through as swiftly as you can. In a game with no detectable
repeatedly killing you. Enemies leap on The last trio of bosses are brutal affairs walking animation, it’s remarkable
screen and you’re encouraged to slice that test every skill the game’s taught you. how tangible this world feels. The
them in two before they’ve even finished Then there are the secret levels, which ambient sound effects fill in a lot of
their intro animation. Ideally, you’re you’ll find under a tab labelled SECRET the gaps, as do the subtle colour
doing this while sprinting forwards and LEVELS. These are far more hardcore, transitions. And these are intricate,
with your next target in your swords’ with some of the checkpoint placement interconnected spaces, full of hidden
sights. apparently done by Satan while he was in areas and mysterious codes.
You play as Kenji, a student of usual a foul mood. If a tougher challenge is what This game had its hooks in me. I
protagonist Ryu Hayabusa, who’s you want from a Ninja Gaiden, you’ll find it was sat at my desk transported to
apparently too busy starring in the very here. its beguiling world, re-attaching
my jaw every time it whipped out a
fresh surprise.

VERDICT
VERDICT

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is a fun revival

of the hack-and slash series that opts for Pop the kettle on and make the time
execution over innovation. for Shalguy.

“Do you know where I can find some sailors?” ABBIE STONE TOM SYKES

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 115

Pictured: absolutely
every game, from
2023 until forever.
Thanks, UE5.
TECH REPORT

Codebreakers
Threatened by homogeneity, PC gaming needs proprietary
engines more than ever United they
stand
Note that Unity has
Audio engineers will tell you a piece of music Engine 4 or, in the most exotic cases, Unreal Engine 5.
yet to be mentioned,
has ‘that Pro Tools sound’. The track sounds ‘That Unreal Engine look’ has started to become ‘that but is in fact far more
cleaner, glossier, but overly digitised and videogame look’. commonplace in PC
brimming with artifice, they’ll say, as you nod gaming. While 3,295
politely before being handed your change at the BRAVELY DEFAULT Unreal Engine games
released in 2024
bar, putting a hand on their shoulder and giving Homogenisation hurts games more than any other according to
them an ‘enjoy your night, mate’ before walking entertainment media form, because of their unique SteamDB, 8,907
off. capacity for immersion. A good film can make you feel like games came out that
In a similar way, PC gamers have all become you were somewhere you weren’t, but a good game leaves were built in Unity.
accustomed to ‘that Unreal Engine look’. You know the you with memories of the routes you walked and the people So why single UE
out? Because UE
one. Really blurry textures for a half-second when your you spoke to while you were(n’t) there. So if the visual games tend to be the
save game first loads. A faint plasticky look to every appearance of one game starts to look like any number of more visible
surface. More bloom than a garden centre. There are others you played lately, that effect pulls you out of a virtual releases, with some
specific reasons UE games tend to look a certain way, world and makes you think of the tool they used to build it marketing spend
behind them. And
like the material defaults that many developers don’t instead.
because UE’s
change, and the multiplicative lighting solver that Separate to the uniformity of the look it produces, dominant look is,
illuminates spaces in a distinctive way. The summation there’s also the minor issue of numerous UE5 games well, more dominant
of those components, the recognisable look, used to be a releasing absolutely borked. STALKER 2, MindsEye, the than Unity’s.
fun little quirk, something you’d observe to yourself in Oblivion remaster and even Fortnite, the flag-waving Cuphead, Ori and the
Blind Forest and
the warmup phase of an Unreal Tournament match, or a poster child for Epic Games, all fell foul of arriving with Hearthstone were all
massive gunfight that made you feel all clever in poor framerates or performance-based instability, and a made in Unity,
BioShock. longer list still seems to rely on AI upscaling to make up for example.
But somewhere along the way, as Unreal Engine’s for the shortfall in native optimisation.
industry position changed from an option to the option, That doesn’t mean Unreal Engine 5 is bad, or that
the quirk became a problem. Although it’s not the case, it building a game in it consigns that game to poor
feels like every game we play was made on either Unreal performance. But those ill-fated releases and over-familiar

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 Downtime | Tech Report

FAR LEFT: With Sony’s

first-party treats like
Horizon routinely
coming to PC, we see
more proprietary
engines used.

LEFT: If you want to

make something as
esoteric as Death
Stranding, you need
the right tools.

ON THE OTHER HAND… Four games that mount a defence for UE

AVOWED OCTOPATH TR AVELER II JUSANT GUILT Y GE AR STRIVE

When it’s wielded by old masters with a strong A distinctive blend of 16bit pixel art and Minimalist. Colourful. Effortlessly cool, like an Cel-shaded chaos on a 2D plane. Looks like the
art direction, true beauty occurs. Like here, in modern lighting. Looks – gasp – kind of underground zine about climbing. It’s UE in 1990s game, was impossible in the 1990s.
fantasy RPG Avowed. different in its own way. disguise.

look all contribute to a kind of gaming Groundhog Day effect. still not clear what Hideo Kojima wanted, but whatever it
There’s a sense that we’re all basically just playing the same was, he succeeded in it and it’s absolutely nothing like
fundamental experience, over and over again. anything else in the medium.
In simplistic terms, it makes sense that in order to make
PROPS TO YOU a game that’s distinct from the crowd, you’d build an
And then you look at the list of notable recent releases engine that allows it to do those new and different things
that used a proprietary engine instead: Baldur’s Gate well. That statement loses a lot of nuance about what an
III. Elden Ring. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II. The engine is, and how developers use it. There are countless
modern Dooms. Death Stranding. The Horizons and external component parts that plug into customer engines
the Last of Us games (Lasts of Us?). And you think to like Unreal and Unity, and they allow for a broad spectrum
yourself, hang on – is all this Unreal of genres and experiences.
Engine holding us
SENSE OF SAMENESS
back a bit?
Certainly, I’m cherry-picking.
THE MINOR ISSUE Still, the evidence is in the end
During the time it takes to read this, OF NUMEROUS UE5 product. The fact remains that we’re
several games have probably released
which weren’t made in Unreal and
GAMES RELEASING all experiencing a growing sense of
sameness in bigger-budget titles, and
which will make not the faintest ABSOLUTELY BORKED that the games that offer the finest
imprint on the cultural landscape. But experiences have often been built for
what’s striking about the best purpose from their very foundations. It
examples of recent games running on a bespoke game takes longer. It’s more expensive. At a time when making
engine is that they all wanted to do something differently. games is harder than ever and both project cancellations
Larian wanted an incredibly reactive platform for D&D and studio closures are depressingly commonplace, it
storytelling that could handle Divinity-like battles, doesn’t feel right to demand that everybody start cutting
endlessly branching player choices, and a cinematic RPG from whole cloth. What we can do is vote with our wallets
experience all at once. FromSoftware wanted to bring when the likes of Metaphor: ReFantazio turn up on
enigma and wonder back to open worlds, packing Elden proprietary engines. Gradually, we can send a message that
Ring with secret crevices and allowing you to approach giving studios the time and money to build experiences as
much of the game in the order you improvised. they really want them to be realised is the formula for
Warhorse wanted medieval Bohemia to be recreated profit. That we care less about Lumen and Nanite than we
with forensic diligence, architecturally correct down to do about a good concept, executed to a high standard, or a
minute details, and with a radial melee combat system thought-provoking storyline.
unlike any other games’. Hideo Kojima wanted… well, it’s Phil Iwaniuk

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 117

 Downtime | Tech Tales

T E C H TA L E S

Hit the Deck

Despite their overwhelming popularity, handheld PCs
raise some tricky questions.

Handheld PCs aren’t a new phenomenon. Atari’s high-contrast pixel art to the simple button interactions
Portfolio released in 1989, for example, with a full feels right for a device like the Steam Deck. Not only does
keyboard and a modified version of DOS called it definitely meet the criteria for PC gaming, it’s also one
DIP-DOS that allowed it to more or less run as an of the all-time great examples of it.
IBM-compatible PC. Hewlett-Packard released the However: I’ve also played Control on a handheld
HP-95LX two years later which ran on DOS itself. But gaming PC. A precious, singular expression of Lynchian
it doesn’t feel like devices like those have been at the surrealism in playable form, a world where every
heart of PC culture, or even in particularly high conspiracy theory is true, and where the evidence of all of
usage, throughout the platform’s long history. them is contained within one bureaucratic liminal space,
rendered with breathtaking fidelity by a Remedy team
Not until 2022, when Valve released that can work magic with pixels like
the Steam Deck. As soon as the no other studio. Playing it on a
company behind Half-Life gave us a
glimpse of what looked like a futuristic HAVE YOU PLAYED handheld feels like peeking through
the letterbox in the front door of an
Game Gear and flexed its gigantic STARDEW VALLEY IMAX cinema to catch a screening.
brand power biceps, we seemed to
decide that handheld gaming PCs were ON A HANDHELD Control is also an all-time great
example of PC gaming, and it doesn’t
a) a thing, and b) a fun way to play PC GAMING PC? work at all on a portable platform.
games. Well I’m not having it. I’m not saying it’s impossible to
I know the world’s against me on have fun with Control on a Steam
this one. Since the Steam Deck’s release, Razer, Asus ROG, Deck, but rather the level of fun you can have playing it
MSI, Lenovo, and Logitech G have all made a play for a slice on a bigger, more immersive screen is so much higher
of the handheld gaming PC pie with models of their own. that it seems a shame to deprive yourself of that
People bought those models, and had a nice time with immersion. And that raises, perhaps, some old-school
them. I’m not here to debate that. But I am here to say: it thinking about both the platform and the idea of ‘PC
isn’t PC gaming. gaming’.
What hardware like the Steam Deck and its army of
third-party reinforcements do, other than foster in us a NAMING CONVENTIONS
pathological impulse to observe the nearest plug socket on A personal computer is such a broad technological term,
every train and in every coffee shop, is that they ask us to it’s hardly useful any more. Let’s be honest: we mean the
define what a PC is, and what gaming is. liquid-cooled, RGB monstrosity in a glass-panel case PHIL
we’ll be paying off until 2037. A gaming PC is the IWANIUK
Techno-luddite
CONTROL SCHEME manifestation of a passion for fiddling with technology ’lancer Phil
I’ll go further. Have you played Stardew Valley on a and seeking out performance. It’s a rejection of the takes pride in
handheld gaming PC? Great, isn’t it? It feels like the closed ecosystem compromises and low performance train journeys
natural conclusion to everything Game Boy RPGs were ceilings that consoles offer. Generally we have some say without any
entertainment
working towards, a little world whose perfect vantage over the specs that go into our gaming PC, whether we’re media, sitting
point is observed from above, peering down between two the ones to actually build it or not, and we reserve the stock-still and
thumbs, sitting somewhere comfy. Everything from the ability to upgrade it, piece by piece, over time. staring into
space.

POCKET ROCKETS Four games that actually work for handhelds.

THANK GOODNESS VAMPIRE SURVIVORS UNPACKING PERSONA 5 ROYAL

YOU’RE HERE! Not only does the bullet-hell survival You’re not losing anything by playing By far the best exploration of Jungian
Yes, perfect. A Yorkshire town, drawn roguelike feel natural to play on a this sedate meditation on arranging psychodynamic principles available
in raucous colour and packed full of handheld, it might even play better domestic spaces on a smaller screen. on handheld gaming platforms. Fact.
humour and puzzles. than on a desktop.

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 Handhelds… aren’t that. They’re not
modular or customisable like desktop
PCs are. They’re not open ecosystems to ABOVE: Is Phil so

the same extent desktop PCs are, out of touch? No.

It’s the children
because they often run on a modified who are wrong.
OS and require specific per-game
BELOW: Experiencing
compatibility. Their default controls
this Remedy
are analogue sticks, triggers and face meisterwerk on a
buttons. Plugging in a mouse and handheld: a shame.
keyboard is possible, but not practical.
So why do we call them handheld PCs?
Probably because Steam made one,
and marketed it in that way. Modern
handhelds have as much in common
with a PS5 as they do with a desktop PC
from a hardware perspective, but they
run on Windows, or SteamOS, and that
seems enough to reassure us that
peering into a minuscule screen to
watch Baldur’s Gate III run on medium
settings while the battery drains like a
lithium sieve constitutes PC gaming on
the go.
I’m not saying bin them. I’m saying
let’s be real about what these devices
are – a platform-agnostic supplement
to our gaming main event. I’m glad
they exist to help up smash out a
Persona game on the train, but let’s
not call them gaming PCs.
Phil Iwaniuk

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 119

 Downtime | Why I Love

WHY I LOVE

Balmora, from The Elder

Scrolls III: Morrowind
The RPG town that became more than just
a hub: it was home.
IAN EVENDEN

LEFT: The silt strider

remains one of
gaming’s best ever
fast travel options.

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 Downtime | Why I Love

You have to start somewhere.

And in Morrowind, that place is
always the port of Seyda Neen. FRIENDS OR TRAITORS Who’s who on the streets of Balmora
The ship that carries you from
prison docks there, and you’re
sent into the customs house for
some character creation and
light pilfering. From there,
however, you’re on your own, a
package-delivery quest pointing
you to the town of Balmora and SUGAR-LIPS EYDIS CAIUS COSADES L ARRIUS VARRO RANIS
a man called Caius. HABASI FIRE-EYE The reason you’re Imperial Legion ATHRYS
Thieves Guild leader The Fighter’s Guild here: an old drug champion at the fort Steward of the
The world of Morrowind is huge is a master trainer boss also worships a addict and ab-toting just outside Balmora. Mages Guild and
and open. Its towns and cities exist and source for tools daedric prince and gym enthusiast Encourages you to your go-to elf if you
as islands in a dangerous sea of – but only if you’re a serves the local who is also the create a bloodbath want magical training
guild member. crime syndicate. imperial spymaster. of criminals. in the early game.
wastelands and ash fields, and so
your journey to Balmora is best
undertaken quickly unless you
want to fall prey to one of the most you approach them, or questions is the largest fortification you’ve
annoying creatures in videogames, as to what you are doing there, seen thus far, and provides a
cliff racers. You can take the silt points to a distrust of outsiders feeling of protection. You know
strider for a few coins, an from the locals that comes from you’re safe once within its walls
enormous chitinous flea piloted by past invasions and fears about – assuming you’re not a wanted
a dark elf, and be in Balmora what the influx of humans means. criminal by this early stage.
before you know it, just a loading Your contact, Caius, is a human
screen away. You’ll miss out on so spymaster living under the cover SHADE AND RESHADE
much by doing this, though. It’s story of a hopeless junkie. He Sure, there are sights to behold
not a long walk, and there are never wears a shirt, and an estate in Morrowind that will take your
plenty of places to pick up agent would describe his home as breath away. It’s one of the games
weapons to fend off the cliff racers. a cosy bedsit in need of some best served by a high-res texture
Take care to avoid being hit by updating. More importantly, he pack, as its looks betray the
the wizard who falls out of the sky, offers you the use of his bed, and expectations of players’ PC
and you’ll arrive at your it’s this that grounds you in the graphics cards of the time. But
destination. Balmora isn’t going to world. Caius sets you up with a Balmora’s dumpy buildings and
win any prizes for its architecture. base, some gold, and then sends xenophobic locals, its manors
Compared to the remarkable you out into the world again to and working class district, and
Ald’ruhn with its town centre enjoy yourself. And you soon find even its shady bars once you’ve
made from the shell of a giant that everything you need is right cleansed them of criminals,
crab, or Sadrith Mora with its there in town. provide an area of a game
council hall supported by As an early hub town in a huge marked by dust and ash that’s
mushrooms, House Hlaalu is a RPG, Balmora is a total success. It simply nice to be at home in.
business-minded house, and has sets you up with quests, provides And of course you’ll leave
built a sensible settlement that has guilds to join, shops to trade with, Balmora behind you. There’s an
been allowed to grow into a trainers to learn skills from, inns island the size of a small
successful town. The buildings to pick fights in and a hint of the continent to explore, a world-
may all be similar, influenced by society’s shady underworld. It sits changing plot and umpteen
Imperial ideas of mass production, at the confluence of four of the side-quests to follow. But
but each one belongs to somebody. island’s regions and has roads and sometimes it’s nice to go back to
transport links to many more. where you came from, watch the
DARK CORNERS More importantly, though, it’s a sun going down over the river,
Balmora is your friend, but not wonderful sight as you jog back to and knock a cliff racer out of the
many of its inhabitants are. The it. The imposing Imperial Fort sky with a single fireball – just
dark elves’ sneering greeting as Moonmoth that stands to its south for old times’ sake.

RIGHT: Caius’ home is

basic, but it’s a great
place to do drugs.
He should know.

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 121

 Downtime | Game Changer

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 Downtime | Game Changer

After bonding
with Arokh, the
dragon and Rynn
are one.

GAME CHANGER

RELEASE 1999 DEVELOPER Surreal Software PUBLISHER Psygnosis WEB tinyurl.com/APC551drakan

Drakan: Order of the Flame

A classic action-adventure PC exclusive that still brings the heat.
ROBERT JONES

Y
ou’re Rynn, a slender Of all the PC games that I’ve seen gaming in the late 1990s and early
and agile warrior who come and go over the last 30 2000s when, for both good and
has, barely, survived years or so, I think Drakan: Order bad, the industry was still far more
her village being of the Flame is one of the most like the Wild West than it is today,
raided, sacked and undeservedly unknown and with a free, pioneering,
burned to the ground by the orcish underrated. If you’ve even heard experimental spirit felt very much
forces of Navaros, a fallen evil of it, then you’re already on your throughout the medium. Big-
sorcerer set on resurrection and way into my PC gaming good budget games could take wild
world domination. Everyone you books, whereas if you’ve already swings at new genre ideas and
knew or loved in the village is played it and are currently nodding gameplay mechanics, typified in
dead, slaughtered by the Wartok knowingly as you read these words, titles like Peter Molyneux’s Black &
horde. Fallen men and women lie then I salute you, sir or ma’am, for White (2001), Will Wright’s The Sims
broken within burning buildings, you are truly a person of (2000), or Shiny Entertainment’s
which stand charred and wrecked, exceptional gaming taste. underated gem Sacrifice (2000).
while crop plantations lie in ashes If you haven’t, though, then step And that’s saying nothing of
at your feet. There is one survivor, this way my friend, and let me take legendary game-changers like Deus
though, your brother Delon, who you back in time to discover an Ex (2000), a game that could have
has been kidnapped by Navaros’ underrated PC exclusive classic only been born out of this era,
minions and whisked away to act that remains, decades later, laying where ‘triple-A budget’ and ‘mad
as the vessel for Navaros’ return. dormant in the sands of time. new shit’ went hand in hand.
And, as you stumble to your feet Today, while gaming is just as
and grab your sword, his rescue CRUCIBLE OF FIRE creative as ever, innovative new
is the only thing in your mind as An action-adventure slasher at its gameplay mechanics and ideas tend
your adventure begins. heart, Drakan recalls an age in PC to come from small-scale indie

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 Downtime | Game Changer

I am fire. I
am... death.

developments, from the weird and proceed to fly on and wage war dragon-riding mechanics, and
wonderful games made by just a with you throughout this world. especially so considering this game
handful of devs that are free to Yes, I’m sorry to say that Doom: The was made over a quarter of a
implement new ideas in far more of Dark Ages got beaten to this specific century ago. Rynn can call and
a risky and corporate overwatch- punch 26 years ago. mount Arokh at will, using his
free environment. I’m thinking of fireball and fiery breath attacks to
games like Viewfinder, Balatro, LIKE A DRAGON incinerate enemies, both on the
Abiotic Factor, Animal Well, Pacific What’s most remarkable, still, ground and the sky (rival dragons
Drive, Deep Rock Galactic Survivor about playing Drakan is its seamless must be duelled with), before flying
and more. Compare the ‘new’ found to a specific part of Drakan’s
in these games compared to the expansive levels to dismount Arokh
iterative content found in much of
triple-A today and the change is
ANCIENT W YRM and then proceed to hack, slash and
explore on foot.
clear: big-budget games today are How to get Drakan running on modern PCs The result is a gameplay loop
more conservative than ever. where, for the majority of the
Released exclusively on PC in game, Rynn is fluidly fighting
1999, right in the heart of this beasts on the ground, in caves,
pioneering period, Drakan: Order of temples, crypts and more, before
the Flame was a game where just transitioning in moments to the
doing what everyone else had done skies on the back of Arokh,
was clearly not an option. So, while swooping, diving and outflanking
you step into the shoes of Rynn, a enemies while bringing the heat to
poweful warrior queen who more foes and structures alike. Wartock
than a little bit will remind you of orcs, spiders, giants, goblins,
Lara Croft and the early (and zombies, scavengers, succubi and
clearly an influence on this game’s more all pose deadly threats on foot
developer, Surreal Software) Tomb Getting Drakan to run today on modern hardware is tough, to Rynn, but under the intense heat
especially so as no official remake or remaster exists
Raider games, any idea of playing of Arokh’s dragon breath they are
(come on GOG!). If you own an original copy of the game,
safe in the third-person action- soon eradicated. This ability makes
though, like I do, then I advise you to peruse the
adventure genre immediately melts downloads section of the awesome and long-running
the times when you can lure
away when you meet Arokh, the Drakan fan site, Arokh’s Lair (arokhslair.net), as it is a enemies into the open, or to the
fire-breathing dragon who you will wealth of information and patches, both official and entranceway of an interior area,
not only bond with, very much like unofficial, that will help you get flying on Arokh today. only to then have Arokh torch them
in the movie Dragonheart, but then (he will fight foes on his own, too, if

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 Downtime | Game Changer

Suiting up Rynn
in armour helps
keep her vertical.

ABOVE: Mounting and

dismounting Arokh is
remarkably
seamless, especially
for a game released
in 1999.

RIGHT: Just chilling

out, spear in torso,
as you do. Piña
colada out of shot.

you are not mounted on him) all incredibly indebted to Miss Croft.
the sweeter. After all, your lifeforce
is now bonded (if he dies you die,
ACTION ON AROKH WAS CLEARLY In terms of attack and defence,
though, Rynn can find and equip
and vice-versa), and you must look INFLUENCED BY THE PANZER armour as well as a wide-number of
out for each other.
There’s something about the
DRAGOON SERIES shiny blades, axes and magic items,
including health and invisibility
relationship that the game sets up potions. And she does this from a
and maintains between Rynn and gameplay. Action on Arokh was great inventory system, that when
Arokh, through cinematics as well clearly influenced by the Panzer activated sees Rynn turn towards
as in-game vocals, that really Dragoon series, the first three the player and stand ready while
immerses. Both Rynn and Arokh games of which released from items are selected in a bottom-
are fully voiced, and production 1995-1998, but those games were centre mounted inventory box
values are high for the time, even if far more restrictive in their scope. overlay, like in an RPG. It’s
the quality of the voice acting Nevertheless, combat on Arokh charming quite frankly, and a clear
(especially Rynn) now feels very is a case of strafing and sign that this is a true PC game at
dated by modern standards. outflanking foes while landing heart.
Nevertheless, with plenty of banter far-reaching fireball attacks, or When Rynn isn’t attacking foes
and back and forth between these close quarters fire breath attacks, on foot, she’s finding keys to open
two stars of the game, it’s hard not and doing so while not getting hit doors, flicking switches to open
to get a feeling akin to that shared yourself. It really is surprisingly doors, or solving basic puzzles,
by Geralt and Roach in The Witcher. similar to Doom: The Dark Ages, some of why are (very basic) physics
That Rynn and Arokh are joined in actually. What do they say about based. This is when Drakan feels
their mission is never in doubt, and imitation being the best form of most dated. However, the
that this feeling persists on replay flattery? This is the game at its frustration of not finding a specific
after all these years is testament to innovative best. key aside, I don’t feel they get in
the great work Surreal Software did Gameplay off Arokh feels very the way of enjoying its on-foot and
here. Tomb Raider, but with a greater dragon-mounted combat and story.
focus on up-close hack-and-slash So, yes. Drakan remains a cinematic
WAVES OF FLAME combat. While perfectly playable fantasy adventure of genuine heart,
There’s no doubting that the today, this is the game at its and a bona fide PC classic that
dragon-riding action is the star of iterative worst. Rynn can backflip, deserves re-appraisal today in terms
the show in Drakan, with it built dive into bodies of water, nimbly of its impact on PC gaming. Fingers
into the lore and plot of the game, side-dodge, forward roll and more, crossed the long-overdue remaster
as well as a central pillar of the with a moveset that feels is incoming.

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 125

 RETRO
Inspirational stories from computing’s long-distant past

Commodore: The comeback

David Crookes looks at how a once powerful and influential
tech brand hopes to shine once more, including an exclusive
interview with Commodore’s new owner.

Commodore was once one of the Over the past three decades, you’ll have So does that mean no-one cares for the
world’s biggest names in computing. found the name plastered on an eclectic Commodore brand any more, or has it
In its golden years, it sold more range of products from the Commodore simply been waiting for the right
computers than Apple, IBM and Atari. XX gaming PC and Commodore PET approach?
That success was founded on the 8-bit smartphone to LED lightbulbs and a
Commodore 64, the best-selling single personal multimedia player called A FRESH START
computer model of all time, while the Gravel in Pocket. Some devices have even In June this year, a few months after he
16-bit Commodore Amiga is a legend been hits. Consider the Commodore 64 had stepped down from editing the
in its own right. That machine was Direct-to-TV (C64DTV) plug-and-play Commodore 64-focused magazine Zzap!64,
powerful enough to drive the joystick, initially sold by QVC in 2004, Christian “Perifractic” Simpson posted a
visual effects for the popular sci-fi which shifted in the tens of thousands. YouTube video dubbed “Can We
series Babylon 5. While the Commodore name has lost Save Commodore? My Biggest Project Yet!”
His promise: to bring the Commodore
““We have completed the acquisition of Commodore.” As he brand back into the hands of fans and
create new products.
spoke, the details of the deal became clearer. The price was Clearly passionate, Simpson spoke of his
“in the low seven figures” and it had been funded, in part by negotiations with the owners of
Commodore Corporation B.V. – a company
angel investors.”” based in the Netherlands that was
licensing the Commodore brand name –
But Commodore’s fall came almost as some of its lustre, people still remember and ended the video with a tease. Simpson
rapidly as its rise. It filed for bankruptcy in its products fondly. Other companies had received a message that showed
1994 and saw its liquidated assets sold to have preferred to tap into the nostalgia of his plan to seize control was very much
Escom, which went bust two years later. Commodore products without actually within his grasp. “Yes, we can grant you an
Bits of Commodore then ended up in lots of mentioning the name: Retro Games Ltd exclusive licence,” the message said. “But
different hands, and it became showed this to be the case with the your team seems to know Commodore
increasingly difficult not only to work out launch of THEC64 Mini and THEA500 better than we do. We might like to sell
who owned what but to figure out what Mini, machines that used familiar model you the whole company.”
Commodore actually represented. monikers instead. Soon, Simpson was back. “As of a few

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 Downtime | Retro

weeks ago, I am the acting CEO of

Commodore Corporation,” he
declared. “We have completed the
acquisition of Commodore.” As he
spoke, the details of the deal
became clearer. The price was “in
the low seven figures” and it had
been funded, in part by angel
investors.
The team included Bil Herd,
the principal engineer on the
Commodore Plus/4 and designer of
the Commodore 128; Michael
Tomczyk, the product manager for
the VIC-20 computer; and a
one-time Commodore tech support
specialist called James Harrison. introduction was made, a Zoom call ABOVE said. “It sparked my love of tech and
Not to mention David Pleasance, followed, and the rest is history. Commodore wants creativity.” Simpson even licensed
former joint managing director Thomas recounted to me his love of to be as transparent the brand for the 2011 launch of the
as the Starlight
of Commodore 64, and Jeri his childhood Commodore Amiga Commodore 64x, a replica
edition of the C64
Ellsworth, creator of the C64DTV. 500 that he had in the house since Ultimate. Windows/Linux PC in a
“From Al Charpentier (‘father the age of five. His ideas are Commodore 64 case.
of the C64’) to Bil Herd to the former breathtakingly cool.” The revived Commodore is
co-MDs of Commodore UK – each certainly wasting no time. It
person brings history, expertise and ULTIMATE DREAMS has relaunched the C64 as the
heart,” Simpson told APC. “I wanted This collective is now in a position Commodore 64 Ultimate, with
to inject the DNA of the original to advise and support the new the development team including
Commodore into its reboot. Even company while lending it a Gideon Zweijtzer, an electronic
Leonard Tramiel (son of stronger link to the past. engineer who developed the
Commodore’s founder Jack) got “It’s not just a team. It’s a Ultimate-64: this is a
involved, as our ‘CTrO’ (Chief reunion, and the passion complete C64 motherboard
Tramiel Officer).” behind this mission is replacement created in 2018.
There was one other surprising contagious,” Simpson Then there’s Jim Drew,
name on the team – that of Thomas said. “We didn’t just who wrote disk copy
Middleditch, who played Richard pitch a product. We programs, while Jake Young
Hendricks in the HBO television pitched a movement. And has been creating and selling
series Silicon Valley. It turned out many of these legends told C64 cases and keyboard
he grew up with an Amiga and soon me they’d been waiting for accessories at Retro Fuzion.
became enthused. someone to ‘do it right’.” The Ultimate recreates the
“I was a huge fan of the show, and Simpson, too, has a long and original motherboard on an AMD
ABOVE
one of our investors mentioned that passionate history with Xilinx Artix-7 FPGA. This allows it
Christian Simpson
Thomas was now looking to invest Commodore computers. “I grew up spearheaded the to simulate the C64 accurately
in tech startups. Life imitates art, with a C64 that we bought from purchase of the rather than emulate it in software,
huh?” Simpson said. “So an email Dixons when I was around 12,” he Commodore brand. and it comes with a flurry of
 Downtime | Retro

ABOVE There are respectfully. There’s so many cool

three varieties of touches we’ve added that have
Commodore 64 never been available before.”
Ultimate on offer.
LONG-LASTING
LEFT The names of
C64 creators, past Despite the strong start, a good
and present, are number of sceptics remain. The
etched on the new main issue is that past attempts to
motherboard. revive Commodore as a company
have failed to set the world alight.
It doesn’t help that ownership of
the original company’s assets are
modern touches, from a 1080p those sales. Generating revenues of in different hands.
HDMI output, USB-A and USB-C more than $1.5 million, it proves Some people have also pointed
ports, built-in Wi-Fi and 128MB of there’s a strong appetite for revived out that the target market, certainly
RAM – a far cry from the 64K machines. Nor is it alone: the third as it stands, is sure to be limited.
offered in the 1980s. iteration of the ZX Spectrum Next The Commodore 64 Ultimate is a
It’s available in three iterations computer on Kickstarter achieved niche product that primarily
from commodore.net. There’s a roughly the same numbers within appeals to retro computer
BASIC Beige edition for $452 that three days. But why? enthusiasts, but Simpson says plans
looks like the original, a gold Simpson says the Ultimate is are afoot that will combine retro
Founders Edition for $754, proving to be attractive because it with futurism. That’s reflected in
while $528 will buy the Starlight trades on authenticity and an the company’s website, which states
Edition, complete with gaudy LEDs. enhanced experience. “Past reboots it is “Honouring the past.
All these prices exclude taxes. have been really cool emulators, but Innovating the future”.
Whichever you choose, you can still emulators,” Simpson said. Simpson certainly understands
connect original C64 peripherals, “They do a fine job, but some people he has a job on his hands. “I get it.
including a tape deck, disk drive prefer authentic hardware. Part of There have been too many false
and “dusty old cartridges”. Games that is ‘knowing’ that it’s real, not starts. People have been rug-pulled
can also be played via a thumb software emulation. The other part by YouTubers before,” he said. “But
drive, including the bundled drive is latency (how much a game may be we’re not here to sell nostalgia –
that resembles a cassette. To delayed after pressing fire, for we’re here to earn it.”
quote the tagline for the machine: example). His aim is to create products that
“Retro gaming. Modern power.” “FPGA hardware like ours just will linger long in the mind. “When
Within the first week or so, runs faster as it’s happening at the people look back in 30 years, I want
around 4,200 Commodore bare metal level, not in code. This is it to be our Commodore they’re
64 Ultimates had been sold, with the real deal – a hardware nostalgic for and I want it to still be
the base model accounting for half recreation, modernised there right next to them. That’s my

128 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

 Downtime | Retro

dream,” he added. hopeful that, one day, the way game-reactive light, and runs real
“Our actions are already forward will be simpler. “We’re in dusty 80s cartridges, or shiny new
different: not many companies very positive, respectful talks with D64s on USB ‘cassette’. But there are
would be as transparent as we are Mike Battilana,” he said. “Our two pillars I’m building
through our crowdfund product dream is to reunite the Commodore TOP Commodore Commodore on: retro and futurism.
launch, where we show exactly how and Amiga families, but only with hopes that reviving We can’t just look back.
many units of the Commodore 64 care and cooperation, not the the brand will strike “We will have future products
Ultimate have been preordered. mistakes of the past. It won’t gold for the firm. that will blend that retro soul with
We’re building trust one step at a happen overnight, but the desire is MIDDLE The back digital detox innovation – including
time. If you’re sceptical, good. We’ll mutual. Watch this space.” of the Commodore transparent tech and distraction-
prove it through execution, not In the meantime, Commodore is 64 Ultimate free design. The goal will be to give
words.” forging ahead. As well as the includes modern people a way out from today’s
One thing he is keen not to foster Commodore 64 Ultimate, it sells the ports. ‘technology gone too far’. I can’t say
is a “them and us” situation. There Commodore 64X PC alongside too much about our products
BOTTOM The C64
is a thriving community of joysticks and a range of already in development, but they
Ultimate’s menu
enthusiasts keeping Commodore’s merchandise from dog-tag allows you to set up are going to ride that wave as any
past machines alive, from those necklaces and mouse pads to various good Commodore should.”
who simply play games and invest sweatshirts and cotton tees. The components.
in hardware to those who actively company is also looking to do some
develop them. Such developments good in the wider world
allow people to expand the with a scheme called
capabilities of their computers and Commodore Care.
try something new. Simpson says “It’s about giving back,”
the new company will seek to work Simpson said. “Commodore
with others, not against them. Care intends to make
“We’re offering affordable life fairer for
licensing, promoting community underprivileged kids, by
mods, and partnering with key giving them Commodore
creators, all under quality control computers, so they may one
guidelines that protect the brand day look back and
while empowering the makers,” feel that happiness
he said. “Think open standards, we feel when we look
trusted partners and fair royalties. back – but that they
We’re not out to squash the little otherwise might not
guy. We are the little guy! We came feel. Commodore
from the community, hence the did that for me, and
hashtag #WeAreCommodore. so many others, and
“People have been I want it to do the
understandably worried that we’d same for them.”
do a Nintendo and go all lawyery on The company is
them, but that’s just not in my also setting up the
spirit. If you’re using the Commodore 80s
Commodore name harmlessly such Dream Arcade at
as in your YouTube handle, that’s Caudwell
cool. If you’re using the branding to Children’s
make a profit, we can support you headquarters in
with a place on our upcoming web Newcastle-under-
shop to drive you more sales.” Lyme in Staffordshire. “It
will be a physical space for
MAKING FRIENDS children with ADHD and
Plans are also ongoing to work with autism to play, connect and
those who own the rights to the explore retro tech. It simply
Amiga. For instance, the director reflects my belief that
of Cloanto, Mike Battilana, owns nostalgia can do good in
Amiga Corporation, and this the world,” he added.
holds the Amiga trademarks and To that end, Simpson is
copyrights. Hyperion clear that the Commodore 64
Entertainment has an exclusive Ultimate is only the start, yet
licence to develop and market lays down a marker for what
AmigaOS 4. is yet to come. “Think of
As Retro Games Ltd found in its modern hardware wrapped in
bid to produce a replica of the nostalgic charm,” he said.
Amiga 1200, legal disputes can get “The Commodore 64 Ultimate
in the way of progress. Simpson is is FPGA-powered, glows with

NOVEMBER 2025 APC MAGAZINE 129

 KNOW HOWWorried that something nasty might be lurking in his
web browser, Robert Irvine tries to…

Test the safety of extensions

In the classic film Invasion of the Body
Snatchers (either the 1956 or 1978
version – they’re both good), aliens
infiltrate society by replacing human
beings with sinister clones. Which is
not dissimilar to the way malicious
browser extensions are masquerading
as legitimate tools, so they can steal
users’ data and infect their PCs.
Barely a week goes by without new
reports of dodgy Chrome extensions
somehow evading Google’s ‘strict’
security checks and threatening
millions of users. Some of these nasty
add-ons pretend to be popular tools such
as VPNs, AI assistants and video
downloaders (see tinyurl.com/
APC551fake). Others are maliciously
modified versions of existing extensions CRXplorer warned Robert to use the ClearURLs extension with caution.
that have been sold or abandoned by the
original developers. So I next tried a website called them. Even well-known tools such as the
Either way, they’re becoming more CRXplorer (https://crxplorer.com), new-tab-page customiser Momentum
prevalent and – like the ‘pod people’ in which scans browser extensions for weren’t in its database.
Body Snatchers – they could already be suspicious permissions and code. This My final stop was the new website
among us. I install lots of extensions in looked very promising, providing a list ExtensionPedia (https://
the course of my job, and often forget of recently scanned extensions such as layerxsecurity.com/extensions), which
to remove those I no longer use. Could Tampermonkey, ClearURLs and is described by its creator, security
my browser be harbouring malicious Grammarly. Clicking the Scan buttons company LayerX, as a “Wikipedia for
add-ons that are secretly collecting my next to these displayed CRXplorer’s extensions”. This evaluates the security
data and compromising my security? reports, which analysed each tool’s of more than 200,000 Chromium and
To find out, I first tried Chrome’s security and privacy policies – including Firefox add-ons, which I was pleased to
Safety Check feature, which is supposed ‘data-collection capabilities’ – discover included all the extensions I
to detect and warn you about dodgy and gave it a safety score. For example, had installed.
extensions. I opened the browser’s ClearURLs received a score of 45 (out of ExtensionPedia gives each tool a
Settings, selected ‘Privacy and security’ 100 – see screenshot above), with red colour-coded risk level and an overall
and clicked the ‘Go to Safety Check’ warnings to use it with caution because risk score (see screenshot below left), and
button. This confirmed I had Enhanced it lacks a content-security policy. rates the ‘severity’ of every permission
Safe Browsing enabled and “Nothing else Disappointingly, when I searched for it requires. It also gives extensions a
needs your attention at the moment”. I some of the more obscure extensions I ‘reputation risk’ rating, based on its
also checked the Extensions page (type have installed, CRXplorer couldn’t find developer, number of installs and user
chrome://extensions into your address reviews. Other information is only
bar) to see if Chrome had flagged any available to LayerX business customers.
tools as risky. But the only one it had I actually preferred CRXplorer’s
turned off was uBlock Origin, “because presentation of reports and its more
it is no longer supported” – the in-depth analysis, so it’s a shame it
culmination of Google’s long-running doesn’t cover a wider range of
war against the popular content blocker. extensions. Between the two sites, I was
The lack of red warnings should have able to identify nearly a dozen tools with
reassured me that all my extensions dubious privacy policies and
were safe, but sadly it didn’t. Chrome unnecessary permissions, which I
hardly performed an in-depth check, and uninstalled immediately. Incidentally,
it’s Google’s casual attitude to browser ExtensionPedia provided risk levels and both declared uBlock Origin to be safe to
security that has led to the rise in scores for every extension Robert use, which just goes to show what Google
malicious add-ons in the first place. searched for. knows.

130 APC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025

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